As the deadline for the 2003 RRSP season approaches, a majority of Canadians are unsure if they will be able to achieve their financial goals according to a new survey released Wednesday by Scotiabank and Ipsos-Reid.

Six in 10 Canadians (59%) strongly agree that setting financial goals is very important to them, but only 38% strongly agree that they are satisfied with their ability to achieve these goals.

The poll found that fewer than half of Canadians (48%) use advice from professional financial advisors in achieving their goals. Furthermore, less than one in three (30%) have a formal written plan.

A significantly higher percentage of Canadians (45%) with formal written financial plans are more likely to be satisfied with their ability to achieve their financial goals than those without a formal plan (34%). Furthermore, the study found that Canadians who make monthly contributions to savings or investments are more satisfied with their ability to achieve their financial goals (42%) than those who contribute less than once per year (32%).

“Canadians have a strong desire to achieve their financial goals, but are concerned that they won’t reach them,” said Karen Fisher, president and CEO Scotia Securities Inc. “Clearly, more Canadians need to take action and establish a written financial plan to set out their goals along with a plan to achieve them one step at a time.”

According to the poll, paying down debt is the number one financial goal, with 77% of Canadians saying it is very important to them. Yet, only 39% of those saying this an important goal report that they are personally very close to achieving this goal.

Making the best investment choices is the second most cited financial goal with 62% of Canadians saying it is very important. Twenty-nine per cent of those asked indicate that they are very close to achieving this goal.

Saving for retirement comes in third with 60% saying it is very important, but only 25% believe they are very close to achieving that goal.

The Ipsos-Reid poll was conducted on behalf of Scotiabank between February 4 and February 6. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within (+/-) 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20a.

An expanded version of the polling information has been posted on the Scotiabank Web site at www.scotiabank.com. Please look under the “What’s New?” section of the homepage.