An increasing number of Canadians have a negative outlook of their personal finances and are concerned about their investments and the state of retirement savings.
PRESS RELEASE
TORONTO, Feb. 9, 2023— A new survey by
Savvy New Canadians, a personal finance website with over 400,000 monthly visitors, reveals more than half of Canadians have a negative outlook when it comes to their personal finances even though the majority changed their spending habits to curb debt accumulation.
One key survey finding is despite budgeting being one of the best ways a person can take charge of their money, alleviate debt, and save for the future, one-third (33%) of respondents don’t have one.
“Without a budget, Canadians are at risk of overspending, accumulating debt, and even falling into financial hardship. Knowing exactly how your income is being allocated is the first step in setting yourself up for financial success. Even someone who has significant disposable income could be surprised to find out they’re spending a large chunk of it on dining out, so in this case, creating a budget could prompt them to divert half of that to retirement savings,” says Enoch Omololu, personal finance expert and founder of Savvy New Canadians.
When asked what their biggest financial concern is, 36% said they worry their investments will decline, while one-quarter (23%) worry they won’t have enough money saved for retirement.
Considering mounting inflation across the country, it’s not surprising that a hefty 54% of respondents said they have a negative outlook on their personal finances. Some of the sacrifices respondents said they had to make included cutting back on hobbies and entertainment to more grave ones like having to drop out of post-secondary education or having to sell a house or car.
Omololu adds, “These larger cutbacks, where someone has to forgo an education for example, may only affect a handful of respondents or so, but these decisions can have lasting impacts on individuals and families. Having to sacrifice furthering your education in order to keep your housing could easily result in this person becoming trapped in a paycheque to paycheque cycle, making it difficult for them to return to their studies.”
Perhaps the best takeaway from the survey: when asked what piece of financial advice had been the most beneficial, 41% of respondents selected ‘live within your means’. A simple but sometimes difficult-to-follow bit of guidance in a highly commercialized world.
Further survey details and results can be found on Savvy New Canadians’ website by
clicking here.
(Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He worked for 35 years at the Calgary Herald, covering sports, crime, politics, health, faith, city and breaking news, and business. He works as well as a freelance writer for several national publications and as a consultant in communications and media relations/training. Mario was named in 2021 as one of the Top 10 Business Journalists in the World by PR News – the only Canadian to make the list)
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