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Young Canadians are increasingly unaware of their credit scores and the benefits of establishing credit. <\/p>\n
More than 20 per cent of those aged 18-24 are considered \u201ccredit ghosts,\u201d meaning they have little to no credit history or don\u2019t know what their credit score is, according to a recent report by Royal Bank of Canada, and they lack knowledge about their credit. <\/p>\n
Nearly 80 per cent of respondents said they have a credit score, but 37 per cent of those could not identify what their score was. Nearly half said they are working on improving their score, but 28 per cent are unsure if they are on the right track. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat stands out is that students care about their credit, but many are still navigating it without a clear sense of where they stand or what will help them make progress,\u201d Lucianna Adragna, vice-president of client segments and everyday banking at RBC, said in a news release. \u201cThere is a learning curve for young Canadians beginning to make more financial decisions on their own.\u201d <\/p>\n
Not having a credit score makes it difficult for lenders to assess someone\u2019s financial reliability, leading to challenges when buying a car, cellphone or personal loan. <\/p>\n
It can also mean turning to an alternative lender, which can result in higher interest rates. <\/p>\n
\u201cPaying bills on time, keeping balances manageable and using credit responsibly can build a stronger financial track record over time, which really matters when students are trying to rent an apartment, finance a car or get approved for a loan,\u201d Sara Son Hing, vice-president of personal lending at RBC, said in the release. <\/p>\n
The result is that 42 per cent of students said they have already experienced real-world consequences of not having a credit score, with 11 per cent saying they have had trouble getting a credit card approval, eight per cent have had difficulty getting a loan and six per cent have had trouble renting an apartment. <\/p>\n
RBC recommends building credit early, tracking your credit score regularly and avoiding credit misinformation, such as the benefits of carrying a balance and cancelling old cards. <\/p>\n
\u201cCredit is a financial skill that is best learned by doing,\u201d Son Hing said. \u201cThe good news is that building credit is often less about big moves and more about consistent ones.\u201d <\/p>\n
Sign up here to get Posthaste delivered straight to your inbox.<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n Ana Bail\u00e3o, chief executive of Build Canada Homes, said regardless of the market cycle, the country needs more homes, specifically more purpose-built rental apartments. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a practical organization with the key objective of getting shovels in the ground to increase affordability and to create the housing the market is not creating,\u201d she told Bloomberg News. <\/p>\n This comes as Ottawa is looking to get back into the business of building houses, having committed to funding about 19,000 affordable homes to date. <\/p>\n Bail\u00e3o said she has also received about 900 new proposals in the last year. <\/p>\n Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. estimates Canada may need upwards of 2.4 million new homes over the next decade to restore affordability. <\/p>\n Read more here. <\/p>\n Canadians who own foreign property, including U.S. bank accounts and shares in foreign companies, worth more than $100,000 must fill out Form T1135, with a penalty of $25 per day plus arrears interest. The form is required, even if you don\u2019t owe any tax, as one taxpayer found out in 2020. Read more here. <\/p>\n The FP Atlantic Economic Report takes you behind the scenes of the business world in Atlantic Canada. We\u2019ll bring you insights from CEOs, government leaders, investors and economists on what\u2019s making the regional economy tick and where it\u2019s heading next. Sign up here <\/p>\n Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister\u2019s Financial Post column can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won\u2019t want to miss. Plus check his mortgage rate page for Canada\u2019s lowest national mortgage rates, updated daily. <\/p>\n Visit the Financial Post\u2019s YouTube channel for interviews with Canada\u2019s leading experts in business, economics, housing, the energy sector and more. <\/p>\n Today\u2019s Posthaste was written by Ben Cousins with additional reporting from Financial Post staff and Bloomberg.<\/em> <\/p>\n Have a story idea, pitch, embargoed report, or a suggestion for this newsletter? Email us at posthaste@postmedia.com . <\/p>\n Bookmark our website and support our journalism:<\/strong> Don\u2019t miss the business news you need to know \u2014 add financialpost.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here<\/em> <\/p>\n <\/img> Young Canadians are increasingly unaware of their credit scores and the benefits of establishing credit. More than 20 per cent of those aged 18-24 are considered \u201ccredit ghosts,\u201d meaning they…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79727\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pantheregroup.com\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/div>\nDespite home prices in Canada falling more than 20 per cent, Build Homes Canada is pushing for more supply.<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n
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\nAre you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you starting out or making a change and wondering how to build wealth? Are you trying to make ends meet? Drop us a line at wealth@postmedia.com<\/span> with your contact info and the gist of your problem and we\u2019ll find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we\u2019ll keep your name out of it, of course).<\/span><\/div>\n
\nMcLister on mortgages<\/h2>\n
\nFinancial Post on YouTube<\/h2>\n
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Posthaste: More young Canadians are 'credit ghosts'<\/a>
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2026-10-22 12:00:33<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"