Scotiabank survey reveals that protecting investments and retirement savings are among the biggest concerns
You would hope that someone whose finances are stressing them so much they can’t sleep, would turn to a financial advisor for help.
But according to research from Scotiabank, 63% of those with financial worries have not worked with an advisor at all in the last 12 months, despite losing an average 10 hours sleep a week.
One third of respondents have sleepless nights over their finances with the top three causes cited as:
- Growing or protecting their investments (19%)
- being able to pay for day-to-day expenses (15%)
- and paying off debt (13%)
More than 1 in 10 respondents said they are worried about planning for their retirement – an increase of 4 percentage points from a similar poll in 2020.
The cost of living is also a stressor for more than half of Canadians.
Younger, poorer worry more
Younger adults spend more time worrying about their finances (12 hours for 18-34s and 11 hours for 35-54s) than over 55s (6 hours).
There is also a significant difference between the time spent worrying for lower income households (less than $50K) at 14 hours average a week, and the higher income segment ($100K+) at 6 hours.
Those living in Western Canada reported spending around an average of 12 hours a week worrying about their finances, in stark contrast to those in Quebec who spend an average of just 7 hours, and those in Ontario who spend an average of 9.
Those in Alberta and the Atlantic are most likely to be particularly stressed about the cost of living.
