Toronto has always been an expensive place to live, but over the few years, this has become doubly true. Housing costs are soaring, gas prices are through the roof and food has seen as much as a 50% increase just since last year. Many people have now found that they have used up any emergency savings they once had, and living paycheque-to-paycheque is barely covering the bills. It’s become the new normal to use credit to make up the difference. However, after you do this for a while, and the unpaid bills start to add up you may find yourself struggling just to pay the interest on your loans and credit cards.

Fortunately, there are some solid ways to reduce loan and credit card debt in Toronto:

Create a budget – creating a budget is a great way to track spending and to work towards your goals, be they to reduce loan and credit card debt, or simply to replenish your emergency savings fund. Setting some type of goal is essential as it helps to allocate funds in a way that is both reasonable and sustainable. Sustainability is especially important because if you can’t stick to the budget you’re really just wasting your time, and risking falling further behind in debt.

Seek professional help for financing - If you are already too overwhelmed by debt that budgeting and cutting costs for a few months won’t help then it is time to seek professional help. For many who have reached this stage the answer has been mortgage refinancing. Renegotiating the terms of your mortgage can allow you to free up a large amount of cash to pay off bills, loans, and credit cards or any other financial obligations, as well as to put some money away for the future. Refinancing also offers the opportunity to obtain a lower interest rate overall, and the chance to switch the type of interest (variable vs. fixed) you have if you think that will also help financially going forward. If this seems like an option that would help you out of your current situation it is advised to speak with a mortgage professional that will assist you in choosing the correct product.

Shop smarter – For creating and maintaining a budget, or if you are planning on looking into refinancing in order to reduce loan and credit card debt in Toronto shopping smarter is essential. For budgeting, you can take advantage of the best volume-based discounts and free membership. Shop2Save also offers a substantial loyalty program for members that is truly rewarding; for every dollar generated in revenue by shop2save members, 45% cashback rewards dollars are deposited back into the member’s online-e-wallet.

For finding a mortgage professional to speak with, Shop2Save membership is also a great tool to have. For big-ticket items such as products or services in the areas of insurance, real estate and financing Shop2save facilitates connections to leading industry professionals and rewards members for the connection with additional cashback rewards dollars.

Visit Shop2Save today to see how membership can reward you for arranging mortgage refinancing to reduce loan and credit card debt in Toronto. While you’re there, be sure to use the online proprietary calculator to see how much shopping smart pays!