Rob is on holidays this week. In today’s issue, we’ll have a look at our Stress Test podcast content. – Roma Luciw, personal finance editor and co-host of Stress Test.
As we gear up for another season of our award-winning Stress Test personal finance podcast, it’s against a background of continued economic uncertainty and financial stress.
Stress Test has been around since 2020, and we often get asked how we come up with our ideas. Well, when our Stress Test team gathers to shape episodes, we start by looking at what’s in the news, what’s keeping our core audience of Gen Z and millennials up at night.
That’s why this coming season will delve into some of the most pressing issues and new financial realities facing young Canadians – from exorbitant rents and soaring mortgage costs to the growing trend of living with roommates in your 30s and 40s.
But it won’t be all doom and gloom. We’ll also talk about money splurges, because we all need some joy in our lives, whether that’s a European holiday, new music speakers, a gym membership or those Taylor Swift tickets. If you are a millennial or Gen Z and would like to share the details of your financial indulgences, please email it to me, Stress Test co-host Roma Luciw, at rluciw@globeandmail.com or our associate producer Anna Stafford at astafford@globeandmail.com. Please include your name, age and an email address and we might contact you for the upcoming episode.
If you haven’t listened yet, here are our most popular episodes. Our very last episode from last season has overtaken all others – it looks at Why more Canadians are giving up on home ownership. Coming in second is a Season Five topic you might think young adults aren’t interested in (you’d be wrong): Retirement might look different for Gen Z and millennials and how to plan for that.
The third and fourth most listened to episodes are Rising interest rates brought pain for new homeowners – and opportunity for house hunters from Season Six and Is the middle class dead for millennials and Gen Z? from Season Five.
The eighth season of Stress Test launches on October 25th. You can listen to it on Apple and Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. As always, a big thank you to all of the young Canadians who share their personal stories of financial frustrations, successes and struggles with us.
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By Marianne Kushmaniuk for The Globe and Mail.Illustration by Marianne Kushmaniuk
In case you’ve missed these Globe and Mail personal finance stories
- Feeling the financial pinch of wedding season, young people are sending regrets
- What is the best place to retire in Canada, income-wise?
- Avoid leaving your heirs a nasty tax surprise on your RRIF assets when you die
More Rob Carrick and money coverage
Subscribe to Stress Test on Apple podcasts or Spotify. For more money stories, follow me on Instagram and Twitter, and join the discussion on my Facebook page. Millennial readers, join our Gen Y Money Facebook group.
Even more coverage from Rob Carrick:
- 🎧 Catch up on Stress Test: Why millennials and Gen Z are Alberta-bound for a more affordable life • Rising interest rates brought pain for new homeowners – and opportunity for house hunters • Why more Canadians are choosing to be childfree or delay parenthood • Love in the time of inflation: How to manage rising costs when dating • You're not bad at money – you're suffering from money shame • Retirement might look different for Gen Z and millennials. Here's how to plan for it • Recession-beating tips for the job market, housing, investing and the cost of life • Is the middle class dead for millennials and Gen Z?
- ✔️ The housing file: A house isn’t special. Get your head straight about the reality of home ownership • The good, the sad and the unaffordable: Saving for a home downpayment in Canada’s big cities • Property taxes are popping in some cities – how worried should you be about other tax hikes? • Our other real-estate problem – people have too much wealth tied up in houses • Borrowers and savers, here’s how to time the eventual rollback of interest rates
- 📈 Investing: Canada's top digital broker is TD Direct Investing, with an assist from the TD Easy Trade app • 2023 Globe and Mail ETF buyer's guide part one: Canadian equity ETFs • For the ultimate in cheap investing, check out the Freedom .08 ETF Portfolio • Yes, there is risk in Canadian bank deposits for the unwary and complacent • CDIC covers bank deposits, but who protects your investments if your broker goes bust? • Answers to your questions about the low-risk ETF paying almost 5% • Happy fifth birthday to one of the all-time best investing products for everyday people • An investing strategy that wins cleanly over the long term by outperforming in bad years like 2022
- 💰 Your money: Mortgage holders, savers and GIC investors, it’s time to change your thinking on interest rates • How much debt is each generation of Canadians carrying, and how do you compare? • For the sake of their financial futures, young people should leave Toronto and Vancouver • This practical new spin on a savings account might just peel you away from your big bank • Rental fraud grows amid rise in fake, falsified tenant applications • Are Canadians worse off financially now than in the 1980s? • From groceries to auto loans, here’s how much more it costs to live right now • When saving for retirement, should you change your asset mix over the course of your career? • Do retirement income needs always rise alongside inflation? Not necessarily • When the bank suggests you lock in your variable rate mortgage, it has an angle
