Despite confidence in financial habits, Canadians continue to make money mistakes, reveals RBC survey

75% say they have strong financial habits, yet 73% admit to actions over the last year that could be hurting their financial wellbeing

TORONTO, Sept. 10, 2024 /CNW/ - There is a paradox in Canadians' financial behaviour, according to RBC's new Financial Habits Poll. While a significant 75% of respondents believe they possess good financial habits, with 62% rating their habits as above average compared to their friends and family, the data uncovers a different reality.

Over the past year, more than a third of respondents confessed to not setting financial goals (38%), not dedicating time to financial planning (37%) and failing to monitor their expenses (34%) – all of which are essential habits for financial wellbeing. One-in-five (21%) even admit to simply ignoring money issues when they come up. These findings highlight a discrepancy between how Canadians feel about the steps they are taking to manage their money and the practice of building and sticking to good financial habits.

"There is a concerning gap between perceived confidence and actions when it comes to Canadians' financial habits," says Peter Tilton, chief digital officer, Personal & Commercial Banking at RBC. "RBC is committed to helping our clients close that gap and improve their financial wellbeing."

Good financial habits can improve your wellbeing
The study also showed that Canadians are acutely aware of the positive impact that good financial habits can have on their overall wellbeing, with a significant majority (81%) acknowledging this connection. However, the challenge of finding time to cultivate these habits is a common struggle, with two-in-five (39%) Canadians citing this as a barrier.

One-third (34%) of respondents also admit to struggling with making good financial habits stick. A concerning 12% of Canadians report that they never dedicate time to fostering good financial habits, and nearly half (48%) only do so once a month or less. Despite these challenges, three-quarters (76%) of Canadians recognize that good financial habits have made them more resilient during times of economic uncertainty. This data underscores the importance of ongoing efforts to support Canadians in their journey towards improved financial wellbeing.

"While setting financial goals and adopting good financial habits takes time and may seem difficult at first, you don't have to do it alone," says Tilton. "With the help of our world-class digital capabilities like NOMI, clients can automate savings, take the manual calculator work out of setting up and tracking a budget, and even forecast future cashflow. It empowers clients with insights and easy ways to incorporate good financial habits everyday, which can make them feel better and more confident in managing their money."

NOMI can reduce friction in managing money
While the poll found that the majority (55%) of respondents aren't always confident in their financial decisions and 38% stress about their finances at least weekly (for 9% it's multiple times a day), RBC's NOMI can help.

NOMI, a globally recognized and award-winning suite of capabilities, uses artificial intelligence to deliver personalized insights to help clients build confidence in managing their money.

"NOMI has been enormously successful with our clients, playing a big part in tailoring their experience in the RBC Mobile app," says Tilton. "All the data-driven insights generated are hyper-personalized to our client's individual finances. The intent is to help them manage their everyday finances by removing the friction associated with making good financial routines stick."

For example, NOMI Find & Save uses predictive technology to find money clients can spare and automatically sets it aside for them. Since it launched in 2017, NOMI Find & Save has helped clients put aside approximately $6.5 billion into savings. Clients using this feature have saved on average around $495/month—adding up to approximately $5,900 per year.

NOMI Insights for RBC InvestEase helps clients start and stick to their savings and investing strategies with timely nudges when spare cash is available. NOMI Budgets sets and keeps track of a variety of expenses, from groceries to household to entertainment. And NOMI Forecast provides clients with a quick seven-day view into their future cashflow, showing upcoming preauthorized payments from any RBC deposit account. More information about all the NOMI capabilities is available at www.rbc.com/NOMI.

2024 RBC Financial Habits Poll

RESPONSE	CAN	BC	AB	SK / MB	ON	QC	AC
"Agree"
I have good financial habits	75 %	79 %	76 %	75 %	74 %	74 %	71 %
When I compare myself to my family and friends, my financial habits are above average	62 %	63 %	64 %	57 %	65 %	57 %	59 %
Building better financial habits would increase my overall wellbeing	81 %	84 %	89 %	88 %	85 %	66 %	88 %
My financial habits have made me more resilient during times of economic uncertainty	76 %	78 %	76 %	74 %	76 %	76 %	76 %
I struggle to find the time to maintain good financial habits	39 %	38 %	41 %	42 %	40 %	35 %	40 %
I can't seem to make good financial habits stick	34 %	31 %	42 %	40 %	35 %	31 %	33 %
I'm not always confident in my financial decisions	55 %	49 %	67 %	62 %	60 %	45 %	52 %
RESPONSE	CAN	BC	AB	SK / MB	ON	QC	AC
"Yes"
NET: At least one of the financial habits below have occurred in my financial routines in the past year	73 %	73 %	78 %	72 %	76 %	69 %	68 %
Not keeping track of my expenses	34 %	36 %	33 %	34 %	38 %	26 %	35 %
Not allocating time to plan my finances	37 %	38 %	47 %	30 %	40 %	33 %	31 %
Ignoring my money issues	21 %	19 %	28 %	22 %	21 %	18 %	21 %
Spending more than I earn on non-essential purchases	27 %	28 %	30 %	26 %	27 %	25 %	24 %
Missing a bill payment	16 %	14 %	18 %	16 %	16 %	17 %	15 %
Not saving or investing even when I have money to do so	28 %	23 %	34 %	33 %	30 %	26 %	23 %
RESPONSE	CAN	BC	AB	SK / MB	ON	QC	AC
"Agree"
Constantly comparing how I'm doing financially to others	33 %	28 %	40 %	27 %	36 %	32 %	31 %
Spending what I want now without thinking about my financial future	32 %	30 %	34 %	31 %	36 %	28 %	29 %
Not setting financial goals for the short or long term	38 %	36 %	40 %	29 %	41 %	37 %	35 %
Not having a clear understanding of my cash flow	22 %	22 %	23 %	20 %	23 %	21 %	27 %
RESPONSE	CAN	BC	AB	SK / MB	ON	QC	AC
"On average, how often do you do the following"
Multiple times a day - I stress about my personal finances	9 %	6 %	11 %	8 %	10 %	6 %	10 %
At least weekly - I stress about my personal finances	38 %	35 %	45 %	30 %	40 %	38 %	35 %
Never - I spend time working on creating good financial habits	12 %	12 %	7 %	13 %	13 %	11 %	17 %
Once a month or less - I spend time working on creating good financial habits	48 %	54 %	49 %	52 %	47 %	47 %	37 %

About the 2024 RBC Financial Habits Poll 
These findings are from a survey conducted by RBC from July 12 to July 16, 2024, among a representative sample of 1,505 online Canadians who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of ±2.53 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 100,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our more than 18 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, community investments and employee volunteer activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.

SOURCE RBC Royal Bank

For more information, please contact: Joel Dembe, Corporate Communications, [email protected], 647-518-4981