Paying down debt still top Canadian financial priority: poll
Posted January 3, 2014 8:46 am.
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TORONTO (NEWS1130) – Paying down debt remains the top financial priority of Canadians, although a new poll says slightly fewer have made it their top pick compared with the previous two years.
In a poll, conducted for CIBC by Harris/Decima, 16 per cent of overall respondents said lowering debt was their No. 1 priority for 2014.
That was down one percentage point from 17 per cent in 2013 and in 2012. However, it was five percentage points better than the 11 per cent who said they would focus on building savings, up slightly from 10 per cent over the last several years.
Next in order of importance were managing day-to-day spending and getting current bills paid, both selected by eight per cent of respondents.
Retirement planning was the top focus of seven per cent of those surveyed, the same as last year but down from 11 per cent in 2012.
“For the fourth year in a row, Canadians have told us their top financial priority is paying down their debt as we enter a new year,” said Christina Kramer with CIBC.
“While the intent to reduce debt is clear, we also know that some Canadians are not yet making the progress they want to on reducing their overall debt levels, which speaks to the importance of having a clear action plan in place to reach your goals in 2014,” Kramer said.
Among other findings, the poll revealed that less than half (47 per cent) of Canadians surveyed said they had met with a financial adviser in the last year. And, of those surveyed, only six per cent identified debt management as a topic of a conversation they would have with an adviser.
