Using Your Mortgage to Your Advantage

If your credit cards, line of credit and bank loans seem to be like a pit of quicksand that you just can’t seem to crawl out of, join the club.

A recent survey by Manulife Bank revealed that 27% of respondents had seen their debt increase over the past year, while 17% saw no change. Only 7% paid down their debt more than expected. The report focused on what could be described as middle-income, middle-aged homeowners – people aged 30 to 55 with at least $50,000 of household income. About one-third of those surveyed ranked being debt-free as their top financial priority and another 36 per cent ranked it No. 8 or No. 9 on a 10-point scale. Only 11 per cent of the respondents said they were already debt-free. About the same percentage said they had no idea how many years it would take them.

With interest rates and other living expenses on the rise, times are likely going to get tougher for a lot of Canadians. If your mortgage is up for renewal or if you have equity tied up in your home and you’d like to refinance please contact us at First Foundation. In many cases we can help you lower your interest payments, making it easier to pay off your debt faster, or find you a better interest rate to free up some much-needed monthly cash.