Affordability Sometimes Makes It Difficult to Add to That Nest Egg

Nearly 64 percent of Canadians note that the biggest obstacle in building up savings is the affordability factor. A poll conducted by Scotiabank came up with this figure. That poll also noted than in Alberta that percentage was 57 percent.

At the same time, some 53 percent of Canadians are now paying themselves first. They automatically put money into savings before doing anything else. That is quite the increase from the 44 percent doing so in 2011. Albertans, nearly 67 percent of them anyway, put something in savings at least once a month. And while it is true that 28 percent of Canadians freely admit they took too long to start investing, over half, or 55 percent, now regularly contribute to those investments.

The poll also found that roughly 59 percent of those surveyed knew about how much they would need to comfortably retire, opposed to the 54 percent with that knowledge back in 2011. Some 54 percent were contributing to that retirement fund, the same percentage as last year. Lack of funding is keeping 38 percent of Canadians from having automatic money transfers done each month.

Clearly, the survey showed that affordability is the major factor at play here. Despite that, more and more Canadians are buckling down and preparing for the future, which is a good thing.