loan posts

Student debts are growing higher and higher by the year and that heavy burden is changing the way Canadians live. The Canadian Council on Learning says in a new report that as post-secondary students take on larger debts to secure an education, other important life decisions are delayed or put off all together.

The average post-secondary student debt load doubled between 1990 and 2009 to reach $26,680 for university graduates and $ 13,600 for college grads. The CCL says the rise in debt-loads coincides with news that the Canada Student Loans Program has reached its maximum threshold of $15-billion. With more funds needed, the CCL says it's time the federal government introduced a new system to finance and assess the education of Canadians.

"This report points to some of the long-term consequences of incurring large debts, sometimes involving postponement of milestones of life, like having children or owning a house," says Dr. Paul Cappon, President and chief executive of CCL. "They can also impact choice of career, possibly to public detriment."

Forget the recession; one look at the housing market and it's like we never had one. House prices are on the rise and they're not going to get cheaper anytime soon as buyers pile in to take advantage of low interest rates.

A recent report by Royal Bank of Canada found that buying a house became slightly less affordable at the end of 2009 and that was entirely due to higher prices because the other things that affect affordability -- mortgage costs and personal income -- were better.

The overall slip in affordability wasn't huge, we're talking a 0.3% rise in the index that tracks the affordability of a standard two-storey home, but economists expect costs to get worse as the year unfolds.

So what should you do if you're planning on buying a home?

Many of us are familiar with traditional forms of charity that involve donating money to a worthy cause, getting a receipt and then claiming a tax deduction the following year. This sort of generosity is to be admired, but it's not the only way we can use our savings to help others.

Over the past few years a great new method of providing others with financial aid has gained prominence: Micro-finance. The term at first can sound a little scary, like something you sleep through in the back row of an economics lecture, but it's actually quite a fun way to give, get involved and then get your money back. That's right - you get your money back.

Put simply, micro-finance is your chance to play the "little bank" to those around the world that need a small loan but do not qualify to borrow from the big banks. So how does it work?