Boring Canada

[Hans Jaeger]

"Canada has done more than survive this financial crisis. The country is positively thriving in it."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/183670?from=rss

I don't think it's quite that rosy but it's not all doom-and-gloom.

[wilbur whately]

there's also something that the article doesn't speak of that definitely makes a big difference -
canadian banks have a large income stream that many american banks do not have. fees for EVERYTHING.

in the states, having a checking acct in many banks is free, and i can get a single box of the ugly generic checks for free every year. it's all i need.

in canada, you pay a monthly charge for your acct, and it's tiered like cable tv. different levels of service. you also pay for your checks.

in the states, i can access my acct online, see a teller if i want to, use the drive up window.

in canada there is a fee for all of these, individually.

in the states i can have a savings acct that pays a tiny bit of interest.

in canada, most banks do not offer one, and the ones that do, do not pay interest.
if i use my atm at machines supported by my bank in the states, there is no fee.

in canada there is always a fee, and i have seen it be as high as $5

add up all those fees, times it by the number of working canadians, and you have a large stream of income.

[Hans Jaeger]

You have a habit of making things sound so tough in Canada.

In Canada, for $9.95 a month, and NO extra fees... I have been getting personalized cheques, unlimited ATM use per month, unlimited debit transactions at any store, drive-thru windows, 10 teller transactions per month (which I practically never use), telephone and internet banking with unlimited transactions per month (bill and credit card payments, transfers, etc.), overdraft protection, and a few other small things.

Now that I've turned 59, I get the same for FREE from my bank. There is no charge for a basic chequing account if you are 59 or older.

Not too hard done by.

Bank of Nova Scotia.