Two recent surveys indicate that Canadians who have financial advi-sors are doing a better job of navigating the tough financial currents created by the recession.

A poll sponsored by Toronto-based Sun Life Financial Inc. and conducted by Fleishman-Hillard Canada found that of those Canadians with a financial advi-sor, 86% felt they were making better decisions about their finances as a result of their advisor’s help.

The other survey — conducted by Ipsos-Reid Corp. for Royal Bank of Canada — found that many Canadians struggle to be disciplined savers, and are not taking advantage of basic financial planning techniques such as paying themselves first and having a step-by-step plan to reach important financial milestones.

According to the Sun Life survey results, although many Canadians feel they may have to work longer than planned to prepare for retirement, those with advisors have a leg up. Sun Life’s survey says only 37% of respondents with an advisor expect to work longer than planned.

In contrast, the same survey found almost half of those without an advisor believe they will have to delay retirement and work longer.

“The survey results,” says Kevin Strain, senior vice president with Sun Life, “found a strong correlation between those respondents with an advisor and the level of confidence in their future.

“With the help of professional advice, clients are more likely to take action and put a financial plan in place,” he adds. “An advisor can break a plan down into manageable steps, and determine a process for meeting the client’s needs.”

Strain says that without an advisor, many people who may have the desire to organize their financial life simply don’t get around to putting thought into action. Financial planning may be overwhelming and confusing, and people may feel they lack understanding about financial products and are uncertain of where to begin.

An advisor who works with a client to determine goals and needs, and who provides access to appropriate solutions such as insurance and investment products, he adds, is an agent for positive change.

The Sun Life survey shows that half of respondents don’t work with advisor, Strain says, and are, therefore, likely to miss out on valuable guidance, greater financial security and peace of mind.

The survey also shows that Canadians have changed their spending habits as a result of the past year’s financial woes, with 59% saying they have spent less since January and 60% saying they have reduced their debt. According to the survey, paying housing expenses such as mortgages is the No. 1 financial priority of Canadian workers until about age 51, when retirement saving becomes more important.

“The desire to pay down debt first is not a bad start,” says Strain. “People have been through a period of rapid economic change, and paying down debt is a risk-free strategy. [People] don’t have to worry about stock market volatility or the low level of interest rates on their cash if they pay down debt. It appears they are not in the mood to speculate, and they know the benefits of debt repayment.”

The Sun Life survey’s findings on debt reduction would seem to contradict information revealed by the RBC poll, which found that one-third of Canadians are channelling less money into savings than in the past, and only one in five are saving more money.

However, the RBC survey questioned people specifically about their ability to budget and add regularly to savings rather than about debt reduction. Most people have not developed the good habits necessary to build savings, the poll found. About 60% of respondents said it is difficult to stay focused on saving money.

When it comes to managing money, the RBC poll found that Canadians view some financial tasks as easier than others. For example, 63% said it’s easy to keep track of monthly expenditures and half said that setting up a budget is easy. A minority (46%) believe figuring out how much they can save each month is easy, while even fewer say it is easy to set a savings goal (43%), be a disciplined saver (41%) or pay themselves first (34%) by setting up a savings plan.

“Paying yourself first is one of the most effective strategies for saving money, but the majority of people surveyed felt this would be a challenging task,” says Max Thompson, head of guaranteed investment certificates and savings with RBC. “If the client doesn’t see the money, he or she doesn’t miss it. But it seems that without a financial planner, many people are unaware of some of the basic tenets of saving.” IE