The hopeless

Do kids make you poorer?

No, this pathetic blog isn’t opening up the spawning debate again. Too emotional. too pointless. You can’t fight hormones.

But children obviously cost a bundle, and in an age of relentless inflation, economic scares and income sloth, something has to give. We all know what it is. Financial security. So many Canadians are now headed for a wall. The social and political implications could be epic.

Today’s proof comes in the form of shocking survey results on retirement, and people thinking about it. We are pooched, if these numbers are right.

• Those who think they’ll never be in a financial position to retire: 59%
• Those believing they will need to work after retirement to survive: 66%
• Now working, but with no disposable income: 60%
• Have set aside no money for retirement in the past year: 49%
• Have never saved for retirement: 39%
• Living paycheque-to-paycheque: 55% (last year: 48%)
• Think owning a home is key to retirement: 62%
• Worried about the mortgage: 65% (last year: 51%. In 2023: 45%)
• Mortgage costs rose in last year: 66%
• Worried about Caada-US relations now: 67%

It seems to be a valid survey, conducted by Abacus for one of the largest pension plans in the country (HOOPP). The results suggest people lack the resources to save for their future, so they don’t. Most are spending every single dollar they earn. Rising debt levels prove they’re actually spending a chunk more than they bring in. Mortgage borrowing continues to grow at three times the rate of inflation, even as real estate values decline.

Worrisome. Things have deteriorated in the past year – but this has been a time when interest rates fell, inflation dropped to 2% or less, wage gains outpaced the cost of living, house prices went down and the economy grew.

So what happened?

First, most folks are incapable of envisioning their future. They don’t want to. Too scary. Until age fifty, retirement seems distant, fuzzy and remote. There’s always time for things to work out – until they don’t.

Second, that brings a lifetime of dodgy decisions, procrastination, lousy budgeting and financial illiteracy. Bad habits yield poor results. Sad. And so common.

Third, Canadians wildly underestimate how much money they’ll need to sustain themselves when the paycheque goes away. CPP and OAS don’t cut it. You may not be able to sell your house when you need to. Your 28-year-old daughter and her kid may show up on your doorstep two years after you retire because her marriage just went south. Your spouse could get early-onset A and need costly support. Or maybe you just live in Vancouver, Toronto, Victoria, Ottawa or other places where the cost of living continues to escalate.

After all, if you go paycheque-to-paycheque now with no disposal income, how can you exist after work on half or even 70% of what you made while employed? Most costs don’t go away. Moreover, these are supposed to be the ‘golden’ years – to do the stuff you never had time for. Which takes money.

Fourth, there’s no end to the excuses people come up with for not being responsible with their finances or their future. Maybe it’s because the children need expensive piano lessons, summer camp or their own iPhone 16 and data plan. Or Trump will start WW3, so what’s the point? Or the ‘government’ will take care of you in old age because you always paid your taxes. Or you really need a bigger house, a better car or Jimmy Choo pointy toe pumps.

Finally, yes, some are failing because the circumstances they inherited prevent any good outcome. In a compassionate society there are always folks needing a hand, and they should get it. But this is not the majority. It’s not the bulk of the population that the HOOPP survey identified as losers.

After all, if you’re 28, newly employed and can find $130 a week by not doing Starbucks twice a day, clubbing, spending money on The Weeknd tickets or cooking instead of eating out, you can fully fund a TFSA. Invest in the S&P 500 and by age 60 you’ll likely have close to $900,000. Not a fortune. Not penury. Just a minimum accomplishment.

So, look around you. And be different.

About the picture: “Angry cat pics are not cool,” Erin writes, agreeing with yesterday’s feline exposure. “Here is Roo, a young cowboy corgi, ready for her close up.  Roo loves everyone and everything which she often expresses with a yodel and lots of extremely fast kisses, preferably right in your ear and a couple nibbles thrown in for good measure.  Genuinely appreciate the blog and all the work that goes into it, it’s a treasure and should be treated as such. “

To be in touch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘garth@garth.ca’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2025/06/19/the-hopeless/