Budgeting and reducing debt can help limit the impact of rising interest rates on personal finances (Getty Images/Jose Luis Pelaez Inc)
Canada is facing its largest rise in inflation since January 1983. To help combat this, the Bank of Canada has increased the country’s interest rate four times since March. Mid-July’s benchmark increase rate was raised a full percentage point to 2.5 per cent, the biggest one-time increase in more than 20 years. With inflation now at 8.1 per cent, Canadians are increasing personal debt to supplement costs, with credit card spending rising 17.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2022.
“We’re seeing people spending on services that have been restricted during COVID,” says David-Alexandre Brassard, chief economist at CPA Canada. “People are travelling, they’re going to restaurants and we’re not seeing consumer spending trending down just…
