British Columbians’ confidence about their personal finances in 2015 has dropped almost as fast as the New Year’s Eve ball.
Just 72% of B.C. residents polled in 2015 said they are confident they will meet their current financial goals, according to a CIBC survey released January 5.
That’s a sharp drop from the same poll in 2014, when 80% of British Columbians said they were confident about meeting their goals.
Despite the decline, B.C. still outpaces the national average as just 65% of Canadians said they were entering the new year feeling confident. In 2014, 76% of Canadians said they were feeling good about their goals.
This sort of self-assuredness was divided right between the western and eastern sides of Canada.
Those in Alberta (77%), Manitoba and Saskatchewan (each 75%) were more confident than Canadians in Quebec (50%), Ontario and Atlantic Canada (each 66%).
Younger generations also had more optimism about meeting their financial goals.
About two-thirds of those aged 25-34 (77%) and 35-44 (72%) were more confident about meeting their financial goals compared with those closer to retirement.
Just 58% of those aged 45-54 and 61% of those aged 55-64 shared those same sentiments.
"We are seeing a real conflict among Canadians close to retirement, who are trying to balance their short term need to reduce debt with the longer term goal to save for the retirement they want," Christina Kramer, executive vice-president of retail and business banking at CIBC, said in a statement.
"As Canadians approach traditional retirement age it can be a challenge to keep focused on both, and that can impact their overall confidence in their future finances."
These results were gathered from a sample of 1,014 Canadians November 13-17, 2014, with a margin of error of +/-3.1%, 19 times out of 20.
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