38% of Canadians fear an interest rate hike would ‘move them towards bankruptcy’

A considerable number of Canadians fear an increase to interest rates would “move them towards bankruptcy,” a new survey says.

Thanks to historically low interest rates, government taking nearly half of their income and a rising cost of living, a majority of Canadians are now just a couple of hundred dollars away from being unable to handle their monthly expenses.

According to a new survey by MNP Debt, 56 percent of Canadians polled said they are close to negative cash flow if they added another $200 to their monthly debt load. This is up from 48 percent just six months ago.

In other words, a couple of hundred dollars in debt would make them financially insolvent.

Moreover, more than half (52 percent) of the survey participants said they are worried about their rising debt levels. This is also up nine percent from February. Another half conceded that they regret owing so much money, and 38 percent fear an interest rate hike would send them to bankruptcy.

“It’s actually positive to see that a growing number of Canadians are concerned,” Grant Bazian, MNP’s president, said in a statement. “Many households have come to rely on cheap credit in order to cover expenses but we can’t continue to be comfortable taking on more credit to finance a lifestyle we can’t afford.”

Overall, 31 percent of Canadians noted that they don’t earn enough to cover all of their bills. The survey did find, however, that many of the study participants had went above their back-to-school budgets and overspent on their summer vacations.

Canadians are doomed for the foreseeable future.

The Justin Trudeau Liberals have already added $30 billion to the national debt in just nine months, and they have planned a variety of new spending initiatives. With every new spending measure an actual tax, you can expect more Canadians to fork over more debt, which means they will have fewer loonies in their pockets. And, thus, they will need to take on more debt.