Jul. 28, 2025 "Albertans are the best in the country at saving money: Desjardins report": Today I found this article by Joshua Santos on BNN Bloomberg:
As economic conditions evolve
and regional pressures shift,
Canadians are saving more money,
but the amount depends on which province they live in, according to a new report.
Desjardins’ latest economic viewpoint found
Albertans saved nearly nine per cent of their disposable income between 2020 and 2023,
the highest in Canada,
and well above the national average of under four per cent.
Researchers found Albertans were able to save more as they had,
on average, a household disposable income of over $110,000
while affordability in the province was among the best in the country.
Savings rates are also high in Saskatchewan and Quebec with levels approaching 10 per cent of disposable income in 2024.
The national average disposal household income in 2024 was $100,000.
“You have Alberta close to $120,000 household disposable income
and Saskatchewan is a bit above average,”
Sonny Scarfone, principal economist for Desjardins told BNN Bloomberg.ca in a Monday interview.
“I would say, for these two provinces, it’s a mix of
high disposable income
and relatively affordable housing
compared to B.C. and Ontario, especially.
For Quebec, it’s mostly on the spending side, just in absolute terms, spending less than other provinces.”
Households in Ontario and British Columbia meanwhile are navigating
higher debt levels,
driven by
housing costs,
mortgage renewals,
and slower income growth,
all of which may weigh on future consumption and savings.
Homeowners in the relatively more affordable Quebec housing market are less vulnerable to ongoing mortgage renewals than in other provinces. That however is starting to decline, Scarfone said.
“We do see affordability declining and more of a catching up. In absolute terms, prices have been increasing for housing,
although on the relative basis that remains affordable compared to B.C. and Ontario,”
he said . “We do forecast that the Quebec savings rate will remain somewhat elevated, of course, depending on the commercial tariffs outcome there.”
The average national savings rate,
calculated as a percent of disposable income
instead of spending,
is expected to increase from 3.7 per cent in 2023 to six per cent in 2024 according to data from Statistics Canada and Desjardins Economic Studies.
Alberta had a savings rate of 8.8 per cent in 2023,
Quebec was at 7.8 per cent
and Saskatchewan was not far behind at 7.5 per cent in 2023.
Prince Edward Island was at 2.8 per cent,
Ontario at 1.7 per cent,
British Columbia at 0.6 per cent
and Newfoundland and Labrador at 0.2 per cent.
New Brunswick was down -1.6
and Nova Scotia was -3.7.
Canadians expected to save more
Desjardins predicts Canadians across the country will continue to save for the future despite ongoing income pressures.
Albertans made over $115,000,
British Columbians had $110,000
and Ontarians made $105,000
in 2024.
Scarfone noted
households saving more
leads to higher resiliency
especially in uncertain times such as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.
“One of the reasons we’re interested in looking at saving behaviour is that in terms of uncertainty,
saving for a rainy day
can become self fulfilling
in terms of uncertainty leads to households being more prudent in their spending,”
said Scarfone.
“That prudence itself contributes to lower consumption,
which is reflected by lower GDP.
So that behaviour is interesting in the context that we’re in today,
and also it does help us in our forecast
in terms of forward looking at who would be more financially resilient if a slowdown was to come.”
In Quebec, the average household disposable income was just under $84,000 in 2024, comparable to New Brunswick and lower than all other provinces, yet they were one of the highest savers in the country.
Changes to personal income tax
Researchers expect national-level household disposable income growth to accelerate in 2025 in part supported by recent federal personal income tax changes.
The government recently announced a plan to reduce the personal income tax rate from 15 per cent to 14 per cent as of July 1.
It will also be the rate for most federal non-refundable tax credits.
Desjardins noted Quebec and Alberta households are likely to face less pressure from mortgage renewals than households in British Columbia and Ontario.
Households to spend less on luxury goods
While researchers anticipate an increase in savings, they also expect a broad slowdown in consumer activity in the coming quarters, with the steepest declines in spending on luxury items.
Households are likely to scale back on big-ticket purchases due to the combined impact of
the ongoing trade war,
through higher prices
and increased uncertainty,
and a soft housing market.
My opinion: I like to read that Canadians are being smart and saving their money for the future.
Oct. 2, 2025 "Lower-cost and easy ways for homeowners to beat the winter chill": Today I found this article by Lauren Krugel on BNN Bloomberg. I like this article because it's about saving money on heat and electricity:
CALGARY — It’s the season for pumpkin spice lattes and cosy sweaters, but also draftier rooms and pricier energy bills.
Spending tens of thousands of dollars to replace older windows and doors with state-of-the-art efficient ones might not be in everyone’s budget this year.
But efficiency experts say there are simpler and cheaper ways to keep a home toasty and comfortable in the meantime.
“Often we have the perception that the problem is our doors and our windows,
but really the problem is more the leakage that’s happening around our doors and windows,”
said Carl Duivenvoorden, a sustainability consultant in Upper Kingsclear, N.B.
So a low-cost, do-it-yourself option with a good return on investment would be weatherstripping, he said.
“You just go around the windows and doors
and you check where drafts are
and you get some weatherstripping from a hardware store
and you can install it yourself, typically,”
said Duivenvoorden.
“It tends to give you significant savings
with a really quick payback.”
It’s more of an investment, but homeowners might also consider adding insulation.
Basements, especially concrete ones, would be the place to start, said Duivenvoorden.
‘Pretty big return’
“We all think that heat rises. Well, it’s true — hot air rises. But a basement, even though it’s underneath us and maybe not heated, still loses a lot of heat.
So you can get a pretty big return on insulating a basement,” he said.
“If you’re handy, you can install a bit of a framed wall and some batt insulation yourself.
There’s foam insulation as well,
but that needs to be covered up for fire codes, so that gets a little bit more involved.”
Attics are another area where adding insulation can get you bang-for-your-buck.
Duivenvoorden and his wife rented a blower machine and worked together to add some insulation to their attic last year.
In addition to improving heat loss, they’ve noticed that it also made the house more comfortable on hot summer days.
Daryl Knowles, a consultant with home service firm Enercare, recommends homeowners think about air quality as they prepare to hunker down for the winter.
Simple, low-cost solution
“You’re about to shut your windows for about the next four to six months with the cold weather coming, and we’re gonna be pumping in a lot of heat,” he said.
A simple low-cost solution would be to replace your furnace filter.
It’s also a good time to give ducts a good cleanout.
But Knowles said
the most important thing to do this time of year is have a technician come by
and make sure your furnace is operating well.
“With that, they are proactive and potentially noticing if there’s any wear and tear or anything that could be going on in the furnace that shouldn’t be,” he said.
“And now is the perfect time to deal with that as opposed to when it’s -20 C outside and you’re really in a jam then.”
Duivenvoorden said there are some measures that are completely free,
like turning down the thermostat
and opting to wear a sweater around the house.
Opening blinds during the day to let in the warm sunshine
and closing them at night to keep the heat in is another one.
“The good news is that there’s
an awful lot that can be done
with little to no financial investment
and it comes down to just learning a little bit about where your energy goes
and maybe getting into some new habits.”
---
Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2025.
The other 2 blog posts of the week:
"Hudson's Bay wants to go back to original plan to auction off 1670 charter: court filings"/ "Hudson's Bay gets court permission to auction off 'retail era' artifacts"
http://badcb.blogspot.com/2025/10/hudsons-bay-wants-to-go-back-to.html
"Build-A-Bear continues to rack up market gains, despite tariffs and teetering mall traffic"/ "Labubu-maker Pop Mart to open first Canadian store at B.C. mall"
http://badcb.blogspot.com/2025/10/build-bear-continues-to-rack-up-market.html
LEO would like to know:
Do you believe in ghosts or the paranormal?
No 57.07% (2465)
Yes 42.93% (1854)
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