Only 51% of homeowners are confident they will be debt-free at retirement, even though 83% feel it’s important to meet that goal by then, finds a survey by Manulife Bank of Canada.
“Debt is a tool that Canadians can use to improve their standard of living and purchase assets over the long-term,” says Doug Conick, president and CEO, Manulife Bank of Canada. “Still, people need a strategy to manage debt. The key is to determine what your financial priorities are and then put a plan in place to focus on your most important goals.”
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Younger homeowners appear to be more worried. Fewer than four in 10 aged 30-39 are satisfied with their debt management, compared to nearly five in 10 for those aged 50-59.
The survey also found that nearly one in three respondents are “very unhappy” with how they’ve managed their debt and day to day finances over the past year, up slightly from the third quarter of 2011.
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Additional findings include:
- two-thirds always pay their credit card balance in full, an increase of 9% from two years ago;
- other commonly used strategies include “make extra payments on my debts” (61%) and “create a written budget to track and manage my spending” (43%);
- one-third have consolidated their debt at a single low rate;
- about one-quarter get debt management advice from a financial advisor; and
- 80% of homeowners who work with an advisor pay their credit card balance in full each month, compared to 64% of those who don’t seek advice.
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