Food leads housing as the category impacting
residents the most
TORONTO, Aug. 13,
2024 /CNW/ - A new poll from Ipsos, conducted on
behalf of Simplii Financial, shows that nearly half of Canadians
(46 per cent) are losing sleep over the increased cost of living,
and a similar percentage (47 per cent) are experiencing some strain
on their personal relationships due to economic pressures.
Nearly half of Canadians (46%) losing sleep
over cost of living--food hitting wallets hardest: Simplii
Financial Poll
Despite ongoing concerns, Canadians have proven themselves
resilient. With food and housing top of mind, respondents said they
were implementing the following strategies to keep their cost of
living under control:
- Dining out less (56 per cent)
- Shopping at multiple grocery stores (45 per cent)
- Opting for more budget-friendly food options (37 per cent)
- Delaying large purchases (28 per cent)
- Delaying moves (25 per cent)
"Canadians are making more prudent spending decisions, and it
looks like they plan to do so for the foreseeable future," says
Jimmy Dinh, Managing Director and
Head, Simplii Financial. "While the Bank of Canada's recent rate cuts should come as a
relief for some, people are generally expecting things to get
better in the long run."
Nearly two thirds of those polled said the Bank of Canada's previous rate cut in June wasn't
helpful in advancing their personal financial situation (63 per
cent) and/or overall happiness (64 per cent). The poll also found
that four times as many Canadians expect the economic conditions to
get worse regarding inflation (worse: 43 per cent vs. better: 9 per
cent), while three times as many Canadians anticipate that the
national economy will fare worse (worse: 34 per cent vs. better: 10
per cent).
But in spite of ongoing pressures, more than half of Canadians
(52 per cent) expect the economic storm to pass and remain
optimistic about their financial future, indicating a resilient
longer-term outlook and fewer sleepless nights ahead.
Some tips from Simplii Financial on managing the cost of living
include:
- Shrinking recurring expenses—Recurring costs like insurance,
loan interest, mobile bills, or even bank fees can be easy to
forget but renegotiating them or going no-fee could save hundreds
of dollars each year.
- Parking your car—The average annual cost of car ownership in
Canada is in the tens of thousands
of dollars so whether you're able to get by with the occasional
rental or other forms of transportation is worth some serious
consideration.
- Focusing on income—At the end of the day, cutting costs will
only get you so far. Career development, higher education, a side
hustle, or even renting a room could increase earning potential and
relieve the pressure on your wallet.
Disclaimer
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos
poll conducted between June 21 and
25, on behalf of Simplii Financial. For this survey, a
sample of 1,150 Canadians aged 18+ were interviewed online. Sample
was sourced from the Ipsos panel. Weighting was employed to balance
demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that
of the adult population according to Census data and to provide
results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision
of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In
this case, the poll is accurate to within ±3.5 percentage points,
19 times out of 20, had all Canadians been polled. The credibility
interval will be wider among subsets of the population.
About Simplii
Simplii Financial provides direct
banking services to approximately 2 million Canadians with 24/7
access to online, mobile, and telephone banking with no monthly
fees. Simplii clients can also access one of the largest national
ATM networks through CIBC. For more information about Simplii
Financial, please visit www.simplii.com or by
following on X @SimpliiFin, Instagram @SimpliiFin, or on
Facebook.
SOURCE Simplii Financial