In the past year nearly half of Canadians dealt with a major unexpected event or emergency that required them to borrow money or dip into their savings to cover the unplanned costs.  A CIBC poll suggested that 74% of those people did not have enough dedicated emergency savings and were forced to find other sources of money to cover the expenses.  Polling also suggested that the most used avenue to counteract this problem was the usage of credit cards to pay for the expense directly or to counter cover other household or daily expenses.  

Here in lies the probem with consumer debt!  The majority of these people will not recover from this extra expense for years to come because they are paying their debts at their outrageous credit card rates.

Be prepared for such an occasion by showing some self restraint and holding a small line of credit with NO balance.  This way when a bonafide emergency presents itself, you will already have the resources to deal with the financial realities of the situation.  If you cannot be trusted with access to emergency “borrowed” money then contact a mortgage professional who will be able to aid you with the process and find the most cost effective and least stressful avenue for your specific situation.

Most importantly remember that borrowed money is not your money!