TORONTO (CU)_Since the beginning of the pandemic in early-2020, saving money has been one of the few silver linings of the global health crisis. With nationwide lockdowns being imposed in many countries for several months, many consumers saw their spending habits change naturally. For instance, the closure of clothing stores and bakeries hit the brakes on impulse purchasing, while social life was forced onto the back burner, as cultural outings, dinners and after-work drinks were no longer possible amid travel restrictions.
On the other hand, the global health crisis also underscored the need to set money aide in a rainy day fund, as millions of people were grappling with the loss of income caused by the pandemic-induced economic downturn. This was reaffirmed by recent data issued by Statistics Canada, which showed that by mid-2020, the household savings rate skyrocketed to 28.2 per cent, from around 3 per cent before the pandemic.
Now, with the economy beginning to recover COVID, a significant number of Canadians are hoping to continue to spend less and save more than they did before the pandemic. However, they are concerned that their ability to do so may be hindered by inflation and the ongoing housing crisis.
According to a survey conducted by Scotiabank has revealed that of the Canadians who participated in the poll, 63 per cent said they did not plan to spend the way they did before the pandemic, while the proportion of participants who were concerned that they might be unable to save the way they did during COVID, stood at 55 per cent.
“If you talked to me in the spring, I would’ve told you that when restrictions lift and restaurants, patios and travel resumes, that this watershed of savings would be unleashed onto the economy, but that’s not true,” Scotiabank’s senior vice president of day-to-day banking, D’Arcy McDonald, said. “Canadians are still embracing the budgeting habits they acquired during the pandemic.”
Nevertheless, he pointed out that inflation, the surge in property prices and rent cost, as well as the returning to working in offices are some of the reasons why many people believe that they may not be able to continue the savings and spending habits they developed amid COVID.
