So you didn’t meet your 2025 financial goals. Here’s how to do it better: MoneySense

Many Canadians missed important goals

A year ago, 51% of respondents in a similar poll said they wanted to pay off their debt by 2025, but only 26% were successful. A similar number, 49%, had the ambition to save for the future last year, but only 30% of this year’s respondents said they accomplished that task. At the end of 2024, 36% of respondents said they wanted to make or update their will in 2025, but only 9% actually did so. Of the 18% who were looking for a home in 2025, only 4% bought one.

In fact, the portion of the population that crossed off major financial tasks may have taken a small step backward by 2025. Forty percent reported having a will (compared to 41% in 2024), 34% had life insurance (compared to 35% a year earlier) and 24% had a power of attorney (compared to 27% in 2024). Only 30% of respondents said they have discussed a financial contingency plan with their families and have the associated planning documents, such as a will.

The findings all came from an online survey of 1,503 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The poll took place in October. The results are considered accurate within 2.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Why the Canadians fell behind

While inflation as a threat has diminished somewhat – 72% of respondents said they were concerned about its impact on their finances, compared to 86% a year ago – new risk factors such as rates (53%) and unemployment (44%) rank high among the reasons for not achieving financial targets. More than a third (37%) felt worse off than last year and 46% said they had to save to cover costs. The share of Canadians who are optimistic about their financial future fell from 53% in 2024 to 46% in 2025.

“All of these factors led Canadians to largely postpone these financial tasks related to their long-term financial health and well-being in favor of regular daily life,” said Erin Bury, co-founder and CEO of Willful. What also hinders people’s ability to achieve their goals is usually low levels of financial literacy and the difficulty of making difficult decisions and delaying gratification in the face of marketing, peer pressure and social media that push us to do the opposite.

“There’s ignorance involved. It’s very common not to think or plan for the future, and to avoid thinking or planning for anything uncomfortable,” says Bury. “Most people are only focused on ‘How will I get through 2026?’, not on ‘What will my financial picture look like in 2056?’”

Steps to get back on track in 2026

Bury recommends writing down your financial goals as a first step to moving forward in 2026. Refer to them throughout the year and adjust as necessary. Set reminders in your calendar. The monthly contributions don’t have to be huge to make a difference in the long term.

“I have an RESP for my children. I don’t spend thousands of dollars a month, just a small amount,” she says. “The greatest asset we have when investing is time.”

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Willful has made a month after month checklist to keep wealth and other financial goals top-of-mind in 2026. They include topping up your RRSP for the 2025 tax year in February, centralizing your account information in one place in April, and setting up a password manager for your various accounts in October.

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About Michael McCullough

Michael is a financial writer and editor in Duncan, BC. He is the former editor-in-chief of Canadian Business and editor-in-chief of Canada Wide Media. He also writes for The Globe and Mail and BCBusiness.