It’s easy, and fairly common, to feel like you’re lagging behind everyone else when it comes to finances.
According to a 2025 Leger survey for the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, 52% of Canadians say they feel “behind” where they expected to be financially, while 1 in 4 (25%) say they feel “significantly behind” because of inflation, debt, and housing costs (1).
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Now, with the less-than-rosy picture around job security, stubborn inflation and the nation’s sluggish economy it’s easy to see why Canadians are jittery.
But the threshold for the top 50% by certain financial parameters is surprisingly low. It doesn’t take much to put yourself in a better position than around half the country’s adults. In fact, if you can check off just one of the three boxes below, you’re already in the top half or close to it by some measure.
Here’s a closer look.
Not living paycheque-to-paycheque
As of mid-2025, 46% of Canadians report living paycheque-to-paycheque, according to the Canadian Payroll Association’s Annual Survey (2). Among those under 35, that jumps to 61%, with 71% saying they couldn’t handle an unexpected $500 expense without borrowing to cover these costs.
If you’re managing to save even a little each month, you’re already ahead of much of the country. Those savings can come from cutting back on expenses or boosting income — either way you’ll be ahead of the pack and well on your way to financial stability.
Read more: Are you drowning in debt? Here are 3 simple strategies to help crush your balance to $0 in no time
Use a budget to get off the cash-flow rollercoaster
A good strategy to help you stop living paycheque-to-paycheque is to use a budget. This can be as simple as writing everything down that you spend, keeping a spreadsheet of expenses, reviewing your bank or credit card statements or using a budgeting app, like Monarch Money. With Monarch Money you can build and track your budget. Plus, get 50% off their first year with code WISE50.
You don’t worry about finances daily
It’s perfectly natural to worry about money from time to time. Even billionaires appear to worry about taxes or stock market crashes. But if you’re worrying about finances frequently — like on a daily basis — it could be a bright red flag. So is ignoring yoru financial situation.
A 2025 FP Canada: Financial Stress Index found that 44% of Canadians say money is their top source of stress — ahead of work, health, or relationships — while 36% say they lose sleep over financial worries (3).
The key is to be concerned, but to let go of the stress of fretting on a daily basis. That means if you’re one of the 56% of Canadians who are not constantly worrying about your bank balance, you’re that much closer to living a more financially stable (and mentally serene) life.
Saving for retirement
Given that most Canadians live paycheque-to-paycheque, while worrying about their finances on a daily basis, it shouldn’t be surprising that many are also struggling to secure their future financial needs.
According to Statistics Canada, only 53% of Canadians contribute to a registered retirement plan, such as an RRSP, TFSA, or employer pension plan (4), although a much larger percentage of Canadians worry about their ability to save. In an RBC report, more than 3 out of 4 (77%) of Canadians reported feeling "concerned about balancing today’s expenses versus building my savings," while more than two-thirds (64%) admitted to worrying about their cash flow (5).
Start by setting up automatic savings
A simple strategy to help you save is to set up an automatic deposit into a high interest savings accout (HISA). A good way to do this is to get your paycheque deposited (preferably into a no-fee chequing account, like the account offered by Simplii Financial). Then set up automatic withdrawals and deposits to your HISA account.
If you use the Simplii no-fee chequing account and the Simplii HISA and you can track your progress every time you log into your online bank account. If you’re just getting started, set up a Simplii Financial No-Fee Chequing Account to automatically funnel a portion of your pay into a Simplii high-interest savings account.
Learning to communicate
One of the toughest tasks when finances are a stressful is to communicate honestly and openly with loved ones. Unfortunately, people who feel high financial stress – meaning they feel overwhelmed with spending, are struggling to meet financial obligations, or are worried about managing their money – are less likely to communicate with their partner due to greater anticipated conflict, according to research published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology (6).
What’s worse, is that the stress of finances can often lead to the perception that a partner is not supportive. Research published by researchers from Carleton University and the University of Western Ontario found that financial stress in a relationship can affect the perceived support a person receives from their partner. When there are disagreements about money, for example, the research found that people report feeling more neglected or distrustful and say they are less satisfied in their relationship (7).
While it can be hard, the key is to start to communicate.
Just be talking — in a non-judgemental way — you can begin to see where you can make adjustments and develop strategies. This helps you realign your behaviour to your habits — and let’s you focus on getting out of the paycheque-to-paycheque cycle, stop fretting daily about money and start saving for the future.
Bottom line
If you can check off even one of these boxes — not living paycheque-to-paycheque, feeling less stressed about money, or saving for retirement — you’re doing better than about half of Canadians. But why stop there? Aim for financial stability that lets you thrive, not just survive.
—with files from Melanie Huddart and Romana King
What To Read Next
- Here are 5 expenses that Canadians (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you?
- Ray Dalio just raised a red flag for Americans who ‘care’ about their money — here’s why Canadians should limit their exposure to U.S. investments
- I’m almost 50 and don’t have enough retirement savings. What should I do? Don’t panic. Here are 6 solid ways you can catch up
- Here are the top 7 habits of ‘quietly wealthy’ Canadians. How many do you follow?
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (1); National Payroll Institute: Annual Survey of Working Canadians 2025 (2); FP Canada: Money & Milestones Survey 2055 (3); Statistics Canada: Canadian Financial Capability Survey 2024 (4); RBC: Canadians call out their top personal finance concerns (5); Journal of Consumer Psychology (6); Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (7)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.