FCAC symposium unveils latest insights
The latest thinking on financial wellbeing has been a key topic at an event in Toronto this week.
The two-day National Research Symposium on Financial Literacy included a presentation of the findings of an international Financial Well-Being Survey and research by FCAC.
A major takeaway is that individuals can substantially improve their financial resilience and wellbeing through saving. And even small amounts make a difference for coping with unexpected expenses.
The international study backed up this finding but FCAC’s survey shows that only half of Canadians save regularly for emergencies such as a vehicle repair or new roof.
"The Symposium's theme, Using Research to Improve the Financial Well-being of Canadians, reflects the growing recognition of the power research has to make a difference. Learning from each other's research and analyses will give us more insight into the missing pieces of the larger puzzle, so that we can help improve Canadians' financial well-being," said Lucie Tedesco, Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.
Relying on credit is bad news
The survey also found that relying on credit for everyday expenses is linked to lower levels of financial wellbeing.
However, 1 in 7 Canadians use credit to buy daily items such as groceries because of a lack of cash; and 1 in 10 say their impulsive spending leads to buying items they can’t afford.
FCAC’s research shows that budgeting can make a large difference with 70% of those sticking to a budget reporting that they were able to keep up with financial commitments, compared to 45% of non-budgeters.
"FCAC's research confirms that budgeting and saving behaviours have big impacts on Canadians' financial well-being. These and other important findings presented at the Symposium will inform further research and innovation in financial consumer education,” added Jane Rooney, Canada's Financial Literacy Leader, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. “This work will be instrumental to us as we continue with our evidence-based approach to implementing the National Strategy for Financial Literacy—Count me in, Canada."
It's a wrap up for the #FinLitResearch Symposium. Thank you to our amazing MC @kelleykeehn, to all the outstanding moderators, panelists, speakers and poster presenters and to each of you for participating! #FinLitResearch #FLM2018 pic.twitter.com/3FR07YFQAt
— ItPaysToKnow (@FCACan) November 27, 2018
