Majority (54%) of Canadians Say
They're `Spenders', Not `Savers' (46%)

Toronto, ON - A new Ipsos Reid poll released today and conducted on behalf of ING DIRECT reveals that a majority (54%) of Canadians who have a bank account say that they would classify themselves as a `spender', while a minority indicate that they are `savers' (46%) by nature. This might not be surprising, however, considering that four in ten (39%) Canadians do not have a favourite technique or habit to save. But other Canadians indicate that they save in a variety of different manners, including regular deductions to an RRSP account (22%), a change jar (17%), or automatic deductions to a savings account (16%) among other tactics.

Despite the admission by a majority of account holders that they are `spenders' and not `savers', nearly six in ten (56%) indicate that they were raised in a family that encouraged saving habits, while only one in ten (10%) were encouraged to spend their money. One third (32%) were not encouraged to do either. Among those individuals who were raised to be savers, a majority (54%) believe that they are still good savers today, compared to just one third (33%) who were not raised in a saving-inclined household but believe that they are good savers today.

Apparently cultivating their saving habits at a young age, a majority of Canadian account-holders opened up their first savings account prior to the age of fifteen, with one quarter (25%) opening one between the ages of 10 and 14, another quarter (26%) between the ages of 5 and 9 and even some (6%) before they were five years old.

With only four in ten (38%) account holders indicating that nobody in particular taught them about saving money, it appears that many had some help along the way. In fact, one quarter (23%) say that their mother was most influential in this regard, while two in ten (20%) believe it was their father who played this role. Other influential individuals include another family member (4%), an investment professional (2%), a friend (2%), spouse (2%) or a sibling (2%).

The results of the poll also reveal that almost all account holders have a chequing account (95%), while fewer (72%) indicate that they have a savings account (72%) or mutual funds (43%). But only one third (35%) of Canadians say they have a high-interest savings account, earning 3% or more interest a year.

Among those who don't have a savings account at all, the most commonly cited reasons include using their chequing account to save (32%), that savings accounts pay low interest (31%), that they don't save (27%) or that they use other investments to save (21%). However, nearly two in ten (18%) Canadian bank account holders are unaware that high-interest savings accounts exist. In fact, six in ten (61%) believe that they are paying more in service fees than they receive back in interest, and nearly one half (48%) indicate that interest rates are too low to make opening a savings account worth their time.

And in terms of what Canadians are saving for, six in ten (58%) Canadian account holders are saving for retirement, while others are saving for travel (38%), a car or other vehicle (25%), a home (24%), renovations (20%), a child's education (18%), furniture (14%), or household entertainment (10%) among other things.

It appears that most Canadians are not buying things which they cannot afford, with a majority (57%) agreeing that they save up for the things they buy, and a similar proportion (56%) indicating that they only buy something if they have the money to pay for it, and that they save regularly (55%).

Nearly one half (43%) indicate that they save to have a financial buffer or for a rainy day, while three in ten (30%) do so to achieve specific financial goals. Just one in nine (11%) indicate that they do not save, and one in ten (10%) do so because they think they should.

These motivations not withstanding, one third (34%) of Canadian account holders suggest that it is harder for them to save money now than it was for them just one year ago. Only one quarter (25%) indicate that it is now easier for them, while four in ten (39%) say that there is no change for them in this regard.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of ING DIRECT from Oct 23 to Oct 29, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1582 bank-account holders was interviewed online. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1772.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of bank-account holders been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Research Manager
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

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Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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