Blue Monday kicks off saddest time of year: financial survey

Monday marks the start of a bleak time for Canadians, according to a survey from Credit Canada and the Financial Planning Standards Council so-called Blue Monday, Jan. 15 through Valentine’s Day, is the saddest time of the year.

The two non-profit organizations commissioned the survey of 1550 Canadians to find out what made them blue about finances.

It’s a combination of weather getting people down, broken New Years resolutions and the first holiday bills arriving.

The survey found one in five people had more credit card debt than savings, 25 per cent said they didn’t have enough money to escape winter, while six per cent had already broken resolutions to save.

In Saskatoon, Credit Counselling Society’s Mary Castillo told 650 CKOM if people are struggling with finances it’s important to get help.

“They get all the bills in the mail that might not be fun to look at so they seek help on how to manage that debt,” Castillo said.

A big part of being comfortable with finances, according to Castillo, is sticking to a manageable long-term budget and education.

“They might not have a huge amount of debt but maybe looking for the knowledge or information they need to make their finances stronger,” she said. “We can help tweak the budget to make it work.”

If you are looking for help to get your financial house in order in 2018 Castillo suggests taking a class or going to a non-profit credit counsellor.

Full results of the survey are expected to be released Monday.

With files from CKOM’s Erin McNutt.