Debt, savings worries up as higher interest rates and costs take a toll: surveys
BNN Bloomberg
More than half of Canadians say they are $200 away or less from not being able to pay all of their bills at the end of the month, a report by insolvency firm MNP Ltd. said, as higher interest rates and a rising cost of living have stretched budgets.
At 52 per cent, that's up six percentage points from the proportion of Canadians who said the same in April.
The escalating burden of household bills and food prices has intensified Canadians' financial anxiety and is further compounded by increased debt-servicing costs, particularly for those who are deeply indebted, MNP president Grant Bazian said in a press release Monday.
MNP's consumer debt index fell to 83 points in its latest reading compared with 89 points in April as Canadians expressed a more negative attitude toward their personal finances and debt.