The top priority or 2025 new year’s resolution on the financial front is to pay down debt.
While no surprise, that is the finding of the latest version of CIBC’s annual year-end sampling of the mood of Canadians. Debt reduction topped the list of priorities the survey found, just slightly ahead of a commitment to keep up to the monthly bills.
The pain of rising interest rates has hit most Canadians in the pocketbook and it is abundantly clear that about the only way the average person can deal with the ache of borrowing costs is to pay down their debt, something that gets easier as interest rates recede.
And the underlying reason for higher rates – inflation – is also top of mind for the average person. Debt repayment is the top priority and inflation remains the primary concern going forward.
But here’s the scary finding: despite the pain caused by debt more than half said the primary reason they’d take on more is day-to-day consumption – to keep up with the cost of living.
