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Credit Cards and the history of them can be scary if you don't know what they are looking at. This video brings some insight into the history. I found this piece of information helpful because I know what is placed on my credit history

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Credit cards and scores: what you need to know

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Can't figure out which card you want to use? this video will give you an insight of what credit card would best suit you. I found this useful because I know what type of card I should use to fill my needs.

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Credit Card Thieves Caught on Tape Using Skimmers

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Money man Bruce Sellery is back with MoneySense's findings on which is the best credit card in Canada.

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The video talks about Canadians latest debt to income ratio and what you should consider before using your card.

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The Credit Counselling Society responds to Statistics Canada’s latest household debt to income ratio

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For more statistics this website shows how much Canadians have used credit just in 2018. This information is useful because it gives a visual presentation on how much consumer debt decreased in 2018

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Trading Economics members can view, download and compare data from nearly 200 countries, including more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, government bond yields, stock indexes and commodity prices.

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Canada Consumer Credit | 1971-2018 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast

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Consumer Credit in Canada decreased to 601453 CAD Million in February from 602341 CAD Million in January of 2018. Consumer Credit in Canada averaged 198103.80 CAD Million from 1971 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 605466 CAD Million in December of 2017 and a record low of 11066 CAD Million in February of 1971.

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This is many different countries of the average persons household credit.

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This picture is the percentage of consumer spending over the years in Canada.

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This picture shows all of Canadas provinces with Real GDP.

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This news Article is about consumer debt on the economy and how it's affecting everyone around us. This was useful because it goes into how much Canadians go into debt and can't afford it.

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Consumer debt balances just won't stop growing in the Great White North, according to a new report by Equifax Canada.

Canadians owed $1.821 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2017, up from $1.797 trillion in the third quarter.

Installment loans (10.3 per cent), auto loans (6.5 per cent)and mortgages (6.2 per cent) saw the most significant increases year over year, the report noted.
READ MORE: Your debt in 2018 - The economic trends that could hit your pocketbook
The average Canadian debt balance was up by 3.3 per cent to sit at $22,837 in the fourth quarter.

But Regina Malina, a senior director of decision insights at Equifax Canada, said that shouldn't be as concerning as it might sound.

"Increasing debt is creating some potential risks and some concerns, but at the same time, it's helping GDP and can clearly be handled by consumers," Malina told Global News.
WATCH: Here's how to get out of credit card debt
She said delinquencies and bankruptcies are down, and Canadians generally aren't becoming more dependent on high-interest products such as credit cards.

Canadians' personal debt is actually falling, the report noted.

Forty-six per cent of Canadians saw their amount owed fall over the past few months, while debt levels remained steady for 16 per cent of them.
WATCH: Five steps to help a senior with a debt problem

Consumer debt is growing as a whole because the 37 per cent of Canadians who added more debt did so in larger-than-average amounts.

Rising home prices could be leading to increased mortgage payments, Malina explained.

Malina added that while the economy seems fairly strong, Canadians should still be cautious because that could change.

An RBC forecast from Monday morning showed that Canada's economy is expected to slow this year.

"Just make sure that each consumer, within their own household, thinks about the fact that they should be comfortable not only paying their bills in the current situation, but also in the situation that might deteriorate potentially," Malina said.
READ MORE: The average Canadian owes $8,500 in consumer debt, excluding their mortgage, poll finds
An Ipsos Global News poll conducted in December 2017 found that the average Canadian owed $8,539.50 in non-mortgage consumer debt.

But in general, Canadians overall felt better about their financial situation than they did in the previous year.

The poll, conducted between Dec. 10 and 14, found that 12 per cent of Canadians report consumer debts above $25,000, while 14 per cent have debts between $10,000 and $24,999.
WATCH: Less concern about debt despite average Canadian owing more than $15K
Nearly half of respondents (46 per cent) in that poll said they don't have any consumer debt.

While that makes for encouraging reading in isolation, it also suggested that Canadians who are carrying debt have large balances.

The average amount of consumer debt was $15,473, according to the poll.
READ MORE: Financially helping adult kids may just be a return to an old normal
Sean Simpson, vice-president of public affairs for Ipsos, added at the time that Generation Xers, or people aged 35-54, owe the most consumer debt.

"They've got kids, they've got parents and they've got a home, so not only do they have an average $10,000 in consumer debt, but they likely have the biggest mortgages as well," Simpson explained.

That contrasted with Equifax Canada's data, which showed that people aged 46 to 55 carried the highest average debt balances exclusive of mortgages.
WATCH: Provincial breakdown of how Canadians felt about holiday spending habits, finances
Meanwhile, millennial-aged people had the highest delinquency rates - or rates of people who are not making their payments.

The rate was 1.49 per cent for people aged 18 to 25 years old, and 1.54 per cent for people aged 26 to 35 years old.

However, those rates are dropping, Malina said in a news release.

"Millennials have had the highest delinquency rates in terms of age, but we've seen a nine-per-cent reduction in their delinquency rate from a year ago," she said in a statement.

"Their overall debt has continued to increase, but they seem to be handling their payments better.

International organization flags Canadian debt

A report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on Sunday was less optimistic about Canadian debt than Equifax was.

The bank, which is comprised of 60 national banks around the world, published a report flagging that Canada is among countries with a high risk of financial crisis.
READ MORE: How much does a week of groceries cost in Canada? We crunched the numbers
The BIS cited personal debt as one cause for concern.

The report indicated that housing prices and rising household debt in Canada are making the problem worse.
- With files from Global News reporter Rahul Kalvapalle

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Canadian consumer debt just keeps growing - but here's why it's not a problem yet

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Consumer debt balances just won't stop growing in the Great White North, according to a new report by Equifax Canada. Canadians owed $1.821 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2017, up from $1.797 trillion in the third quarter.

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To learn more about credit this is the website to check out, how it works later down the ladder. I think this was useful information because it talks about the impact of Canadian credit and how it works.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Most of us have a basic understanding of how credit works based on our personal experiences. We borrow someone else's money (the bank's, the mortgage company's, a friend's) to buy something today, and then repay the lender with interest. That's the basic formula whether credit is used to buy a house, a car, or dinner at a restaurant.

Likewise, our decision to take on a debt obligation is usually as simple as "who will lend me the money?" and "can I afford the payments?" Our assessment of our use of credit is often measured by our payment history and credit score. (i.e., "I have a credit score of 810, so I guess that shows I know how to borrow effectively.").

But lenders and economic policymakers have bigger agendas and different objectives. Here's how credit impacts the broader economy.

Credit is Like Lighter Fluid on Charcoal; It Gets Things Started Faster

Instead of having to save for long time in order to obtain a big-ticket item (like a house or an automobile), credit allows the borrower to have the item immediately, while using future earnings to make repayments over a period of time.

Credit Expands Purchasing Power; IE: It Allows People to Buy More Things
And the more people buy, the more the economy expands.
In the short term, everyone likes the effects of credit. Buyers get what they want today, sales rise for businesses, and lenders add to their income streams by collecting more payments.
Of course, there are consequences to speeding up commerce and expanding purchasing power.
Borrowers May Forfeit Future Financial Opportunities

Using credit today predetermines how a portion of tomorrow's earnings will be spent, because borrowers are committed to making payments at a later date. Who knows what future opportunities will be forgone because of an outstanding loan obligation?

Abundant Credit Usually Results In Price Increases

Wherever credit is used to purchase goods or services, the costs for those goods and services will usually increase as well, because when more people are potential buyers, the increased demand will result in higher prices.

The Credit Format Works Only as Long as Borrowers Make Payments

Having a few borrowers default is inevitable, but too many defaults make lending unworkable for both borrowers and lenders. If borrowers can't afford the interest rates and lenders can't afford to lend money, it won't be repaid. When the flow of credit slows or stops, the economic activity dependent on credit often contracts as well. This is why credit-driven economies have regular cycles of expansion and contraction.

Because of it's Lighter-Fluid-Like Impact, Politicians Often Enact Legislation to Facilitate Credit in Favored Segments of the Economy
For example:

Government-approved student loans feature deferred payments and lower interest rates (because they are subsidized/supported by tax dollars) to encourage borrowing for higher education.

FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other special programs for low-income and first-time home buyers provide additional incentives for both borrowers and lenders to enter into mortgages.

The "cash-for-clunkers" rebates provoked a brief burst of automobile purchases, the majority of which were financed.

The perceived societal benefits of college education and home ownership may provide a rationale for making it easier for people to borrow. But a frequent unintended side effect of special borrowing programs is greater price distortion in those areas. In an August 24, 2009 Atlantic article, Niraj Chokshi writes that Labor Department statistics show "for 27 of the past 30 years, the price of education has grown at a faster rate than that of medical care. Education also grew faster than inflation for 29 of the past 30 years." Likewise, many financial commentators have stated that government programs which encouraged sub-prime lending bear some responsibility for the bubble in the housing market.

Credit May Encourage Reckless or Undesirable Behavior

Distorted prices and bad credit decisions by both lenders and borrowers can't be blamed on government policy alone. Many people simply can't handle debt responsibly - they borrow too much, spend recklessly, miss payments, lose the house and go broke. Some lenders prey on the weakness of borrowers. They charge exorbitant interest rates and fees, or keep offering credit cards to those who are already over their head. The flaws in human nature make any credit agreement a potentially dicey proposition. Here's financial analyst Ian Hodge's explanation from an April 26, 2009 blog commentary:
...you can see that the real problem is instant gratification. People don't like to wait for something in the future. They want it now. Because their appetite is insatiable, the demand for instant gratification drives sellers in the marketplace to constantly increase their prices, and they don't care that ordinary folk have to go into debt to buy their goods. In fact, they have a vested interest in debt, because now they can get higher prices for their goods. This is especially true in the real estate market. This is why I have never heard any property developer complain about the high debt levels in the economy. No home seller complained about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They were happy to leave the problem to "other" people. They took their inflated prices and pocketed the huge increases in property values that were driven by debt. Instant gratification. Sellers were not prepared to wait for higher prices that might come through supply and demand. Instead, they preferred the instant higher prices obtainable through debt. Thus it is the greed of sellers - coupled with the... buyers who want to borrow - that is the cause of our economic problem.
Borrowing and lending has the potential to be a corrupting agent - financially and ethically. While most discussions today regarding credit focus only on financial particulars, there are important social and moral implications to the use of credit as well. Historically, many societies banned or stigmatized lending because of the potential for abuses. This particularly applied to lending to individuals (as opposed to business organizations or governments). Because credit is like lighter fluid, it can burn things up as well as get them started.

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Understanding the Impact of Credit in the Economy

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download Most of us have a basic understanding of how credit works based on our personal experiences. We borrow someone else's money (the bank's, the mortgage company's, a friend's) to buy something today, and then repay the lender with interest.