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Forty-Three Percent Of British Columbians Anticipate Anxiety Over Arrival Of Holiday-Spending Bills

Vancouver – It’s the same battle cry every year. Its the thought and not the gift that counts at Christmas.

But…

British Columbians admit to bad financial habits including:

  • Being lured in by deals or offers by companies on days such as Black Friday, Boxing Day, etc. (16%)
  • Paying only the minimum balance on a credit card (22%) or line of credit (15%)
  • Borrowing money they can’t afford to pay back quickly (18%)
  • Making a major purchase on credit without paying it off right away (15%)
  • Buying something on credit that requires no payments for a while (10%)

“Every holiday season, the pressure mounts, and people are tempted to borrow money from payday lenders or rely too heavily on their credit cards. It’s important people are aware of the extremely high interest rates these types of credit have, because they can easily trap people in a debt cycle that becomes nearly impossible to break free of,” says Linda Paul, a Vancouver-based Licensed Insolvency Trustee at MNP Ltd.  

A recent poll conducted by MNP on behalf of Ipsos highlights some bad financial habits that are exacerbated by the holiday shopping season. Sixteen per cent admit to being lured in by sales on ‘deal’ days like Black Friday or Boxing Day. One in ten (10%) said they have bought something on credit that requires no payments for a while. 

Two in ten British Columbians (22%) admit to only paying the minimum balance on their credit card or line of credit (15%). Fifteen per cent say they have made a major purchase on credit without paying it off right away, whereas eighteen per cent say they borrowed money they can’t afford to pay back quickly. Close to one in ten (7%) admit they have even used their home-equity line of credit to buy things they want but don’t need.

“If borrowing or using credit cards is an absolute must, it’s important to fully understand just how much that item is truly costing you. Once you add the potential interest accrued to the sticker price of the item, it’s likely that ‘deal’ will become far less tempting,” says Linda Paul, a Vancouver-based Licensed Insolvency Trustee at MNP Ltd.

Come January, British Columbians anticipate feeling the effects of a credit hangover. Last year, more than four in ten (43%) felt anxiety over the arrival of holiday-spending bills, and thirty-eight per cent regretted how much they spent. However, nearly half (45%) said they made it their New Year’s resolution to get their finances back on track

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