BC Bankruptcies rising at alarming rate.

Home foreclosures, lost jobs, overloaded credit cards and rising unemployment are all hitting Canadians as the global economic crisis takes its toll.

A total of 792 bankruptcies in B.C. were filed in January, up by 47 per cent from the same month a year ago, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy is reporting. Individuals claimed 767 bankruptcies in B.C. during the period, with businesses accounting for only 25 bankruptcies in B.C.

Many people live paycheque to paycheque. And once that source of income disappears because of layoffs, those people are pushed over the edge into bankruptcy.