Nov. 16, 2023 "25% of Canadians have not paid off last holiday season's debt: survey": Today I found this article by BNN Bloomberg:
Many Canadians who used credit to purchase holiday gifts last year are still paying off their debt as we head into the December holidays, a survey from NerdWallet Canada has revealed.
Half of Canadians, at 51 per cent, purchased holiday gifts on credit last year and one in four of them said they have still not paid it off, according to the data released last week.
In addition to carrying debt, Canadian consumers are tightening their spending budgets as they battle with heightened inflation.
Almost half of respondents to NerdWallet’s survey, at 48 per cent, said they will follow a strict budget this year, while 35 per cent said they will be spending less per person compared to years prior.
Twenty-three per cent said they will use coupons and cash back apps to do their shopping and another 33 per cent said they will only buy items on sale.
The survey also found that 15 per cent of Canadians who are planning on buying holiday gifts this year intend to pick up a side hustle to help fund the expenses.
TIPS TO SAVE
NerdWallet also shared tips for Canadians ahead of the holiday season.
Consumers looking to follow spending plans should build
a realistic budget based on the total amount of money they can spend,
rather than budgeting around the price of the items they’d like to purchase,
the personal finance company suggested.
It also suggested tools for strategic shopping such as using credit card rewards to purchase gifts or using price tracker websites that can send discount codes to various retailers.
METHODOLOGY:
This survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of NerdWallet Canada from October 3 - 5, 2023 among 1,021 Canadian adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 3.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
Nov. 27, 2023 "Cash-strapped Canadians are suffering from 'inflation isolation'": Today I found this article by Pamela Heaven in the Financial Post:
It isn’t just Canadians’ pocketbooks that are feeling the pressures of inflation.
A new study out today by insolvency firm MNP Ltd finds that Canadians are struggling with “inflation isolation” as higher interest rates and rising prices crimp their social lives and standard of living.
Half of the people polled by Ipsos for the MNP survey say that to save money they are staying home more often and a third are socializing less.
This is especially evident in younger Canadians and those with an income of less than $40,000, the survey said.
This, in turn, has an impact on their mental health. Twenty per cent say they are experiencing a sense of social isolation and 19 per cent, a sense of loneliness.
“High inflation and interest rates are not just impacting Canadians’ finances, they are having a significant effect on their mental health as well.
The pressure to manage increased costs of basic necessities and mounting debt is causing anxiety and stress,” says MNP president Grant Bazian.
“Canadians are retreating from social activities, forgoing time with friends and family to cut down on costs, illustrating the isolating impacts of inflation.”
The survey also provides a glimpse at Canadians’ growing debt burden.
Credit card balances hit a record high of $107.4 billion in the second quarter, with average non-mortgage debt for consumers rising to $21,131, according to Equifax Canada.
A third of those in the MNP survey are paying more for monthly debt payments than they were a year ago and for one in five those additional payments are more than $200. The rise in debt payments is even higher for people whose income is greater than $60,000 and those aged 35 to 45.
Canadians are increasingly pessimistic about their ability to cope financially, the poll reveals. Almost 30 per cent fear they will not be able to cover an unexpected auto repair, and 33 per cent are not confident they will be able to deal with the loss of their job or change in their wage.
Nearly half of respondents say they don’t believe they will be able to cover their living expenses over the next 12 months without going further into debt, up two percentage points from the previous quarter.
“Debt has a way of isolating individuals, both emotionally and socially. It can feel like an overwhelming burden that separates us from friends and family.
It’s not uncommon for those burdened by debt to withdraw from social activities and relationships out of shame or fear of judgment,” said Bazian.
The MNP survey echoes findings by the National Payroll Institute. Its annual survey found that the number of working Canadians classified as being financially stressed has jumped by 20 per cent in the past year to reach 37 per cent.
“It’s surprising, 35 per cent of the growing stressed cluster actually earn more than $100,000 per year,” said Chuck Grace, managing director of Canada’s Financial Wellness Lab that conducted the survey.
The majority of this group, 63 per cent, are spending all of their net pay to make ends meet and 30 per cent are spending more than that, taking on more debt or tapping their savings each month.
“As a consequence, 66 per cent of the financially stressed cluster is living paycheque to paycheque, and 50 per cent are overwhelmed by their debt,” said the survey.
An “alarming” 55 per cent of Canadians who are financially stressed say they feel more isolated because of the rising costs of living. with many of them reporting that stress is affecting their relationships and productivity at work.
It's because more than half of them don't work for big fat government that keep giving themselves big raise using taxpayer's dollars.
Maybe stop voting liberal and NDP and being a doormat to the world 🌎 🤔.
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