SIMPLE DEBT FACTS

September 5, 2017

Change your expectations and you can live with less stress!

In Canada, since 1980, the ratio of debt to income has tripled from 60% to 164% of gross income. 

The people who carry the most amount of debt are those who earn middle to high incomes (probably excluding the top 2%).

Low income receivers (including people on assistance or those with no income at all) who make up about 60% of the country’s income earners carry less debt to income than people with better jobs.

More people over the age of fifty are experiencing financial problems than ever before – why?  Demographic shift!  more than 60% of the adult population of Canada is aged 50 plus.

According to Trans Union 70% of bankrupts have strong credit scores – which defies the often touted notion that people somehow deliberately file for bankruptcy to avoid paying their creditors.  The truth is that many people unnecessarily liquidate their own assets and use credit to pay credit as they optimistically hope for improvements in income.

In 1974 Tax Freedom Day was April 19th – meaning that every penny you earned up until April the 19th was paid in some form of taxes.  In 2014 Tax Free Day was June 26th meaning that you pay about 80% more in taxes than your parents did and you have less available money.

If you had more income would you have less debt?  Perhaps not, based on the information reported above and sourced as cited or from Stats Can.