A look at the best of the Internet, from an SPP point of view

A fifth of working Canadian boomers have saved zero for their retirement
A startling one-fifth of Canadian boomers haven’t saved a nickel for their golden years, reports the Huffington Post Canada, citing Franklin Templeton Canada research.

Boomers, for the purposes of this research, are defined as those aged 53 to 71, the article notes.

“While working longer might seem like a good solution (to not having retirement savings)… it means little for your retirement if you’re only servicing debt, which is the case for many people,” the article warns.

A good solution for folks with large debts to pay off is to start small with retirement savings, and then ramp it up a bit as each debt is paid off. With the Saskatchewan Pension Plan – www.saskpension.com — you can start small, adding a few dollars here and there and gradually working up to a regular monthly contribution. You will be able to watch your savings grow as your debts decline.

“Debt avalanche” approach touted for getting out from under those credit cards
It’s said that getting out of debt is like losing weight – it’s not fun, it requires enormous self-discipline, and real progress doesn’t seem to come for a very long time.

Melanie Lockert, author of Dear Debt, recently told NBC that it was only when she fully understood her debt that she was able to do something about it. “I did the math, and my interest was costing about $11 per day, and that just drove me completely mad and upset me because $11 a day, that’s $300 a month,” she states.

Lockert’s solution to getting rid of her $68,000 US debt was the “debt avalanche” approach.

She ranked her debts by interest rates. At the beginning, she paid extra each month on the debt with the highest interest. Once that debt was knocked off, she added a little more extra on the next high interest debt, repeating the process until all the debts were gone.

To help speed up the process, she found a few “side hustle” jobs and directed that income towards the debt. “There’s no fun advice,” Lockert states in the article. “There’s no easy hack. There’s no magic secret. It’s really just about being consistent.”

Written by Martin Biefer

Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. After a 35-year career as a reporter, editor and pension communicator, Martin is enjoying life as a freelance writer. He’s a mediocre golfer, hopeful darts player and beginner line dancer who enjoys classic rock and sports, especially football. He and his wife Laura live with their Sheltie, Duncan, and their cat, Toobins. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22