Life can sure lick at times.  I mean I know life is supposed to be a challenge so that we can learn, but why is it so unfair for some people and everything works out for others.  When I see people where their life is in order and they are completely happy and fulfilled I am suspicious, as my life seems to be one problem after another.  I am now wondering about the effects of positive thinking and laws of attraction, but how can it be that easy.  Like really...if i just picture my life in positive ways then more positive things will happen....well I just don't think so.  There is an individual in my life that has nothing but negative things happen one after another.  The minute they are ready to pick up after the last bad thing another one stops them in their tracks.  And things happen that are physical, mental, emotional and every other possible thing that could go wrong does.  I have ran out of advice and positive things to even say.  But how can life be so unfair to this individual...and its not their outlook.....after years and years of witnessing bad things continuing to take place, what else can I say, but keep trying....and now that doesn't seem to work anymore.

Canadians deeper in debt than ever before: study

Updated Thu. Oct. 18 2007 2:32 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Canadians are deeper in debt than ever before, according to a new study by the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada.

The report, "Debt and Consumption," reveals that most Canadians are saving less and spending more than ever before, with household debt topping $1 billion, not factoring in mortgages.

"We're spending it all. I think we've had a good economy and people interpret that as meaning their own personal wealth is accumulating," Rock Lefebvre, CGA-Canada's vice-president of research and standards, told CTV's Canada AM on Thursday.

Unfortunately, he said, Canada's wealth doesn't necessarily translate directly into personal gains. But people are finding it easier to borrow money, and apparently, harder to say no.

"They're buying electronics and cell phones and all the technology that's out there, so we've become very commercialized in Canada and we're spending it," Lefebvre said.

Key points from the study:

·       Household debt hit $1 billion in 2006, an all time high;

·       It has been increasing annually by 4.7 per cent for the past 30 years - outpacing gains in personal disposable income, assets and the GDP;

·       28 per cent of indebted respondents feel that household debt negatively affects their ability to achieve retirement goals;

·       One quarter of Canadians do not commit to any type of savings;

·       25 per cent of Canadians do not think changes in interest rates, housing prices, wages or reduced access to credit would negatively affect their financial well-being;

·       One in five respondents say they could not handle unforeseen expenditures

"Saving in its traditional form is not a high priority for Canadians. A rash of consumption has taken hold of our society - Canadians want things and they want them now," the study concludes, adding: "The least wealthy are the most vulnerable to risky debt practices."

Lefebvre warned that Canada's economy will eventually reach a plateau, and a slump is almost inevitable.

"We're going to run out of money, out of credit," he said.

"We will lock up. We see a growth right now -- there's 14 per cent of the population that has more debt than they do assets. That's up two percentage points since five years ago, so if that continues it's going to erode our economy."

The solution, he said, is two fold. First, Canadians must begin to show some discipline and make a greater effort to live within their means.

Policy makers, for their part, must make it more attractive for Canadians to want to save their money -- such as boosting interest rates to give people a reason to keep their money in the bank, and increasing retirement savings options.

The report concludes by advising Canadians to build and diversify financial assets and plan retirement investments.