CALGARY -- A new study has found nearly half of Albertans made risky financial choices in the last year and a significant number believe it will take decades — if ever — to escape their debt.
The results of the Ipsos survey into consumer debt challenges in Alberta — commissioned by MNP Ltd., a Canadian insolvency practice — were released Monday morning.
The study, which was conducted between Dec. 4 and Dec. 19, 2019, determined 47 per cent of Albertans borrowed money they could not afford to pay back, or were making only minimum payments on their existing debts, either out of recklessness or necessity.
"Risky behaviours like paying only the minimum balance, making impulse buys, and taking on more debt in order to make ends meet can put people in an endless cycle of debt that can be nearly impossible to break free from," said Donna Carson, a Calgary-based debt expert with MNP Ltd., in a statement released Monday.
"A lack of financial literacy may be to blame for why many are engaging in behaviours that are considered financially risky. Some want to dig themselves out of debt but just don't have the know-how to do so, while others are digging themselves further into debt because they are in denial about the state of their finances."
While the study determined 29 per cent of Albertans are currently living debt-free, an alarming 19 per cent of adults in the province have reached a point where they believe they'll never pay off their debts.
For the 48 per cent of Albertans who are currently saddled with debt that they expect to pay off, they predict it will take them an average of seven years and eight months to relieve themselves of their debt.
The online poll interviewed a sample of 2,000 Canadians aged 18 and over. The results are considered accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
