One Place With No Bank Failures, Few Foreclosures, and Still Working

I am totally amazed at knowing this, but there is only ONE country in all of the developed group of nations that is not facing any bank crises, closures, or banking bailouts, as well as few mortgage foreclosures or personal bankruptcies. ONE

This country has strong legislation on banks that demands a much higher ratio to loans vs. deposits, so the money within the system is higher. In fact, these banks are posting profits, albeit lower than previous years.

This country has strong federal legislation over the ratio of down payments to the total mortgage amount, so that unless you have saved at least 20% of the purchase price of a house or condo, you cannot get it.  The lenders are NOT allowed to issue sub-prime mortgages, are NOT allowed to turn the mortgage papers over to others to be used in credit default swaps, and each bank must keep track of the mortgage within their books. Housing prices have dipped, not dropped, losing maybe 18% overall, with some markets remaining stable.

So, there is a solution for other countries to follow.

Add in the fact that this same country has a national health care system, and it is also one of the major trading nations in the G8 and the G20 and there is a huge number of people all over the world wondering how this one country managed to avoid the meltdown and crises affecting them.

Basically one country is a total anomaly to the whole financial mess. Weird but true. Yes, one or two of the banks within this country did get bitten by their transactions in the U.S., but only in a minor way and the deposits and other investments were more than enough to cover the losses.

Where is this place? Straight north of the U.S., Canada.

There are those who use the word “socialism” without knowing the truest meaning of that word, but for years Canada has been labelled as a socialistic society.  The government was seen as overbearing, intrusive, even too conservative to allow free markets to thrive. Taxes are only slightly higher in Canada than elsewhere.

If that is the picture of stability, then perhaps it is time some of the world governments and banks, investment houses and other agencies learned to be far more conservative, even boring.

Depression Thinking when Money Goes Poof

I guess I am glad I had generations ahead of me who did live through the last depression and knew how to get through and be able to still share what they had with others.

First thing they did was to PUT MONEY ASIDE, even if it was a few pennies, a few dollars and keep it. The little bit may not have bought a house, but if you KNOW you have something, even a paltry bit, to fall back on, you are far less fearful.  Then they became inventive. They found ways to take something that had become broken, worn, and turn it into something useful. They took clothes that had hole in the knees and either patched the knees or turned the clothes into other items.

Why on earth am I even going here? From watching this, hearing the histories of the older generation, and doing some reading on the internet, I am about 50/50 on this going sour, becoming a full and very nasty depression, world wide.

So, instead of trying to play “catch up” I am saying get some practice in being innovative in your living, inventive, even thrifty! Habits can only become habits if you do them, and repeatedly.

Bartering was one of the ways people now are getting things done and without paying any taxes. Almost anything from baking bread, laying brickwork, to running people around in your car can be bartered. Yeah, yeah, I know, the tax man does not like this, but when you are the one feeding your kids, you need to find ways to lessen the strains on your wallet.

Gardens and putting in gardens saved a lot of people from going hungry, so if you live in the city, even in an apartment, you can save at least a few dollars by growing something. Peas grow up, trained on vines, even growing things like lettuce can be done indoors. Herbs can be traded or used to flavour bland, boring food. Maybe you have a neighbour with some free yard space. Talk to them and see if you can barter some raking of leaves for the space, then plant raspberries, blueberries or what you can in your area.

Here is a totally revolutionary idea! If you are up to debt to your eyeballs, then maybe you HAVE to learn to do this because otherwise you face some nasty consequences.  Saving a few pennies, saving a couple of dollars IS POSSIBLE in almost any condition, ask the people living on the streets, they have to.

People lived through the Great Depression and yes, they did manage to save. Why not now when you can do it with far less pain? Your survival, you children’s survival may well depend on this and your own abilities are worth more than money any day, any year, any financial circumstance, use your abilities for what they are, you best asset.