A recent poll from bankruptcy trustee Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc., and polling firm Harris/Decima points to an alarming trend: Canadians’ growing acceptance of personal debt.
Respondents were asked how comfortable they were with their current financial situation and how confident they were that they could come up with $2,000 within a month if an unexpected need arose. While the majority (55%) indicated high levels of confidence in their ability to come up with the money, 92% said they would consider borrowing at least some of that cash.
“It appears that saving money ‘for a rainy day’ has been replaced with access to debt to deal with financial problems,” says Ted Michalos, a bankruptcy trustee with Hoyes, Michalos. “What’s even more shocking is that one in five Canadians believe it would take them two months or longer to come up with $2,000, even if they could borrow.” Of those who said they wouldn’t be able to find the money within a month, 26% said they didn’t believe they would be able to raise the money no matter how much time they were given.
The research also reveals that while 45% of Canadians say they have never faced a debt problem, 70% admit to needing immediate help with day-to-day financial matters, including paying down debt (20%), increasing savings (16%), and improving cash flow (13%). One in four respondents (26%) classified their debt level as higher than one year earlier.