The generation that survived two world wars and a depression viewed debt as a necessary evil – to be used as needed, and eradicated as soon as possible.
Today debt has become a warm, borrowed blanket that shields us from the world’s financial realities.
According to credit rating agency, TransUnion, the average Canadians carries over $21,000 in non-mortgage consumer debt. Statistics Canada says we owe $1.60 for every dollar we earn each year.
Weigh In
Do you carry credit card debt?
The national delusion is apparent in the latest survey from Ipsos Reid showing Canadians are resigned to a lifetime of debt, while clinging to the belief that their financial future is bright.
Here are the highlights:
- 73 per cent of Canadians carry debt.
- 23 per cent of them say they will never be debt-free
- 46 per cent say the rising cost of living is making it more difficult to pay down their debt
- And yet, with millennial (under) employment, unmanageable student debt and rising housing prices, four-in-ten Canadians somehow believe their children will be better off than they are
The poll was done on behalf of BDO Canada, a licensed insolvency trustee. BDO has tips for Canadians wanting to break the debt trap:
- Put a realistic financial plan in place that will help reverse the accumulation of debt and eventually wipe it out
- Learn methods to reduce debt through ways such as low-interest consolidation loans, and avoid new debt
- Find out about the importance of stress testing your debt before interest rates rise
- Learn about debt relief options that are available to Canadians
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