Nearly a third of Canadians who talked about money improved their mental well-being too
Talking about money is making Canadians richer.
A new Capital One Canada survey found that 61 percent of Canadians who engaged in financial conversations reported a positive outcome, from growing savings to paying down significant debt.
Among those who participated in or followed financial conversations, 29 percent said it helped them increase personal savings and 20 percent said it helped them pay down a significant portion of debt.
Another 31 percent said the conversations improved their mental well-being.
The generational divide is where the data gets sharper.
Sixty-nine percent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 said they had grown more transparent about money in the past year, and 77 percent of that group said the openness prompted concrete financial action, including starting a side hustle (25 percent) or negotiating higher pay (15 percent).
By contrast, nearly three-quarters of Canadians aged 55 and older said they still prefer to opt out of financial conversations altogether.
The two groups also diverge on where they seek guidance.
Seventy-two percent of those aged 18 to 34 said online communities offer support not available through traditional circles, while those aged 55 and older were nearly twice as likely to rely on professional financial planners compared with younger Canadians, at 44 percent versus 25 percent.
Barriers remain.
Seven in 10 Canadians said openness about personal finances can create feelings of social pressure or comparison, a figure that climbed to 79 percent among those aged 18 to 34.
Nearly half said they feel uncomfortable disclosing total debt (47 percent) or income (45 percent) to a close friend or peer.
Despite that discomfort, half of all respondents agreed that keeping finances private has done more harm than good.
"By trading isolation for transparency, we replace financial anxiety with action," Becca Mintz, managing vice president of Capital One Canada.
