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Debt for days

Average Canadian family is $96,100 in debt

That’s gotta hurt! According to a study released Tuesday by the Vanier Institute of the Family, the average Canadian family has a whopping $96,100 worth of debt. Or, measured another way, that means the average debt-to-income ratio for Canadian families is 145 per cent. And that’s not all. The study found a 50 per cent increase in mortgage payments that were more than 90 days late (compared to 2008). There was also a 40 per cent increase in credit card holders more than three months behind in payments. “For far too many, there is too little income, too much spending, too little saving and too much debt,” the report read. On Tuesday, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced a new scheme to make it harder for Canadians to take out mortgages: an effort to prevent unwieldy household debts from piling up.

CBC News

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