Canadians want to do their best to get out of the red in the new year.
A CIBC poll finds paying down debt is the number one financial priority for us.
29 per cent of us have also taken on more debt in the past 12 months, citing day-to-day expenses as the top reason for piling up debt.
"They're really just get by, in terms of day-to-day expenses and that can be a problem if it's things like credit card debt - which obviously has a very high interest rate on it." Jamie Golombek, Managing Director, CIBC Financial Planning and Advice, told KitchenerToday.com.
The top source of our debt was credit cards (45 per cent), followed by mortgage (31 per cent) and vehicle loans (23 per cent).
"The cost of everything is going up and also it's so easy to spend money now, just ordering things on your phone ... the ease of purchasing things, the amount of consumer items that are available today," explained Golombek.
He said the top concerns for Canadians are the rising cost of goods/inflation (64 per cent), low Canadian dollar (34 per cent), as well as rising interest rates (31 per cent).
Golombek's number one tip for getting your cash flow in check is by writing out a household budget for a three month period.
"That's the biggest eye opener for most people in general ... most people don't have any idea where they are spending the money." he said. "So I think any three period month that you choose will capture, not just the regular stuff, like groceries ... but also those unexpected things that seem to pop up every quarter."
He said you may discover some surplus you can use to pay down debt or to save. If it's negative, then you can look at ways to cut back on that spending.
