Financial Post – As Canadians continue to push household debt levels to record highs, Americans are in full-fledged scrimp mode.

Canadian household debt rose to a record high of $1.5-trillion in the first quarter, sending the debt-to-income ratio to a record 146.9%, figures from the Certified General Accountants Association showed.

While the pace of accumulation has slowed somewhat, Canadians love affair with rock-bottom interest rates continues, helped along by a healthier job market.

In the United States, household liabilities fell at a 2% annualized pace in the first quarter, falling for the 13th quarter in a row, figures last week from the Federal Reserve showed. That took U.S. debt-to-income ratio to 114%, down from a peak of 130% in 2007.

Meanwhile, the broadest measure of U.S. debt owed by the non-financial sectors – borrowings by private households, non-financial businesses, and all levels of government – grew just 2.3% annualized in the first quarter.

Goldman Sachs said in a report on June 15 that was the third-slowest pace in any quarter since 1952.

Clearly Americans, beset by high unemployment and plunging home values, are still scrambling to right their personal finances.

And that is a double-edged sword. The widespread and highly unusual trend toward saving in the United States has slowed the economy, but only by getting their balance sheets in order will Americans be ready to spend again – someday.