We can’t say we were not warned. Financial advisors, central bankers and even finance ministers have been cautioning Canadians about their debt levels for at least the half past decade.
Canadians were comfortable with record low rates that had been around for 10 or 15 years so those warnings fell on deaf ears.
But even when the cost of money was low, we still heard about a big chunk of the population being $200 away from not being able to make ends meet. In other words, an unexpected $200 expense would be hard to handle.
That brings us to a time when interest rates are rising making housing and major purchases more costly.
There is no doubt we will hear a lot about people who are having trouble stretching a pay check. A new survey by ScotiaBank says half of all Canadians are worried about paying their bills and roughly the same number say they will have to forgo savings or reduce their lifestyle.
Here in Saskatchewan, 56 per cent of us are feeling some level of anxiety about our finances.
