morganb

hi yeh i was told to bring a uk credit card when i come and apply for a canadian one as soon as i land. to be honest i dont expect or i mean want to be buying stuff on credit. its something i have never done through out my life. Only when purchasing property of course. I was told that credit is a thing everybody in canada uses. By that i mean i was told by my future employer that mostly everything is bought in credit even if you have the cash. is this true?

J0n35y

It's actually good practice in the UK so I wouldnt be surprised.

A lot of things rightly or wrongly are determined by your credit score. By using a credit card regularly and paying it off you are showing yourself to be a very good credit risk with an excellent history. Now I dunno if this is what Canadians are thinking but it's some sort of possible explanation!!!

morganb

yes i agree that could explain it. its something that has always annoyed me in the uk. u can have money in the bank and never been in debt but your a credit risk. yet somebody with several credit cards and no cash and juggling money between cards is good for credit. i do understand it but it gets to me. credit cards are just something i hate. but will need to get used to them i suppose. i am not saying there is anything wrong with them before somebody has a go at me lol.

Siouxie

Get yourself a Capitol One Master Card, they do one where you make a deposit and they guarantee one and their rates aren't too bad. This will enable you to increase your credit rating prior to one of the "big banks" allowing you to have one. They also do one for newcomers.

http://www.capitalone.ca/canada/cred...2_05_T_CNCMPSC

Auld Yin

By that i mean i was told by my future employer that mostly everything is bought in credit even if you have the cash. is this true?

Not everything is bought on credit and, if you have the cash, most places will gladly accept it. You will need a credit card if you wish to rent a car or reserve/stay in a hotel room but I strongly suspect that is the case in UK also.
Almost everywhere in Canada the debit card reigns. I believe this country has the most transactions per capita in the world, so yes cash is acceptable.

TheThornes

I never had a credit card in the UK. I was also of the view that if you haven't got it, don't spend it. My husband had one but that was only used for internet purchases or emergencies.

Here, in Canada, we do both have credit cards. When we came over, we opened an account with TD Canada Trust and they gave us credit cards straight away but with a spending limit of $800 each for the first year. We do use them but not that much and, if we do, we pay it off at the end of the month anyway. It does help to build up some good credit history over here.

Most of our day to day spending is done on our debit cards, pretty much like in the UK really.

Jingsamichty

We use our credit cards like a cashcard. Pretty much everything bar the most minor cash purchases goes on the credit cards. We clear the balance every month, by direct debit, and we get air miles for every $ spent on the credit cards (RBC Avion). Over the course of a year it's a significant accrual.

Alan2005

That is the best way to use them. Don't really see the point of debit cards.

Oink

I bet he does. Have you checked the statements?

canadiandundee

forget canada. europe is much better culture wise. and its real cold here in canada.

AmyDavid

Put a jumper on.

TheThornes

Well, here in Alberta we had a much fairer winter than the UK this year! Less snow than back home too!!

AmyDavid

We did here as well - I rather enjoyed this winter. I despised the last one!

Almost Canadian

When we came over the first job I got paid $55k. Wife wasn't working and I had 3 kids. We had a done of capital and we made it work, but fun it wasn't.

If you don't have much capital, the banks are unlikely to be willing to lend you anything like you will need to buy a decent condo let alone a house. Rents are too bad, but they aren't cheap either.

There is no point in being close to those mountains if you can't afford to go to them. A few beers with a couple of mates will easily burn $100. If you were a 21 year old and happy to sleep on someone's sofa, I would say go for it for the ride. I wouldn't want to be doing it at your age.

Then there's the medical costs. If you have any form of medical condition the prescriptions will be very painful.

dannyg1001

I am 30 years old, earn around 55k a year, live alone, rent is $1300 per month for a nice loft in the city centre. I have quite a good life style, eat out frequently, go out every weekend, holiday back in England twice a year etc.

Worth pointing out that i DONT own a car though.

Coming over to Canada young-ish and single, best thing you'l ever do mate.