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Canadians households have become so financially stretched and hooked on debt to get by that, in just the past year, more than a third of us have found ourselves covering expenses by running up credit lines or credit cards, or even selling off investments and hitting up family members for much-needed cash.

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That’s according to a new Manulife Bank survey, which also found that 14 per cent of those already stuck in a hole of debt have had to turn to more desperate measures in the past year — liquidating portions of their RRSPs or turning to high-interest payday lenders.

“It does appear there are a lot of people living on the edge,” said Rick Lunny, chief executive of Manulife Bank. And with the possibility of interest rate hikes, after years of historically cheap borrowing costs, there may soon be more people having to resort to more desperate measures.