But the sentiment is not universal as many are fearing worsening conditions
The start of a new year often has a feeling of renewal and optimism about it, but when the economic challenges of the previous year remain, this can be a hard state to achieve.
Canadians taking part in a new poll from Angus Reid Institute are more optimistic than not about the prospects for 2024 with 44% expecting more good than bad, 40% expecting an average year, and just 17% expecting things to worsen.
Much of this sentiment relates to health and quality of life, but 21% of respondents believe their personal finances will be worse this year (6% said a lot worse) and this is led by younger Canadians with 24% of under 35s expecting their financial situation to be worse in 2024 than last year.
Overall, the largest single share (40%) believes that their finances will be the same this year as last, 31% expect improvement, and 8% think their situation will be a lot better. Men under 55 are most optimistic with around half of respondents from this cohort expecting improvement compared to 36% of men aged 55 or above.
Women of core working age are also showing higher-than-average levels of pessimism about their personal finances with almost a quarter of those aged 35-54 saying they will be worse this year compared to 18% of men of the same age. However, 39% of women under 55 are expecting their finances to improve this year compared to 27% of women over 55.
Lower income households
Lower income households continue to find things tough and 36% of those with an income of less than $25K expect their finances to be a lot worse this year, along with 22% of those in the next income band up to $50K. Households with an income of $150K-200K are least likely to say things will be a lot worse this year (9%).
Finances remain a major factor in Canadians’ stress levels and the survey found that younger people (18-34) are more likely to expect worsening stress this year (27%) compared to around 20% of those aged 35-54 and 13% of over 55s.
