Evertise
20 Jan 2021, 18:24 GMT+10
Household debt in Canada is alarmingly on the rise. Much of the rise can be attributed to the uneven distribution of the impacts of the coronavirus. Certain industries have been decimated by COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, affecting both workers and small business owners in hospitality, tourism, food and beverage, entertainment, and more, and some of these industries haven't even begun to recover.
While other Canadians have been saving more money during the pandemic as opportunities for shopping and going out have been limited in the last year, many are still struggling with job loss, reduced income, or reduced hours. Some are even being told that they may have to repay thousands of dollars in benefits that they received throughout 2020.
Job loss and reduced hours put a strain on your household budget. You still have to keep up with your everyday expenses like rent or mortgage payments, utilities, groceries, and more. Now that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) has been replaced with Employment Insurance benefits, Canadians who are out of work may be receiving less.
When people need to stretch out their budgets, they turn to debt. They might put everyday expenses on their credit cards and not have enough to pay off the balance at the end of the month. They might rely on a line of credit for major expenses like car repairs or home maintenance. They might even turn to a payday lender if they have no better options.
Mounting debt quickly becomes a problem, but debt consolidation in Canada can help. Debt Consolidation Programs are offered by certified Credit Counsellors from non-profit credit counseling agencies like Credit Canada. Here's what happens in debt consolidation:
Debt consolidation in Canada makes getting back in the black more manageable.
Coronavirus debt has become a major problem for Canadian households. The average debt-to-income ratio was 175% at the beginning of the year, which means that for every dollar of after-tax income Canadian households made, they owed $1.75.
The average actually went down in the second quarter of 2020, but that can largely be attributed to CERB payments and cross-country lockdowns that limited spending opportunities.
For families that saw their income interrupted, the situation has only gotten worse. If there is any good news, it's that the debt-service ratio, or cost to service debt, is cheaper than it's been in years. But when you're talking about high-interest loans like credit cards, interest rates are still remarkably high.
Explore your debt consolidation options and get a handle on coronavirus debt before it's too late.
Get a daily dose of New Orleans Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to New Orleans Sun.
More InformationNEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks tumbled on Thursday as U.S. Treasury yields rose. sparking inflationary fears.Technology stocks took ...
The winter storms that have swept across the U.S., particularly Texas, upending the energy market and knocking out power for ...
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Shares of state-owned oil company Petrobras fell 22 percent on Monday, wiping out $13 billion ...
SYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia rose across the board on Thursday, in line with the global trend, following ...
Tesla founder Elon Musk is no longer the richest person on earth after his stock portfolio tumbled 6 percent on ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Wednesday adding to the volatility this week which has ...
NEW YORK, New York - Like a mob boss looking for payback, Donald Trump wanted the Supreme Court to do ...
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered immediate inspections of all Boeing 777-200 planes using Pratt ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium - In a largely symbolic move, foreign ministers of the European Union agreed this week to sanction four ...
WASHINGTON, DC - Moderna has announced, following approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that it will place 15 ...
Some 8.7 million Texans remain under orders to boil their water before drinking or cooking with it, following a massive ...
CHICAGO, Illinois - Following an 11-month closure, Chicago's lakefront, parks and pools are preparing to reopen.Earlier this week, Chicago Mayor ...