- Survey reveals saving an extra $1,500 a year could have the biggest positive impact on Quebecers

MONTREAL, July 13 /CNW/ - Ninety-three per cent of Quebec residents agree that they feel much better when they have a safety net of savings, making saving for a rainy day their top saving priority (45 per cent), according to a recent Scotiabank study conducted by Harris/Decima assessing the saving patterns of Canadians. While 82 per cent say they have money saved for a rainy day, nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of Quebecers say that saving an additional $1,500 a year would improve their financial well-being.

"In Quebec, and right across the country, people are telling us that saving money is a priority," said Diane Giard, Senior Vice-President, Quebec Region, Scotiabank. "One quarter, 26 per cent, of Quebecers indicated that an extra $1,500 would make a significant improvement to their financial well-being, more than the national average of 18 per cent. Saving an additional $1,500 may be easier than you think."

The study also found that Quebecers are least likely to deposit loose change into a bank account (19 per cent vs. 24 per cent nationally), and more likely to spend it right away (37 per cent vs. 29 per cent nationally).

"While spending loose change may not seem significant, it does add up," continued Ms. Giard. "An extra $1,500 a year means saving less than five dollars a day - $4.11 to be exact. So, instead of spending your loose change, why not save it. Every little bit helps."

Small changes go a long way, and 78 per cent of Quebecers would be ready to make changes to their spending habits if they wanted to save more money.

In addition to saving your pocket change, Ms. Giard recommends saving 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!

The sentiments expressed by Quebecers are in line with most of the Canadian population, with 72 per cent 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) of Canadians 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 Ms. Giard. "Canadians have told us that they are willing to make the small changes necessary to help them save and Scotiabank is committed to helping them make these 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, without having to make significant changes to their current behaviour.

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 252 surveys were completed from Quebec. 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.