There was an encouraging note in recent financial news when CIBC released the results of a telephone survey taken earlier this year. Of the 2003 Canadians surveyed, 72% said that they had some form of personal debt – a mortgage, credit card debt or student loans. The encouraging news about those debt holders was the fact that 49% of the said that they had made a lump sum payment against that debt during the previous 12 months in order to help bring their debt load down.
With interest rates low, the temptation to borrow funds and go further into debt increases. However, it appears that the majority of Canadians are taking the wise track and developing strategies to lower their overall debt rather than add to it.
If you are among those who have made the choice to apply extra lump sum payments to your household debt during the last year, we applaud your efforts and the self-discipline that it takes to so so. The greatest means of reaching true financial freedom rests in the hand of each individual. As individuals and families take control of their finances and make the commitments and sacrifices necessary to reduce their household debt, they often find that their lifestyle improves and the decrease in finance related stress is one of the big bonuses that goes with it.