The pandemic has increased self-care spending while also fuelling financial health fears
It’s April Fool’s Day but new research shows that Canadians are anything but foolish in deciding to use their money to help lift the pandemic blues.
Scotiabank has found that the pandemic has driven Canadian consumer spending on self-care with 79% enjoying at least one activity in this regard over the last year, with 6 in 10 spending a total average of $282.
This spending has been dominated by baking and other cooking (50%), home workouts (41%), and online shopping (34%) with younger Canadians (18-34) spending more on average ($395).
Younger people are also more likely though to say that they are worried about their financial wellbeing than those in older age groups.
Overall, around one third of respondents say their financial health is only fair or poor, with most (68%) feeling optimistic about their finances since the pandemic began.
Keeping good habits
There’s no doubt that spending money on things we enjoy can help beat the pandemic blues, but D'Arcy McDonald, SVP of Deposits, Investments & Payments at Scotiabank says Canadians should try to hold on to some of the positive financial behaviour seen during the pandemic.
"This past year many Canadians have been able to increase their savings but as we see lockdown restrictions ease and spending increase once again, we want Canadians to keep up with the strong money habits they developed during lockdown," she said.
The survey was carried out online in February.
