B.C. is ahead of all the other Canadian provinces for individuals achieving freedom from their debts, according to a new poll released this morning by CIBC.
The poll found 37% of British Columbians report being debt-free, versus 28% of Canadians.
However, the poll also found that of B.C. respondents reporting some debt, only 48% said they were making good progress toward paying down their debt in 2011, versus 61% for the rest of Canada.
“It’s an interesting mix of numbers for British Columbia,” said Geoff Dillon, senior director, retail and business banking, CIBC.
“On the one hand, people a little bit more likely to be debt-free but on the other hand, those that are [carrying debt] maybe feel they’re not making as much headway as we see in the rest of Canada.”
Dillon said the poll identified that only one in five British Columbians have spoken with a financial adviser in the last year about debt management.
“What’s interesting is when we ask that question on almost any other topic – savings, investing, retirement – the number of people for those topics who have talked to an adviser in the last year is always higher than 50%, so that’s a significant difference here.”
Dillon advocated speaking with an adviser as a way to better structure debt repayment and establish a more effective repayment strategy.
“We see a lot of people doing the do-it-yourself approach, thinking I’ll just keep making my payments and two or three years from now I’ll be in a better spot than I am today,” he said.
“But you really do need to put some stakes in the ground and say ‘next year, I want to be here, a year later I want to be here’ – I think that’s where an adviser can really help set some milestones for you.”
Jenny Wagler
Twitter: JennyWagler_BIV