Money the biggest source of stress for Canadians: FP Canada

Money woes have once again topped the list of problems that stress out Canadians, according to FP Canada.

The professional body’s latest Financial Stress Index revealed that 38% of Canadians said money was the No. 1 source of stress in their life, beating out personal health (26%), work (20%) and relationships (15%).

This marked the fourth time in a row money has been named the biggest stressor in FP Canada’s Financial Stress Index. Respondents worried about money said they were most stressed by the ideas of saving for retirement (35%) and paying bills (also 35%).

Covid-19 contributed to many survey respondents’ money troubles: almost half (45%) said the pandemic had directly impacted their financial stress level.

Fifty-one per cent of respondents said they’d lost sleep over money. Women (54%) were more likely than men (47%) to have endured sleepless nights as a result of money trouble.

Money is also having an impact on Canadians’ physical health. Thirty-one per cent of respondents said they’d developed health issues from worrying about money.

FP Canada, a credentialing body for financial planners, suggested there may be a cure to money woes: working with a financial planner.

The professional body noted that 23% of respondents who use a financial planner said money was their top source of stress, compared with 39% of respondents who don’t work with a planner.

Seventy-three per cent of people who work with a planner said they felt more hopeful about their finances than they did a year ago, compared with 56% of respondents who don’t use a planner.

FP Canada commissioned Leger to conduct an online survey 1,510 Canadians between April 30–May 2. Online polls cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.