Learning money management skills earlier made the difference

The survey results shows there's a clear divide between Canadians who received financial education in school and those who did not.

For example, 78% of those who learned at least a bit about money management rate their current abilities as good, compared to 59% who did not receive any education on the subject.

A separate 41% of those who did not learn about money management in school rate their ability to manage their personal finances as okay, at most, compared to 22% of those who had some form of financial education.

The Edward Jones survey also asked Canadians if they would manage their money better with a financial advisor. Almost three-quarters (72%) of Canadians agreed that a financial advisor would help. This figure is even higher for those who learned about money management in school, with 78% seeing the benefits of working with a financial advisor compared to 69% who don't see the benefit, but also didn't get receive money management skills training during their school years.

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Desires for money management skills training differed from region to region

There was a broadly acknowledged need for these skills to be taught in school, although the enthusiasm varied by province. Support is highest in Ontario at 90% — where 85% feel positively about Ontario's requirement for financial literacy testing in Grade 10. In Alberta, only 74% were enthusiastic about the need for money skills training at school.

When looking at different generations, millennials are most likely to think they could benefit from financial advisor help (80%,) while Boomers are least likely (66%).

Survey methodology

The Edward Jones survey was conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights between August 30 to September 3, 2024. The online survey asked 1,516 Canadians over the age of 18 questions regarding financial literacy and confidence. Results were weighted using the latest StatsCan data to be representative of the Canadian population.

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Nicholas Sokic Contributor

Nicholas completed his master's in journalism and communications at Western University. Since then, he's worked as a reporter at the Financial Post, Healthing.ca, Sustainable Biz Canada and more. Aside from reporting, he also has experience in web production, social media management, photography and video production. His work can also be found in the Toronto Star, Yahoo Finance Canada, Electric Autonomy Canada and Exclaim among others.

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