Welcome to 2025, a year that promises to be especially busy in personal finance. Here are six things I’m looking out for:
- A housing market revival: 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.
- A widening divide between the well-off and the poor: 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.
- The stock markets: 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.
- The threat of a U.S. trade war: 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.
- Interest rates: 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.
- The Canadian dollar: The late 2024 level below 70 US cents was extreme – might the currency rebound a little in 2025?
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Rob’s personal finance reading list
To help you prepare for the year ahead, I put together a list of resources on investing, saving, borrowing and more:
For starters, a summary of for personal finance in 2025. From capital gains to tax brackets what’s changing. Plus a briefing for seniors on changes in tax brackets for 2025, as well as income thresholds for the Old Age Security clawback.
Mortgage predictions for 2025, including a call that variable-rate mortgages will once again become cheaper than fixed-rate mortgages. Now, for some mortgage trends to look out for in the year ahead, including rising interest in investment properties. Also, what might be ahead for mortgage rates.
A credit counselling agency offers eight money saving tips for 2025. Also, five budgeting apps to try in 2025, as suggested on the website of the Chartered Professional Accountants, B.C. division.
A look at how the threat of the United States introducing 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods could negatively affect the used car market in Canada. On that note, here are predictions on what’s ahead for the cost of vehicle and home insurance, plus trends in life insurance.
A 2025 investor’s reading list – books chosen by the experts at the independent investment analysis company Morningstar.
From our readers
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Tools and guides
Credit and prepaid cards with no foreign transaction fees. Most credit cards charge these fees, which are typically set at 2.5 per cent.
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