In October 2015, I wrote 136 words on this topic, hoping that the image alone would get some traction. It was a pretty insane image to a numbers geek like me – linked here.
Perhaps these additional 381 words worth will garner more attention.
This month’s Visa images are tamer, as a business card the monthly total can be significant during busy months. Yes I pay the balance to zero each month, in fact I appear to actually over pay it some months (so deep is my fear of credit card interest).
No I will not be taking 108 years and 7 months to pay off the balance…
108 YEARS AND 7 MONTHS!
Here is a question for a government so intent on protecting us from ourselves:
Why clamp down even further against lending on a secured asset in which we live, a debt we must pay off in a maximum of 30 years, (25 if less than 20% down) with a record of repayment that is the envy of the free world, yet allow us to take 108 years and 7 months to pay off the:
Particle board furniture we fill the home with?
The vacation we could not afford to take?
A night of bottle service hitting up the clubs (yo!)?
How does this make sense?
99.63% of Canadians never miss a mortgage payment. There is no mortgage crisis to repair.
Can the same be said about this form of debt though?
To qualify for this 108 year 7 month amortization… Does one need:
A down payment?
Clean Credit history?
A job?
Nope. Not at all.
In fact in some cases one can qualify for this kind of debt without even being alive, or even being an actual human being. Trust me, to apply for a mortgage through Dominion Lending Centres, is easy, but not THAT easy!
So I ask again: Where is the real debt problem in our country?
Why is our government not asking this question?
Why is our government intent on trying to fix a problem that does not exist?
Canada is not the USA, and policy should not be set based on Netflix analysis.
The recent changes made to mortgage lending will in fact do the most damage to lower middle class households, the ones already most susceptible to 108 year 7 month loans.
Enjoy your day, mine will be spent applying for credit cards on behalf of our dog and two cats.