Money Talks: Emphasizing Wealth in Household Finances

Recognizing the importance of household wealth in the overall financial wellbeing of Canadians and the relative scarcity of the public policy dialogue that is centered unequivocally on wealth, this paper aims to critically examine households’ wealth position, their attitudes to the accumulation of wealth and practices utilized for that purpose. Measured as the difference between the value of household assets and liabilities as it transpires at a given point in time, an examination of the outcomes of household wealth accumulation is performed through assessing the aggregate levels of wealth, the quality of the household wealth position, and exploration of households’ views on the importance and purpose of wealth accumulation, and strategies utilized for that. Results of the analysis show that households’ determination towards wealth accumulation does not appear to be strong as only few engage in developing wealth accumulation strategies, and monitoring the dollar value of their wealth and economic factors that may affect it. Reluctance of households to engage in active savings is also evident. Moreover, high levels of household debt elevate household exposure to risks whereas the high reliance on the appreciation of assets for wealth accumulation increases households’ vulnerabilities.