I’ve been doing some research on how people are doing in terms of financial well-ness (sparked by conversations with my teenage boys, clients and other parents), and I have to say, some of these statistics have me worried for the well-being of our society and what the future holds for our younger generations. Here are just some of the statistics I’ve come across from many different resources:
- More than 60% of adults rate their financial knowledge as “fair” or “poor”—they have a hard time understanding complex financial products and making good financial decisions.
- 68% of women rate their financial knowledge as fair or poor, compared to 57% of men.
- Seniors rate themselves highest on financial knowledge, but score the lowest on objective assessments of that knowledge.
- 8 out of 10 young Canadians are not confident in their financial knowledge, with less than 35% of students feel they’re confident enough to manage their own finances when they’re finished school.
- 3 out of 10 Canadians are struggling to meet their bills and payment obligations.
- Only 40% of Canadians have a good idea of how much money they need to save to maintain their desired standard of living in retirement.
- Over one-third of Canadian adults are not adequately preparing for retirement financially…only 57% of individuals are preparing for retirement and know how much to save. An additional 33% are preparing for retirement, but don’t know how much to save, and about 10% are not preparing at all.
- Finances weigh so heavily on people’s minds that the fear of living pay-check to pay-check, falling into debt and becoming homeless all ranked higher than the fears of being a victim of a crime, creepy crawlies, and dying.
- People aged 18 to 24, and those aged 45 and older, fear they’ll never being able to get out of debt. Coincidentally, it is these age groups that also have the highest rate of filing for bankruptcy or debt restructuring.
- What people dread most is paying the bills, followed by asking other people to pay money owed to them.
- And, people would rather talk about sex than finances.
For me, these are all pretty scary stats if I look into what they mean for our current and future well-being…people are struggling financially, and the stress and anxiety that comes with this struggle often manifests into mental and physical illness, putting an added burden on our social, economic and healthcare systems. Part of the solution, I believe, is to bring greater financial education and awareness to specific groups (young people especially – because THEY are our future). I KNOW that more is possible, that this crisis can be changed, and is EXACTLY why I’ve created my Money Mindfulness series of workshops and seminars – to create awareness of the issues and possibilities, facilitate money mindset shifts, and empower financial well-ness and conscious money decisions so you can take INSPIRED action to THRIVE in your business and in your life. It’s about getting into relationship with yourself, your life, your business, with Money as your partner. 
Money doesn’t have to be scary…it starts with a shift in mindset. It’s time to wake up, stop ignoring your finances, and put financial well-ness into your priority list (along with physical, mental and spiritual well-ness). What are you doing for your well-being? Ready to take action? Consider coming to an upcoming Money Mindfulness workshop, or book me to speak to your group. [button link=”http://54.82.103.175/events” type=”big” color=”purple” newwindow=”yes”] UPCOMING EVENTS[/button]