Experts warn against vacationing on credit

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Experts are sounding the alarm over vacationing on credit, saying it’s dangerous and that many Canadians are doing it this summer.

A BMO survey shows the average family will spend around $3,000 on a holiday.

That’s even if they don’t have the money up front says Blair Mantin with Sands & Associates.

“Given that the average person in BC owes around $40,000 of credit card debt, I don’t find those numbers surprising. I think they are endemic of a larger issue that people are just carrying too much debt. In some cases, if you are already carrying that you start to think ‘what’s a few more thousand?’ but it’s part of a downward spiral.”

He says if you don’t have the money up front you can opt for a staycation, or come up with a savings plan or a vacation fund to pull from once a year.

“You can go on vacation and be stress free and come back knowing that you don’t have something hanging over you that you have to atone for,” he explains.

The BMO Insurance poll adds that if you are considering putting a holiday on a credit card and don’t have the cash on hand to pay it off immediately, then you can’t afford it.

Paying down debt takes sacrifice, and sometimes that means forgoing vacations or keeping your plans low-key.

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