Whenever you see an article on consumer debt, you can be guaranteed that it has a certain degree of shaming the people who actually hold all that debt. Why are these people so burdened with it? Why aren't they paying off their mortgage faster, for instance, even though financial analysts recommend that course of action? Why is the country, as a whole, generally owing more than their annual salary?
The answer that nobody ever seems to want to admit is that people continue to have debt because they lack the money to pay it off, and they get into debt because, for whatever reason, they did not originally have the money to buy whatever they purchased. It's simple, and kind of infuriating when you see people who make it their mission to wag their finger at those who really didn't have much choice in the matter in the first place.
Of course, some consumer debt can be traced to the purchase of things a person does not need, and this is often the reason why people like to shake their heads at those people who have a great deal owing. If not for the television in their living room, they argue, they would be living in financial freedom. However, the much greater proportion of the debt is things people do need. A place to live? You're either renting or taking out a mortgage, and good luck finding a house under $100,000. Reliable transportation? While some people can get away with public transit, an actual car is going to start to be a few thousand if you want something that can actually get you to work. Now that you have a house and car, you have to deal with unexpected repairs and appliances and so on. While those people who like to shame the debt-laden like to trumpet living within your means, unexpected expenses still exist, and especially for young people who haven't had the chance to pay off their other main source of debt - student loans, which are often necessary to get an education and a job - there's really no other way to pay for things that are necessary to continue living.
Because of these factors, people are owing a lot of money. They don't actually have much choice in the matter, owing money is just the order of the day if you've never really been given a chance to save any money. This means that Canada's consumer debt is high, the more people who have to establish themselves without money in the bank, the more debt you're going to get, and it's something that's a consistent trend across the country.
This is also why it's increasingly infuriating to see people putting on their judging pants, and lecturing the debt laden about making poor decisions. There are definitely some people who spend money in highly illogical ways, of course, but that's not the majority of the country, and that's not the primary reason people who are accumulating more debt than assets. Instead, we're seeing people who are introduced to a system designed to front load them with debt before they can do much to avoid it. Savings don't happen when you've got to spend to make a career, and debt is inevitable when this is the case.
So instead of disapproving of people who aren't paying off their mortgage immediately or have several loans, let's leave them alone. They know that it's not an ideal situation, and have enough to worry about with their bills as it is.
