Welcome to 2025, a year that promises to be especially busy in personal finance. Here are six things I’m looking out for:There were signs in late 2024 of a pickup in home sales and prices driven by falling mortgage rates. Can it continue at a time when the economy is weak and the unemployment rate has been rising? I’m betting the answer is yes.
Both housing and new vehicle sales have been strong lately, yet food banks are overwhelmed with demand and the number of insolvencies filed by consumers has been rising sharply.After back-to-back great years for stocks, how vulnerable are we to a pullback? The market declines late in 2024 looks like a preview of what happens if investors sour on the prospects for the economy and corporate profits.U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has threatened to apply a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, which would be damaging to our economy in multiple ways.The Bank of Canada will have eight opportunities to lower rates in 2025 – how much more relief can borrowers expect? And, how much worse will returns for savers and conservative investors get? They’re already pretty bad, which means it’s time to evaluate how much money you have sitting in bank accounts.Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail version to you? If so, you can sign up for Carrick on MoneyTo help you prepare for the year ahead, I put together a list of resources on investing, saving, borrowing and more:to look out for in the year ahead, including rising interest in investment properties. Also, what might be ahead forA look at how the threat of the United States introducing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods could negatively affect theand I agree with much that he says, but not all. I worked for 38 years in the IT department of a large financial institution. Retired at age 57 in 2012. Walked out the door on my final day and have never looked bac