Half of older Canadian homeowners struggling with holiday debt: Poll

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Older Canadian homeowners are dealing with a holiday hangover as they struggle to pay bills wrung up during the festive season, according to a new poll.

A little more than half (52%) of homeowners, ages 55 and up, say they’re “concerned” or “overwhelmed” by post-holiday debt, says the poll from Bloom Finance and Angus Reid.

Another 37% say they feel concerned, but it is manageable, while another 15% say they feel overwhelmed and stressed.

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The poll also found:

— 25% of respondents say the rising cost of living has made it much harder to manage holiday-related expenses this year, while  41% felt it slightly harder to cover holiday bills.

— In order to manage holiday-related bills, 28% of respondents say they’ll cut back on such things as eating out and entertainment, and 20% will use personal savings to pay their bills.

— Just over half (51%) say personal savings was their primary method of funding holiday expenses this year, followed by 39% who used credit cards.

— 32% of respondents say they spent between $1001-$2500 on holiday shopping this past season.

Conducted Jan. 6-19, a probability sample of this size — an online poll of 515 respondents — has a margin of error of 4.3%, 19 times out of 20.