While inflation left a “pit” in the stomachs of some Canadian millennials, others are actually financially optimistic as 2023 progresses.
Earlier this week, the Bank of Canada announced another interest rate hike to 4.5% after seven total rate hikes last year.
Daily Hive caught up with a millennial wealth advisor, Naveen Senthamilselvan, about why this recent announcement wasn’t as significant a blow and why some Canadian millennials aren’t too frazzled by it.
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In reaction to the Bank of Canada interest rate hike, Senthamilselvan suggested that most Canadians have gotten used to this reality, especially considering how many times it happened last year.
“Many people didn’t really blink; they knew that it was gonna happen,” he said.
“I think there’s a lot of hopefulness.”
According to a Meridian Credit Union survey, 61% of millennials are motivated to refresh their finances, and 55% remain hopeful for the future.
77% of Canadian millennials who responded to the survey suggested that inflation left them with a pit in their stomachs.
While some millennials might be feeling hopeful, Canada is a big country, and things differ significantly regionally, especially when it comes to things like the cost of housing. In that case, BC and Ontario are much more expensive than other Canadian provinces, and residents in those provinces obviously may not feel as hopeful about their financial future.
Those Canadians who are indeed hopeful feel optimistic because they realize that interest rates will eventually taper off and things will start to normalize.
While 55% of Canadian millennials who took the survey might remain hopeful, what about the 45% that don’t?
According to Senthamilselvan, those Canadians are cutting back on discretionary spending.
“My friends who used to travel two to three times a year, this year, they have basically said they’re not going to be travelling at all,”Ā Senthamilselvan said.
Others will look to save, and some “just want to be prudent for the next two years,” saving money in case of unexpected increases in the cost of living.
Daily Hive recently did a story on some of the sacrifices Canadians are making to keep up with the cost of living in 2023, so clearly, not everyone is faring well in these unprecedented economic times.
Whether you fall in the category of optimistic Canadians or not, a piece of advice we have heard from Senthamilselvan and other financial experts is to find an advisor who can give you sound financial advice, especially if you’re looking to invest your money.
Are you feeling better about 2023 than you did about 2022? Let us know in the comments.
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