- Women are 8 per cent more likely to say concerns about their
overall financial situation have increased over the past three
months.
TORONTO, March 6,
2024 /CNW/ - The BMO Real Financial Progress
Index reveals Canadian women are 12 per cent more likely than
men to feel increasingly concerned about the economic pressures
associated with inflation (63 per cent vs. 51 per cent) and the
rising cost of living (66 per cent vs. 54 per cent).
Examining how current economic conditions are affecting
Canadians' financial confidence and approaches to financial
planning, the survey finds a distinct gender gap:
- Economic Pressures:
- 63 per cent of women reported their concerns about inflation
have increased in the last three months, compared to 51 per cent of
men.
- Two thirds (66 per cent) of women say concerns about cost of
living have increased in the last three months – 12 per cent more
than men.
- Financial Security:
- 43 per cent of women say concerns about their financial
situation have increased in the last three months – 8 per cent more
than men.
- Women are 7 per cent more likely to feel less confident in
their financial situation and 5 per cent more likely to feel less
financially secure than they did a year ago compared to men.
- Over two thirds (69 per cent) of men have enough savings to get
them through an unexpected emergency compared to 63 per cent
women.
- Financial Progress:
- Women are 8 per cent less likely to believe they are making
real financial progress compared to men (37 per cent of men vs. 29
per cent of women).
- Over a third (35 per cent) of women say that uncertainty about
their financial future is holding them back from making financial
progress – 5 per cent more than men.
"While women have made meaningful strides in the workplace and
in business, their financial security and opportunity to build
long-term wealth are held back as they continue to feel
disproportionately affected by current economic conditions," said
Gayle Ramsay, Head, Everyday
Banking, Segment & Customer Growth, BMO. "Guided by BMO's
Purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, we
are committed to supporting women at every step of their financial
and personal journey. Working with an advisor can provide relevant
perspective and advice on financial planning and enhance your
financial literacy – paramount to building financial empowerment
and making real financial progress."
Helping Women Make Real Financial Progress
While three quarters (75 per cent vs. 78 per cent of men) of
women feel they are in control of their finances, women are 7 per
cent less likely to have set an annual household budget and 4 per
cent less likely to have a written financial plan. Among the 68 per
cent of women who have set financial goals, top goals include
saving for retirement (57 per cent), saving for a vacation (51 per
cent), paying down debt (43 per cent) and saving for a major
purchase such as a car, large appliance, etc. (32 per cent vs. 40
per cent of men).
Despite fewer than half (44 per cent) of women saying their
families supported financial literacy while growing up through
conversations about budgeting, saving and financial planning,
younger Gen Z women (ages 18 to 24) were the most likely to have
received financial literacy support from their families (62 per
cent).
BMO offers resources to help women and all Canadians build their
confidence in personal finance and make real financial
progress:
- Be aware of your cashflow by tracking your incoming and
outgoing money flow.
- Ensure you have set short-, mid- and long-term goals and have
regular reviews to ensure you are making the financial progress
needed to achieve these goals.
- Establish and build your credit. Take advantage of credit
building solutions such as a credit score tool, credit building
loan or secure card and monitor your credit report score
often.
- Make a budget or savings plan for large purchases like a car,
vacation or new appliance.
- When evaluating what you owe, pay down debt with the highest
interest rate first.
- Assess ongoing expenses such as streaming services, cable and
internet plans, gym memberships or phone providers and negotiate
lower prices when possible or work to reduce or eliminate programs
you don't use often.
- Speak with a financial advisor or banker to make sure your
savings and payment patterns are on track to reach both near- and
long-term goals and that you have the right financial tools in your
toolbelt to achieve these goals.
Customers can build financial literacy, monitor financial plans,
and reach financial goals through BMO's innovative digital tools
and resources:
- BMO SmartProgress: This tool helps customers
learn more about important personal finance topics and build
financial literacy anywhere and at any time. It is a free, online
financial education platform featuring customized, interactive
content, including videos and tools, on complex financial planning
topics including budgeting and credit management, homeownership and
investing.
- BMO CreditView: Customers can quickly and easily
check their credit scores and access new tools and advice to manage
their credit profile online and on mobile.
- BMO Insights: Customers get help saving more,
monitoring spending and account values, and spotting unusual
activity with 25 BMO Insights that provide customers free, quick,
and personalized views of their daily spending to help them make
informed decisions. Popular online insights include:
- CashTrack: Using artificial intelligence, these insights
monitor customers' cash flows and let them know if they will run
out of money in the next seven days.
- Spend Categorization: These insights notify customers
when there has been a significant increase in a specific spending
category or if a free trial has expired.
- BMO Savings Amplifier Account: To help make saving easy
and automatic, BMO's new Savings Amplifier Account offers no
monthly fees, a competitive interest rate, and unlimited no-fee
transfers to other BMO accounts. In addition, its digital Savings
Goals feature enables customers to set, track, and manage their
financial goals.
To learn more about how BMO helps customers make financial
progress, visit www.bmo.com/main/personal.
About the BMO Real Financial
Progress Index
Launched in February 2021, the BMO
Real Financial Progress Index is an indicator of how consumers feel
about their personal finances and whether they are making financial
progress. The Index aims to spark dialogue that will help consumers
reach their financial goals and to humanize a topic that causes
anxiety for many – money.
The research detailed in this document was conducted by Ipsos in
Canada from January 2 to 19, 2024. A sample of n= 2,500
adults ages 18+ in Canada were
collected. Quotas and weighting were used to ensure the sample's
composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to
census parameters. This survey has a credibility interval of +/-
2.4 per cent 19 times out of 20, of
what the results would have been had all Canadian adults 18+ been
surveyed.
About BMO Financial
Group
BMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of
$1.3 trillion as of January 31, 2024. Serving customers for 200 years
and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged employees
providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth
management, global markets and investment banking products and
services to 13 million customers across Canada, the United
States, and in select markets globally. Driven by a single
purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO
is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making
progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and inclusive
society.
SOURCE BMO Financial Group