Blog Posts by Ashleigh Patterson

Canadians are no longer stomping their feet and bemoaning annual Boxing Day sales as a day-late, dollar-short time-waster. We've now got alternatives: Black Friday Canada. Cross-border bargain hunters are gassing up their vehicles and strategically planning their shopping excursions in an act of optimism to lock in savings now.

Statisticians and retailers have taken note, flooding editor in-boxes with surveys of Canadian shopping habits come Nov. 24. Get ready for the U.S. Thanksgiving shopping extravaganza. It starts on Black Friday ('black' because stores use the deep discounts to get into the black, or profit, for the year) and ends on Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day on the calendar. And while it was once just a U.S.-based bash, now it's big on both sides of the border.

How big? Well, here are the numbers:

• 40 per cent of Canadians will participate in sales on one of those days, spending roughly $245 each, according a study commissioned by Staples Canada.
• Atlantic

The creators of "Undercover Boss" may have been on to something, taking C-suite executives from the corner office to the trenches of their own companies. The reality television show offers a chance for those the most removed from the rank-and-file to glean a whole new perspective on the business -- one that appears to be increasingly needed in Canada.

According to a new survey from Ipsos Reid, the majority of Canadians have little trust or confidence in the senior leadership of their organizations, causing the country's workforce to appear disengaged and downright disgruntled.

A mere 44 per cent of Canadian employees expressed confidence in senior leaders, the survey, conducted on behalf of the Canadian Management Centre, shows. Broken out by industry, transportation, government and retail exhibit the least levels of confidence. While IT and technology show the highest levels.

"We see a gap in trust and confidence increasing between public and private with the public sector really

Looks like Canadians have learned nothing about the perils of debt from our friends across the border. Over the past five years, Canadians have increased their consumer debt loads by 53 per cent, according to new figures from the Credit Counselling Society, with the heaviest borrowing occurring in the two years immediately after the global financial crisis.

"On average, clients come to us owing over $31,000 of unsecured debt," Scott Hannah, president & CEO of the non-profit Credit Counselling Society said in a release. "Our hope is that consumers take heed of the warnings and decrease their reliance on credit."

Unsecured debt includes loans, credit card balances,  home equity lines of credit and unpaid bills.

Canada's debt-to-income ratio has now reached a record high, topping levels seen in the U.S. just before the housing market collapse of 2008.

In the second quarter of this year, Canada's household debt-to-income ratio jumped to 163.4 per cent. This means that for every dollar

You have a better chance of dying from a toppling vending machine or being hit by an asteroid than you do of winning the lottery. In fact, your chances of winning the lottery in Canada are anywhere between 1 in 13.9 million to 1 in 28.6 million.

Yet one-third of Canadians are banking on a huge jackpot or inheritance windfall as part of their long-term plan for financial success, according to a new survey from Capital One Canada and Credit Canada Debt Solutions.

"It's troubling to see so many Canadians putting more trust in the lottery than sound financial planning — but I see the effects every day in our agency," Laurie Campbell, CEO, Credit Canada Debt Solutions said in a release.  "Canadians need to recognize that there is no magic solution to gaining control of their finances.  It means hard work and sticking to a budget determined by income."

And it appears these startling findings aren't a one-off.  A whopping 32 per cent of Canadians aged 45 to 64 said they expect lottery

Wayne Gretzky the hockey legend needs no introduction -- at least not in this country, anyway. But "The Great One" as an advocate for prudent retirement planning and fiscal conservatism? That's something new.

"I never borrowed or leveraged myself to turn $1 into $10," he said during a panel discussion Monday "on life after hockey, financial advice and the need to plan for retirement, even if you're Wayne Gretzky" at TD Waterhouse, the wealth management division of Toronto-Dominion Bank.

Gretzky, 51, learned early how to stretch a buck, making just $24 a week in 1978 while playing hockey in Sault Ste Marie, Ont. And from an early age, his father imparted a conservative approach to money management that has built the framework for Gretzky's continued financial success.

Even after banking his first signing bonus -- a $250,000 payout for his first pro contract -- Gretzky continued to lean on his dad, Walter.

"He wrote me a check for $5,000 and said: 'Go get whatever you want.' I bought a

Volatile global markets, dwindling income streams and decimated nest eggs have Canadians thinking short-term pain for long-term gain when it comes to financing their retirement years.

One-third of Canadians say they would give up a portion of their salary in order to secure their retirement future, while one-quarter of Canadians say they would be willing to forgo bonuses for more retirement security, according to the 2011-2012 Towers Watson Retirement Attitudes Survey.

"As financial insecurity becomes more widespread, Canadian workers are increasingly interested in a secure rewards package with retirement benefits they can count on" Ian Markham, retirement innovation leader for Towers Watson, said in a release.

"While Canadians have traditionally looked to employer-sponsored retirement plans as one part of their financial future, the fact that so many workers are willing to trade pay increases or bonuses for enhanced retirement security points to the significant unease that many

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and as Canadians cement their travel plans, a new survey suggests we're getting off our wallets and globetrotting.

Canadians spent 5 per cent more on hotel accommodation worldwide in 2012 compared to last year, according to the Hotel Price Index released by Hotels.com.

As the economy improves, travel outside our borders has increased over the course of this year. Canadians made 2.6 million overnight trips outside the country in March, the highest monthly level since Statistics Canada began keeping records in 1972. Bolstered by new duty free limits, shoppers flocked to the U.S. in record numbers this summer. Overnight travel to the U.S. alone rose 7.5 per cent in June -- also the highest level on record.

So where are Canadians spending the most globally? Pacific and Caribbean saw the biggest increases in spending (8 per cent), while Asia came in a close second (7 per cent).

No surprise, Canada's largest cities continue to dominate for top travel

You've diligently saved, invested wisely and eliminated debt, but the choice when to leave the workforce may still be out of your hands, according to a new RBC poll released on Wednesday.

Only 62 per cent of Baby Boomers made the choice when to retire, reports the third annual RBC Retirement Myths and Realities Poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid. Perhaps more surprising, 20 per cent of Boomers knew only one month or less that they were about to leave the workforce permanently. An estimated 42 per cent had no more than six months of lead time before they retired.

Results of RBC pollThe findings of the poll are in stark contrast to the perceptions of working Canadians. According to the findings, 85 per cent of Boomers with more than $100,000 in financial assets believe they will retire on their own terms.

However, older workers have increasingly been delaying their retirement since the mid-1990s, according to Statistics Canada.  The employment rate for working Canadians over the age of 55 has steadily increased