Millennials set to face most economic pain in months ahead, RBC says. Here’s why - National | Globalnews.ca

Hey youre salaried right?

Yup

Great, we laid off 3 people and you need to work 100 hour weeks to keep things going

Do I get paid more?

You can get paid in unemployment if you keep sassing like that

Note, I have been given the line that I am expected to work 100 hour weeks. No I am not joking.

Bidding up used cars during covid was peak bubble behavior

Work trucks costing what a start home used to cost a decade ago

I guess with at truck you work AND live in it

I'm super into urbanism and love my bike, but unless there's good bike infrastructure in your area, you're risking your life. I know and keep riding anyways but most people aren't willing to take that risk. What we need to do is organize to push our governments to provide safe infrastructure for all road users.

Is it really that expensive to own a car outside of the U.S.? That seems absurd

Where are you getting $17K from? According to Kia's website, they start at $19,933. And that's pretty much the cheapest new car in Canada. That's way out of reach for many people, and the used market is insane.

Earlier this year, my 2005 Civic with 301,000km was totaled. I bought it in 2013 for $5,000 with 121,000km. From my research, if I had sold it before it was totalled, I probably could have gotten more than $5,000 for it, even with the extra decade and 180,000km.

How many Rios do you see on the road for every F-150?

It was like 12 years ago I was looking at $10k new Kia rio.

It's getting hard to find cars period. I forget where I read this stat, it was only in the last day or two too, but the number of cars being made, and sold for under $30k, it's like a small handful of models in total. And good luck actually finding many of said models on local lots, the factory production numbers of these cheaper models is super low.

Also you drove by a Kia lot lately? I ride by one near us fairly regularly on my road bike, and that lot is sparse. The only vehicles on it are SUVs, and there isn't even very many of them. So yeah the internet says the Kia Rio is $17k, but can you actually get one in your hands for that?! I mean sure, maybe one or two. But remember, we are talking averages here, for the whole marketplace.

$60k average price is definitely in line with the observations I've been able to make, and it definitely reflects the laneways on my block. You are right, monster trucks and SUVs, but that reflects the current market. I'm the only person on my block that only has cars in their garage.

This really helps me understand the situation better. I appreciate the time and thought put into this response. It's times like these I am thankful I didn't overspend. I listened to my parents and bought a house that wasn't flashy but was suitable for my situation. Most people I know did not do that, and I constantly wonder how they are making ends meet. Some of them make less than I do.

If we assume people are capable of making rational decisions and participate in a free market, then they absolutely are to blame for taking on ridiculous debt loads. If we assume the opposite, then their actions were the product of the environment. We seem to want to have it both ways. We want people to be free to do whatever they want without (government) intervention when the number's going up. For example people were really opposed to the introduction of the mortgage stess test. On the other hand we want to absolve people from responsibility and defer to the environment when the number is going down and they're suffering post their earlier decisions. "Why didn't someone do something about X, Y or Z which we perceive is the reason of our suffering."

Personally I do think people's actions are a lot more a product of the environment than anything else. If you ask me, most people shouldn't need to participate in asset markets to have a place to live or have income during retirement. They simply can't compete. But many fellow Canadians don't feel this way, especially when the number goes up. And so we are where we are. 🥲

The banks have started doing "infinity mortgages", in which the lendee only pays the interest and never the principle because of how the interest rats have gone. CTV News did a little primer on infinity mortgages,

When you boil an infinity mortgage down, it sounds like renting since there is no prospect of paying off the principal. Are infinity mortgages here to stay? I don't know, I do know I won't have shocked pickachu face when they stay a fixture of the Canadian mortgage market.

Maybe they will do that, maybe it will work. But if they are doing this, i doubt home prices will keep going up. They need low benchmark interest rates to justify current prices.