Amid inflation, Canadians cut costs but not big goals: poll

Based on recent poll results, Canadians may be tightening their purse strings in response to inflation but they are forging ahead with major life events.

In a CIBC poll conducted in the first week of August, well over half (61%) of respondents said they have cut costs to manage the rising cost of living, with nearly half (46%) cutting back on discretionary spending such as restaurants and entertainment.

In contrast to this behaviour, only a small proportion of respondents said they planned to delay bigger ambitions such as marriage (2%) or buying a first home (6%).

Still, well over half were concerned about meeting future goals (61%) and saving for longer-term needs (63%), though only 13% of respondents had sought advice from a financial advisor in the last three months, the poll found.

The poll also revealed a greater — and perhaps misplaced — focus on investing over estate and retirement planning. Investing (24%) was the top area in which respondents said they could use more advice, while estate planning and retirement planning were cited by only 17% and 16%, respectively.

Maru Public Opinion conducted the poll among 1,510 Canadian adults who were online panellists. Online polls can’t be assigned a margin of error because they don’t randomly sample the population.

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The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.