Seniors spending their way into bankruptcy
CBC News
Posted: Mar 7, 2013 9:12 AM MT
Last Updated: Mar 7, 2013 8:53 AM MT
Related
Related Stories
A growing number of Canadians are filing for bankruptcy later in life, new statistics show.
TD Bank released data last week showing that debt accumulation by people 65 and older was up 15 per cent in 2012 over the previous year.
According to Personal Bankruptcy Canada, the demographic traditionally associated with penny pinching is falling victim to increasing credit-debt.
The head of that association, Calgary bankruptcy trustee David Smith, said more and more of the people coming to his office for help are seniors — many of them in their eighties.
“It becomes unmanageable — and then it becomes stressful,” he said.
The biggest problem, he said, is that many people spend what they can access in credit rather than what they can actually afford.
“We have access to credit, we love our kids, we love our grandkids, we spend the money, whether we have it or not, he said.
Share Tools
Latest Edmonton News Headlines
- City manager asks council to add $30M to pothole budget
- Transportation manager Bob Boutilier says more money is needed to do roadway maintenance and rehabilitation. more »
- Edmonton couple funds glimmer of hope on High Level Bridge
- As CBC's Kim Trynacity reports, the camping to light up the High Level Bridge has just gained one pair of very passionate supporters. more »
- Edmontonians at a loss to explain rising gas prices
- As CBC's Scott Stevenson found out, many Edmontonians are at a loss to explain why the cost of gas has gone up more than 20 cents per litre over the past two weeks. more »
- Supporters protest bail in boy's patio death
- Richard Suter will remain in custody Thursday night as he waits to find out whether he will be granted bail. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Greg Weston: Senate scandal may be Harper's worst hour
- The widening Senate scandal that the prime minister flippantly tried to dismiss as a 'distraction' just days ago has instead become arguably Stephen Harper's worst hour. more »
- 3 injured in Washington state bridge collapse
- A Washington state bridge over a river collapsed Thursday evening, dumping two vehicles into the water and sparking a rescue effort by boats and divers who searched the chilly waterway north of Seattle. more »
- Federal Court won't remove MPs over robocall allegations
- The Federal Court says it won't throw six MPs out of their seats over allegations of widespread vote suppression through automated robocalls in the 2011 federal election. But Judge Richard Mosley did find that fraud occurred in the election. more »
- 3D printers give rise to 'desktop manufacturing'
- Customizable objects from plastic dollhouse furniture to medical prosthetics can now be designed and printed out by almost anyone at the press of a button, and is going to lead to an 'explosion of new stuff,' predicts author Chris Anderson. more »
- Supporters protest bail in boy's patio death
- Alberta's Wildrose Party fined $90K for robocalls
- Edmontonians at a loss to explain rising gas prices
- Recent spike in traffic fatalities has police frustrated
- Edmonton couple funds glimmer of hope on High Level Bridge
- Mother has message for man who almost killed her daughter
- City manager asks council to add $30M to pothole budget
- Violent Edmonton arsonist sentenced to 15 years
- Edmonton police recognize Whyte Avenue bouncer as hero
