With the cost of living continuing to rise, many Canadians are feeling an extra financial pinch this holiday season.<\/p>\n
According to a recent survey done by Interac<\/a>, 66 per cent of Canadian parents say rising costs are making it harder to manage their holiday, and 52 per cent are worried about overspending this holiday season.<\/p>\n Watch below:<\/p>\n Mark Kalinowski, with the Credit Counselling Society, says those numbers aren\u2019t just because of gifts, but because of rising housing, living and food costs. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you go to the grocery store the price of turkey has gone from 99 cents a pound to I think $2.19 a pound when I was last at the grocery store,\u201d Kalinowski said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just become more expensive and people are struggling to make sure that the people in their lives have the nice things they want while trying to balance their pocket books.\u201d<\/p>\n Some shoppers say because of the ever increasing costs, \u201cI am not spending as much as last year, but I think that the gifts are more meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n Kalinowski says the best way to deal with financial pressures is to create a shopping list and budget, however by Christmas Eve that might not be feasible for last minute shoppers.<\/p>\n He added this is the time when many people start to put all their purchases on the credit cards which quickly adds up. <\/p>\n Kalinowski says now is the time to focus on your bank account\u2019s future. <\/p>\n \u201cA big thing is as we move into the new year, let\u2019s plan to address that debt as quickly as we can,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n