Post by Matilda on Mar 26, 2015 7:25:59 GMT 10
We love Canada. I love the people, their laid back approach to life and that Common-wealth bond that we share. They 'get' Aussies and our two nations are alike. If you go to the Whistler ski fields, nearly everyone working there is an Aussie or a Kiwi as our work ethic is legendary! Hubby's mate at work has a son working in the oil fields and is back home here on 3 weeks holiday. But hopefully the promised job will be there when he goes back. Yesterday, Hubby's friend told him that his son's employer had laid off 1000 in just one day with more jobs in jeapody as the days go on. Why has this happened? One word - OIL. The crash in oil prices has seen 1000s of job layoffs in the last couple of months in Canada alone. But it doesn't stop there.
Canada's housing bubble has burst. In the last 2 months alone, house prices have fallen 66%!!! Just think of that when you look at the price of Housing skyrocketing in NSW. Then think of our slowing coal and iron ore industries. Imagine borrowing $450,000 just 2 months ago then waking up today when you may not have even made the first payment only to find that your $500,000 home is now worth $297,000? But you still owe $450,000 and you virtually handed the bank $50,000 of your own money that you may never see again by the time you pay exist fees, break of contract fees etc. For those who went thru Keating's 'recession we had to have', knows what I am talking about.
www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-24/canadian-housing-bubble-has-begun-burst
I looked up some Canadian real estate sites to see what the prices were. There were 500 listings on one site and I scrolled and counted 240 NEW listings! Page after page of NEW listings. Imagine trying to sell in that market. Near impossible. When there is a big downturn, it has a knock-on effect. Target - a relative new player into retail in Canada has just closed 133 stores. But there was something interesting in one of the comments that I want to share which could be a big lesson for us Aussies.
@senorsoupe Consumer education is important now more than ever!
just a little marketing lesson for you, you know those products we have come to trust and depend on, the ones NOT made in China, lets take something obvious like "Tide laundry detergent", go buy a bottle of Tide at your local grocery store (I know, it's expensive in comparison) then go buy the exact same bottle at Walmart, take them home and empty them both into clear containers, examine both and discover the differences! the Tide you bought from the grocery store will be exactly what you expect, the bottle you bought at Walmart is altered and bottled at the manufacturer for "Walmart" and is NOT the same in quality! why manufacturers do this is beyond me, even high priced things like lets say a lawn mower or weed eater, you would expect that the manufacturer would be more interested in their name and quality but if you look you will discover that fundamental things like "the motor" will be different, they are both JohnDeere's and both the same model but only one will have a Briggs&Straton engine! a lesser quality engine is installed in the one made for sale at WalMart only! it's deceiving it's a lie! it's border-line theft! Target in Canada was NO different! now if we could only get rid of Walmart we might see the "real" products that we all need and depend on drop in price!
so... you have to ask yourself this! your not getting any deals, your not saving money by shopping at stores like Walmart and Target, so why give all your money to a bunch of incredibly rich Americans! why not support your local little guy? why not keep your hard earned money in Canada? if anything, you may stand to actually save a little and in the long run you will save thousands! unless of course, you like "one time use can openers!"
www.cbc.ca/news/business/target-closes-all-133-stores-in-canada-gets-creditor-protection-1.2901618
We don't know what the future holds, but that comment sums it up. We are reliant on Chinese goods. One area we can fight back is our food. Even our basic prepping food. We need to support Aussie farmers first and our manufacturers as well. But it's near impossible!! Should we worry about what is happening, (for me as a Christian - No - but we should always remain vigilant for SIGNS of His return). The signs are in Israel and in the world. Wars and rumours of wars. And if you are not acquainted with Zero Hedge www.zerohedge.com - an alternative prepper media site that will inform you on what is happening around the world - I can recommend it. We had nearly a 48 hr wait while our new GrandBaby decided whether she would arrive so reading was one way I passed the time. But today I have to say that what Zero Hedge has written, there is a LOT going on in the world that you will not hear about from our lazy and left leaning media here in Australia. So grab a coffee when you can and read about what is happening outside the cocoon that the media here wants to wrap us in. And keep on preppin' on.
Canada's housing bubble has burst. In the last 2 months alone, house prices have fallen 66%!!! Just think of that when you look at the price of Housing skyrocketing in NSW. Then think of our slowing coal and iron ore industries. Imagine borrowing $450,000 just 2 months ago then waking up today when you may not have even made the first payment only to find that your $500,000 home is now worth $297,000? But you still owe $450,000 and you virtually handed the bank $50,000 of your own money that you may never see again by the time you pay exist fees, break of contract fees etc. For those who went thru Keating's 'recession we had to have', knows what I am talking about.
www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-24/canadian-housing-bubble-has-begun-burst
I looked up some Canadian real estate sites to see what the prices were. There were 500 listings on one site and I scrolled and counted 240 NEW listings! Page after page of NEW listings. Imagine trying to sell in that market. Near impossible. When there is a big downturn, it has a knock-on effect. Target - a relative new player into retail in Canada has just closed 133 stores. But there was something interesting in one of the comments that I want to share which could be a big lesson for us Aussies.
@senorsoupe Consumer education is important now more than ever!
just a little marketing lesson for you, you know those products we have come to trust and depend on, the ones NOT made in China, lets take something obvious like "Tide laundry detergent", go buy a bottle of Tide at your local grocery store (I know, it's expensive in comparison) then go buy the exact same bottle at Walmart, take them home and empty them both into clear containers, examine both and discover the differences! the Tide you bought from the grocery store will be exactly what you expect, the bottle you bought at Walmart is altered and bottled at the manufacturer for "Walmart" and is NOT the same in quality! why manufacturers do this is beyond me, even high priced things like lets say a lawn mower or weed eater, you would expect that the manufacturer would be more interested in their name and quality but if you look you will discover that fundamental things like "the motor" will be different, they are both JohnDeere's and both the same model but only one will have a Briggs&Straton engine! a lesser quality engine is installed in the one made for sale at WalMart only! it's deceiving it's a lie! it's border-line theft! Target in Canada was NO different! now if we could only get rid of Walmart we might see the "real" products that we all need and depend on drop in price!
so... you have to ask yourself this! your not getting any deals, your not saving money by shopping at stores like Walmart and Target, so why give all your money to a bunch of incredibly rich Americans! why not support your local little guy? why not keep your hard earned money in Canada? if anything, you may stand to actually save a little and in the long run you will save thousands! unless of course, you like "one time use can openers!"
www.cbc.ca/news/business/target-closes-all-133-stores-in-canada-gets-creditor-protection-1.2901618
We don't know what the future holds, but that comment sums it up. We are reliant on Chinese goods. One area we can fight back is our food. Even our basic prepping food. We need to support Aussie farmers first and our manufacturers as well. But it's near impossible!! Should we worry about what is happening, (for me as a Christian - No - but we should always remain vigilant for SIGNS of His return). The signs are in Israel and in the world. Wars and rumours of wars. And if you are not acquainted with Zero Hedge www.zerohedge.com - an alternative prepper media site that will inform you on what is happening around the world - I can recommend it. We had nearly a 48 hr wait while our new GrandBaby decided whether she would arrive so reading was one way I passed the time. But today I have to say that what Zero Hedge has written, there is a LOT going on in the world that you will not hear about from our lazy and left leaning media here in Australia. So grab a coffee when you can and read about what is happening outside the cocoon that the media here wants to wrap us in. And keep on preppin' on.