To put an end to the fear of letters and numbers

We can no longer stand all these acronyms, ever longer, which have imposed themselves in our lives like necessary words, or evils. But the important thing is not to know the meaning of each letter. Understanding the nature of what lies behind the set of characters is usually enough.

When it comes to savings, however, you must take the trouble to find out how the six plans designated by an acronym (or a simple acronym) work in order to make informed decisions.

RRSP, TFSA, RESP, CELIAPP, RDSP, VRSP… could you explain to your neighbor what it is?

A similar, although less demanding, question was asked by Léger to 1,000 Quebecers on behalf of ÉducÉpargne and the Chambre de la Sécurité Financière. We only wanted to determine the level of awareness of the various savings plans.

Result: the RRSP and the TFSA are known to the vast majority, but even less than Taylor Swift. The same cannot be said of the RESP, which has existed for almost 30 years and which is particularly profitable for parents.

Surprise, CELIAPP, created in spring 2023, is not that far behind. By examining the results in detail, we see that it is thanks to 18-34 year olds, who are aware of this diet in a proportion of 60%.

It’s not pleasant to write, but the study demonstrates major differences between women and men. We are far from the margin of error. While 73% of men believe they have good knowledge of savings plans, only 55% of women say the same. It’s almost 20 points difference.

Are you able to clearly differentiate between savings plans? 75% of men answered yes, which compares to 57% of women.

These results are disconcerting. Either women know much less about it than men, or they greatly underestimate themselves, which indicates a lack of confidence, in my opinion, quite cliché. It’s possibly a mixture of the two. Regardless, women need to find ways to improve their financial literacy to be able to make good decisions, even if they have less free time than men.^⁠1.

Financial planner Nathalie Bachand puts into perspective the extent of the knowledge you need to acquire to take charge of your affairs.

The worst thing to do is not to invest because you don’t know enough about it. “We must convince women that they do not need a master’s degree in finance to invest,” insists Nathalie Bachand. And you shouldn’t avoid consulting a financial planner because you’re afraid of not understanding anything. If his speech sounds like Japanese, you should look elsewhere. It is very difficult to change your family doctor, but you can shop around for your financial advisor.

Many Quebecers are not used to seeing a financial professional on a regular basis as they do for their teeth or their vehicle. If you’re negligent for 40 years, you may hit a wall when it comes time to consider retirement. Make an appointment.

There are ways to learn the basics of personal finance without it being torture. Annick Kwetcheu Gamo, founder of Code F, an organization that provides financial education services, suggests watching The art of being rich on Netflix, a series full of basic advice. If you prefer podcasts, there is no shortage of choice. New books written in an accessible way are coming out all the time, take the time to check them out. Code F and ÉducÉpargne offer training.

The popular Facebook group Money Never Sleeps provides insight into key concepts, but caution is required as the quality of advice varies. The intention may be good, but the answers to the questions are not always accurate or adequate for our personal situation.

Nathalie Bachand suggests thinking about how we spend our time. “We can spend 10 hours on the internet to compare fridges, but wouldn’t we spend an hour a year to understand personal finances? »

I like the idea put forward by the Financial Planning Institute, even if it is preaching for its parish. He suggests that financial planning services be included in companies’ employee assistance programs (EAPs). Some already offer them, which is little known, but we would benefit from it being more widespread. I am convinced that these services would be used, given the enormous number of questions asked on social networks.

As my colleague Isabelle Dubé has already reported, 74% of widowed or divorced women say they had negative surprises when their partner broke up or died, so much so that they regret not having gotten more involved. in decision making². There are too many tools for it to continue like this.

1. Read “Mothers Don’t Have Time to Save”

2. Read “Girlfriends, take charge of your finances”

Register for an ÉducÉpargne webinar on savings plans