{"id":57253,"date":"2023-07-28T20:17:41","date_gmt":"2023-07-28T20:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/debt-and-stress-relief\/struggling-to-make-ends-meet\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T15:37:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T20:37:55","slug":"struggling-to-make-ends-meet","status":"publish","type":"rbc_my_money_matter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/debt-and-stress-relief\/struggling-to-make-ends-meet\/","title":{"rendered":"Struggling to Make Ends Meet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-block  pos-rel pad-t-0 pad-b-0\" style=\"border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-inner-block  section-inner pad-b-0 pad-t-0\" style=\"border-radius:0x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6ba379fd wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"h3 mar-b-0 mar-t-0\">For many Canadians money is tight. Here are tips and insights on how to budget and stretch your dollars further.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-block  pos-rel pad-t-0 pad-b-0\" style=\"border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-inner-block  section-inner pad-t-0 pad-b-0\" style=\"border-radius:0x\">\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-a9029cbe-d18b-4381-9e95-d56bd8135a25\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading mar-t-0\" id=\"h-managing-and-consolidating-debt\">Managing and Consolidating Debt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-my-money-matters-category-list\">\n\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/debt-and-stress-relief\/struggling-to-make-ends-meet\/managing-and-consolidating-debt\/\">More from Managing and Consolidating Debt<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-8d26eafe-7651-44b0-a2ee-8b91777e82bc\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns  mar-b-0 is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column mar-r mob-mar-r-0 mar-b-0 is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\t\t<div class=\"most-recent-by-taxonomy-jscroll jscroll-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-most-recent-by-taxonomy most-recent-by-taxonomy-is-template-type-2 most-recent-by-taxonomy-standard\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article id=\"post-96352\" class=\"rbcroyalbank-single-post-card single-post-card-vertical-type-2 post-96352 rbc_my_money_matter type-rbc_my_money_matter status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry tag-credit-and-debt rbc_content_type-article rbc_audience-black rbc_audience-indigenous rbc_audience-newcomer rbc_audience-parents rbc_audience-relationships rbc_audience-seniors rbc_audience-students rbc_audience-youth rbc_lob_group-ways-to-bank rbc_difficulty_level-beginner rbc_mmm_category-debt-stress-relief rbc_mmm_category-managing-and-consolidating-debt rbc_mmm_category-struggling-to-make-ends-meet\">\n\t<div class=\"col-wpr display-flex mar-b-0\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-5 mob-mar-b-0\">\n\t\t\t<div \n\t\t\t\trole=\"img\" \n\t\t\t\taria-label=\"post card image\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"post-card-image\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\tdecoding=\"async\"\n\t\t\tloading=\"lazy\"\n\t\t\twidth=\"960\"\n\t\t\theight=\"640\"\n\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2026\/01\/How_to_pay_off_debt.jpg?quality=80&#038;w=960\"\n\t\t\talt=\"post card image\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wp-post-image\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-7 mob-mar-t-0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"primary-taxonomy primary-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/debt-and-stress-relief\/struggling-to-make-ends-meet\/managing-and-consolidating-debt\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tManaging and Consolidating Debt\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/debt-and-stress-relief\/struggling-to-make-ends-meet\/managing-and-consolidating-debt\/how-to-pay-off-debt-faster\/\" class=\"h4 loop-post-title mar-t-0\">How to Pay Off Debt Faster<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<!-- Different markup between back-end server side render and front-end -->\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-fd0bd3d5-4158-4617-9d9e-d967c17fe97e\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-block pos-rel top-line-blue block-wpr pad-t-0 pad-b-0 pad-l-0 pad-r-0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-block-inner-block block-inner pad-l-0 pad-r-0 pad-b-0 pad-t-0\">\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-39aa8b65-339b-464f-97eb-fe004876bfd3\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"mar-b-0 has-medium-grey-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-weight:400\">Did You Know?<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-66ca3d85-c74f-45a8-b0f0-07c6f9b814b1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"h4 mar-t-0 mar-b-0\">67% of Canadians are concerned about their cash flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-3b009248-0c94-4511-be61-55144942b032\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"mar-b-0 has-medium-grey-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-weight:400\">Source: RBC 2023 Financial Independence Poll<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-block  pos-rel pad-t-0 pad-b-0\" style=\"border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-inner-block  section-inner pad-t-0 pad-b-0\" style=\"border-radius:0x\">\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-d24426d6-0a64-4748-82b7-b9eebdab4a3c\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading mar-t-0\" id=\"h-managing-expenses\">Managing Expenses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-my-money-matters-category-list\">\n\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/debt-and-stress-relief\/struggling-to-make-ends-meet\/managing-expenses\/\">More from Managing Expenses<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-96917dec-ce2b-4886-ae7d-7f078264cbfc\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns  mar-b-0 is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column mar-r mob-mar-r-0 mar-b-0 is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\t\t<div class=\"most-recent-by-taxonomy-jscroll jscroll-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-most-recent-by-taxonomy most-recent-by-taxonomy-is-template-type-2 most-recent-by-taxonomy-standard\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article id=\"post-58134\" class=\"rbcroyalbank-single-post-card single-post-card-vertical-type-2 post-58134 rbc_my_money_matter type-rbc_my_money_matter status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry tag-budgeting rbc_content_type-article rbc_lob_group-ways-to-bank rbc_difficulty_level-beginner rbc_mmm_category-debt-stress-relief rbc_mmm_category-handling-financial-stress rbc_mmm_category-unexpected-events\">\n\t<div class=\"col-wpr display-flex mar-b-0\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-5 mob-mar-b-0\">\n\t\t\t<div \n\t\t\t\trole=\"img\" \n\t\t\t\taria-label=\"From behind image of a woman sitting at a desk going over expenses\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"post-card-image\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\tdecoding=\"async\"\n\t\t\tloading=\"lazy\"\n\t\t\twidth=\"930\"\n\t\t\theight=\"620\"\n\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2023\/09\/Untitled-design-2023-07-13T141427.262.jpg?quality=80&#038;w=960\"\n\t\t\talt=\"From behind image of a woman sitting at a desk going over expenses\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wp-post-image\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-7 mob-mar-t-0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"primary-taxonomy primary-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/debt-and-stress-relief\/unexpected-events\/handling-financial-stress\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHandling Financial Stress\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/debt-and-stress-relief\/unexpected-events\/handling-financial-stress\/5-steps-for-managing-expenses-during-financial-hardship\/\" class=\"h4 loop-post-title mar-t-0\">5 Steps for Managing Expenses During Financial Hardship<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<!-- Different markup between back-end server side render and front-end -->\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-b7a210a3-231f-4fcb-bf9a-672c9f4bdcf5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-block pos-rel top-line-blue block-wpr pad-t-0 pad-b-0 pad-l-0 pad-r-0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-block-inner-block block-inner pad-l-0 pad-r-0 pad-b-0 pad-t-0\">\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-71934bfe-dec5-4d1b-a929-783f6a7f4c25\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"mar-b-0 has-medium-grey-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-weight:400\">Did You Know?<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-452d2096-4d93-4f8a-b3ed-79cfeb025b2d\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"h4 mar-t-0 mar-b-0\">Over 30% of Canadians believe they can\u2019t save more because their fixed expenses are too high.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-31dff3a1-47b5-4ad8-9903-ee0179c48b18\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"mar-b-0 has-medium-grey-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-weight:400\">Source: RBC 2023 Financial Independence Poll<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-block  pos-rel pad-t-0 pad-b-0\" style=\"border-radius:0px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-section-inner-block  section-inner pad-t-0 pad-b-0\" style=\"border-radius:0x\">\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-7bd76e97-cc39-46af-a731-73ec7681b978\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading mar-t-0\" id=\"h-improving-your-credit-score\">Improving Your Credit Score<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-my-money-matters-category-list\">\n\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/debt-and-stress-relief\/struggling-to-make-ends-meet\/improving-your-credit-score\/\">More from Improving Your Credit Score<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-90a8130d-a7ec-4fcf-ae3a-5e3dfdb0152e\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns  mar-b-0 is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column mar-r mob-mar-r-0 mar-b-0 is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\t\t<div class=\"most-recent-by-taxonomy-jscroll jscroll-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-most-recent-by-taxonomy most-recent-by-taxonomy-is-template-type-2 most-recent-by-taxonomy-standard\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article id=\"post-58144\" class=\"rbcroyalbank-single-post-card single-post-card-vertical-type-2 post-58144 rbc_my_money_matter type-rbc_my_money_matter status-publish has-post-thumbnail hentry tag-credit-and-debt rbc_content_type-article rbc_lob_group-ways-to-bank rbc_difficulty_level-beginner rbc_mmm_category-credit-and-borrowing rbc_mmm_category-debt-stress-relief rbc_mmm_category-improving-your-credit-score rbc_mmm_category-money-academy rbc_mmm_category-struggling-to-make-ends-meet rbc_mmm_category-understanding-credit-and-credit-scores\">\n\t<div class=\"col-wpr display-flex mar-b-0\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-5 mob-mar-b-0\">\n\t\t\t<div \n\t\t\t\trole=\"img\" \n\t\t\t\taria-label=\"A man with a printed copy of his credit report, reviewing finances online.\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"post-card-image\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\tdecoding=\"async\"\n\t\t\tloading=\"lazy\"\n\t\t\twidth=\"930\"\n\t\t\theight=\"620\"\n\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2023\/09\/Untitled-design-2023-07-14T125307.372.jpg?quality=80&#038;w=960\"\n\t\t\talt=\"A man with a printed copy of his credit report, reviewing finances online.\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wp-post-image\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-7 mob-mar-t-0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"primary-taxonomy primary-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/money-academy\/credit-and-borrowing\/understanding-credit-and-credit-scores\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tUnderstanding Credit and Credit Scores\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbcroyalbank.com\/en-ca\/my-money-matters\/money-academy\/credit-and-borrowing\/understanding-credit-and-credit-scores\/6-ways-to-rebuild-your-credit-score\/\" class=\"h4 loop-post-title mar-t-0\">6 Ways to Rebuild Your Credit Score<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<!-- Different markup between back-end server side render and front-end -->\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-f9c2862b-82bf-42c8-a14a-02a7a85f3bae\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-block pos-rel top-line-blue block-wpr pad-t-0 pad-b-0 pad-l-0 pad-r-0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-rbc-rbc-block-inner-block block-inner pad-l-0 pad-r-0 pad-b-0 pad-t-0\">\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-4025209b-7766-4e55-a07b-1d4bdf5bc4ca\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"mar-b-0 has-medium-grey-color has-text-color\" style=\"font-weight:400\">Did You Know?<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-40626367-79c4-4c8a-a9ed-522ddd737e34\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"h4 mar-t-0 mar-b-0\">An increasing number of Canadians are turning to high-interest credit cards to help pay for household basic like food and rent.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-84fcc161-a5f1-4808-bfad-ebdf1a663ab3\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-block-tk-spacer id-e246ec6c-2e24-4f24-960d-b374f5ca90bd\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<style class=\"advgb-styles-renderer\">\n\t\t.wp-block-tk-spacer.id-a9029cbe-d18b-4381-9e95-d56bd8135a25 {\n\t\theight: 96px;\n\t}\n\n\t@media ( max-width: 480px ) {\n\t\t.wp-block-tk-spacer.id-a9029cbe-d18b-4381-9e95-d56bd8135a25 {\n\t\t\theight: 64px;\n\t\t}\n\t}\t\n\t\t.wp-block-tk-spacer.id-8d26eafe-7651-44b0-a2ee-8b91777e82bc 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