Missed Your 2025 Financial Goals? How to Get Back on Track

Did you fall behind on the financial priorities you set for 2025? You are far from alone. A recent Willful survey found 58% of Canadians postponed financial tasks they had planned for the year, including paying down debt, contributing to registered savings and investment accounts, buying life insurance and updating their wills.

Many Canadians missed key goals

Last year, 51% of respondents said paying off debt was a priority for 2025, yet only 26% succeeded. Forty-nine percent aimed to increase their savings, but only 30% of this year’s participants reported meeting that objective. In late 2024, 36% planned to make or update their wills in 2025, but the survey shows just 9% actually did so. Of the 18% who intended to buy a home this year, only 4% completed a purchase.

Some measures of long-term financial preparedness slipped slightly in 2025. Forty percent of respondents reported having a will (down from 41% in 2024), 34% carried life insurance (compared with 35% the previous year) and 24% had a power of attorney in place (versus 27% in 2024). Only 30% said they have discussed an emergency financial plan with family and have the supporting documents, such as a will, prepared.

These findings come from an online survey of 1,503 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum, conducted in October. The results are considered accurate within ±2.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Why Canadians fell behind

While inflation worries eased somewhat—72% of respondents reported concern about inflation’s impact on their finances, down from 86% a year earlier—other risk factors emerged. Tariffs were a concern for 53% of respondents and 44% worried about unemployment. More than one-third (37%) said they felt worse off financially than a year ago, and 46% said they had to use savings to cover everyday expenses. Overall optimism about personal finances declined to 46% in 2025 from 53% in 2024.

Erin Bury, Willful’s co-founder and CEO, says these pressures led many Canadians to defer long-term financial tasks in favor of managing immediate needs. Low financial literacy and the challenge of making difficult trade-offs—resisting marketing, peer pressure and social media that encourage immediate consumption—also make it harder to save, insure and plan for the future.

“Avoidance plays a role,” Bury says. “It’s common to put off uncomfortable planning. Most people are thinking, ‘How will I get through 2026?’ rather than ‘What will my financial situation look like in 2056?’”

Steps to get back on track in 2026

Bury recommends a few practical steps to regain momentum in 2026. Start by writing down clear, realistic financial goals and revisit them regularly. Small, consistent actions add up: you don’t need large monthly contributions to make progress over time.

She offers a personal example: “I contribute to an RESP for my children. It’s not thousands each month—just modest, regular amounts. Time is our greatest advantage when investing.”

Willful has published a month-by-month annual checklist to help Canadians keep estate planning and other financial tasks on track. The checklist suggests practical timing for common tasks, such as topping up your RRSP for the 2025 tax year in February, consolidating account information in April and setting up a password manager or secure record of account credentials in October. Using reminders, calendar alerts and automated contributions can remove friction and reduce the chance you’ll delay important steps.

Other straightforward actions to consider in 2026: review and, if necessary, update your will and power of attorney; evaluate your life insurance needs; create an emergency fund that covers several months of living expenses; and centralize financial documents so family members can access critical information if needed. Education also helps—improving basic financial literacy makes it easier to prioritize and follow through on long-term goals.

Read more about financial planning:

• What is financial planning?
• The MoneySense Find a Qualified Advisor Tool
• How to build financial confidence in uncertain times
• Having a financial plan more than doubles your retirement confidence—why many Canadians skip it