Canadians are more in debt.
According to a report released by Equifax, the average consumer owes almost $22,000.
While Nova Scotians are on par with the national average, their debt increased by 4.3% over last year.
Larry Crandall is an insolvency trustee with Grant Thorton and he’s most concerned with seniors.
The report says they’ve increased their debt load by 8% above 2015 levels and owe an average of $15,000 dollars.
Crandall says that’s unsustainable.
“The problem is with that increasing at that large scale, it won’t take long before that group will be unable to service that large debt.”
He says the increased debt load is caused by a number of factors including later access to their pensions and how easy it is to get credit.
The good news for Nova Scotians is that the delinquency rate is up by only 2%, which is far less than some provinces. So, while people may owe more money, they are still paying it back.
Alberta has a 40% delinquency rate which Crandall says is extraordinary.
“That’s absolutely not normal. But it’s understandable given the impact the drop in oil will have on they economy.”
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has a number of tips on how to manage your finances.
A link to those can be found here: http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/Eng/forConsumers/topics/budgeting/Pages/home-…
