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With the higher cost of living, extra Canadians are counting on credit score for on a regular basis purchases and changing into saddled with extra debt than ever earlier than.
NerdWallet Canada’s 2024 Canadian Consumer Credit Card Report discovered 69 per cent of Canadian adults used credit score for important purchases previously yr, with 31 per cent of respondents indicating they don’t repay their full bank card invoice every month.
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Moreover, greater than half of respondents say they’ve credit card debt, with 51 per cent indicating it can take not less than six months to repay.
The upper value of dwelling additionally emerged as the highest issue among the many 53 per cent of Canadians whose bank card habits modified previously yr, with different main causes being sudden massive purchases, change in employment and better housing prices.
A report from Equifax in 2023 discovered Canadians are going through $116.2 billion in bank card debt alone as complete consumer debt hit $2.45 trillion.
“The rise in bank card debt is being pushed by a number of elements, together with the rising value of dwelling, higher interest rates, and the financial slowdown,” Rebecca Oakes, vice-president of superior analytics at Equifax Canada, mentioned in a information launch on the time.
“These elements are placing a pressure on family budgets, making it troublesome for a lot of Canadians to make ends meet.”
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This NerdWallet report echoes earlier knowledge from TransUnion Canada, which discovered 31.8 million Canadians are utilizing not less than one credit score product, and Gen Z credit score balances have spiked some 31 per cent.
“Inflationary pressures could lead customers to show to bankcards or private loans to assist make ends meet, and Millennials and Gen Z customers are not any exception,” Matthew Fabian, director of monetary providers analysis and consulting at TransUnion Canada, mentioned in a information launch.
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