- Survey reveals saving an extra $1,500 could go a long way for Ontarians

TORONTO, July 13 /CNW/ - Nearly all Ontario residents (96 per cent) feel much better when they have money set aside for the unexpected and having rainy day money is the primary reason that they save (41 per cent), according to a recent Scotiabank study conducted by Harris/Decima assessing the saving patterns of Canadians. While nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of Ontario residents have a saving plan in place, the majority (72 per cent) indicate that an additional $1,500 per year would improve their financial well-being.

"While it is encouraging to see that so many Ontarians recognize the importance of saving for a rainy day and have a plan in place to do so, the study also revealed that nearly one-in-five Ontarians, 18 per cent, do not have any rainy day money set aside," said John Doig, Senior Vice-President, Toronto Region, Scotiabank. "It is time to put these plans into action and get every Ontarian saving.

"Improving your financial well-being by saving an extra $1,500 a year is not as difficult as it may sound," continued Mr. Doig. "By making small changes to their everyday behaviour, Ontario residents can save automatically to ensure they have extra money put away that will provide the peace of mind they are looking for."

The Scotiabank study found that Ontario residents are ready to make these changes, with 84 per cent saying they would be willing to change to their spending habits if they wanted to save more money.

"An additional $1,500 a year is less than five dollars a day - $4.11 to be exact," noted Mr. Doig. "Ontario residents do not have to make major changes to their spending habits to achieve their saving goals, in fact saving is all about making small changes that, over time, make a big difference."

To save that extra $1,500, Mr. Doig recommends that Ontarians save automatically by:

-  Saving every time you pay with your debit card by using a debit card
       that rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar or five dollars;
    -  Saving every time you pay with your credit card by using a credit
       card that offers cash back for every dollar you spend; and
    -  Saving with every paycheque by having a set amount automatically
       transferred from every pay to a savings or investment account of your
       choice.

Let the Saving Begin, Canada!

Ontario residents are not alone. In fact, the sentiments expressed by Ontarians are in line with most of the Canadian population, with 72 per cent of Canadians agreeing that saving an additional $1,500 per year would improve their financial well-being. While 94 per cent of Canadians feel much better when they have a safety net of savings, nearly one third (32 per cent) do not have a plan in place to achieve their savings goals and only 55 per cent save on a regular basis.

"We all recognize the importance of saving and it's now time to do something about it - it's time for Canadians, from east to west, to get back to basics and start saving again," remarked Mr. Doig. "Canadians have told us that they are willing to make the changes necessary to help them save and Scotiabank is committed to helping them make these small changes to accomplish their goals. It's time to Let the Saving Begin, Canada."

Let the Saving Begin is a Scotiabank program designed to inspire and empower Canadians to get on track with their saving, investing and borrowing habits.

Built on three simple principles, Let the Saving Begin encourages Canadians to:

-  Save automatically, because it works;
    -  Invest for your future, because no one else will; and
    -  Borrow to get ahead, not fall behind.

Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With close to 68,000 employees, Scotiabank Group and its affiliates serve approximately 14.6 million customers in some 50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a diverse range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With more than $526 billion in assets (as at April 30, 2010), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.

The Scotiabank Spring Savings Study was conducted online using Harris/Decima's online panel. A total of 1,006 completed surveys were collected from a random sample of panel members across Canada, of which 325 surveys were completed from Ontario. The study was conducted from March 26th, 2010 to March 31st, 2010.

This was a standard panel survey among a random sample of Harris/Decima's Canadian panel members. In a fashion similar to a telephone study, email addresses from Harris/Decima's panel were pulled at random, according to population and gender specifications, in order to make the study representative of the Canadian population by region and gender. When contacted to solicit participation, participants had no prior knowledge of the subject matter of the study. Harris/Decima controls access to the study through passwords to ensure that respondents can participate only once. Subsequent to completion of the study, the data was weighted by region, age, and gender.