The recession is here/now.... people are going to spend less, pay down their credit cards more... and as such there will be a contraction in the economy..

Individuals are starting to get scared about the economy because of all of the press.... and the stock markets jumping up and down at 400+ points per day isn't helping...
I think people are getting the message that they need to start taking care of their personal finances...

I think we'll see a contraction in the economy for quite some time..
It's good time to make sure that your skill level is sharp and that your employability is strong for the next 10 years or so...

http://www.europac.net/media/tv_interviews/peter_schiff_august_4_2011_yahoo_finance_–_breakout&type=flv

average_joe: probably true. Maybe next recession will come later, but it´s a reality. Problems start slowly in Eurozone.

Another recession in 2012.

Thanks for your opinions. I assume the following period will be hard for every country in the world, especially for North America and of course Europe. The recession coming soon and we have to have some good solutions.

I have a friend who is deeply in debt...

He has ill health so his job is probably going to go away soon..

A few weeks ago, their parents gave them a living will... so.. they came into a few thousand dollars.

As well, my friend and his wife just celebrated their anniversary ... congrats..

As a celebration gift, they bought themselves a 50" TV, a stand for the TV... they also spent a few thousand fixing up the van, and are doing basement renovations.

The point of the story is this.. it's not fun or sexy to pay down debt.
My friend should have at least saved some of his money as cash reserve, of which I'm sure he doesn't have any...

He's deeply in debt, has bad health and is on the brink of becoming self employed. It's a long time coming.

It's more fun to have the TV, the repairs and the renovations... after all people feel that they deserve it after working for years and years... or whatever the reason...

It's not as fun to save cash and pay off debt...

Thats one of the reasons one-third of Canadians don't have any savings!!

More than one-third of Canadians have no savings

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110420/canadians-financial-status-survey-110420/

I'd be curious to know what the savings/debt ratio is for Canadian individuals...

I would like to know how much cash Canadians are saving compared to the $1.3 trillion they owe..!!

http://www.windsorstar.com/business/Canada+rating/5183079/story.html

The obvious potential dangers are the same as in the U.S....
We've got too much debt!

Canadians owe $1.3 trillion dollars for personal debt...

The question is this: how long can the balloon inflate before it explodes?

The other problem that I see is the human factor... people get tired and exhausted... the creditors don't have any patience if you don't pay your bills because you're too exhausted to work and pay your bills.

People need to pay down their debts, and save money... I keep saying it.. however that's what needs to be done.

Canadians are in the same boat as the U.S. Canada keeps raising its debt ceiling as well!!