Canadians are doing a good job of debt management but are not quite making the grade when it comes to savings, according to CIBC’s Financial Report Card Poll.

The poll asked Canadians to grade themselves on various financial habits, and revealed they are placing debt reduction much higher on their priority list than building their savings.

“It’s encouraging to see Canadians making progress on managing their debt so far in 2011, however they clearly feel they have more work to do when it comes to building their savings for the future,” said Christina Kramer, executive vice-president, retail distribution and channel strategy, CIBC. “Debt management has definitely become a priority for Canadians and these results show that they are paying greater attention to this topic in the first half of the year, with an opportunity to keep working towards their longer term goals for debt reduction.”

Canadians earned the following grades in the first half of 2011:

  • Managing Debt: “A” – 43% of Canadians chose this as their grade based on progress so far this year.
  • Managing the Day to Day Budget: “B” – 39% of respondents chose this grade for the year so far.
  • Building Savings: “C” – with only 28%, Canadians earned the lowest marks in this category, with a further 27% of respondents choosing either a “D” or an “F” as their grade so far in 2011.

Canadians who took the time to get financial advice earned higher grades. Among Canadians who met with an advisor sometime in the last 12 months, 78% earned an “A” or “B” on debt management. That declines to 66% among those who did not meet with an advisor.

Among Canadians with a regular savings plan in place, 56% earned an “A” or “B” for building their savings this year, compared to just 24% among those who do not have regular savings plans in place.

“There’s a clear link between feeling positive about your financial progress so far this year and certain key activities including having a regular savings plan in place, or meeting with an advisor to discuss your overall financial picture,” said Kramer.

There were some notable differences among age groups in the survey. Canadians in the 25-44 age group gave themselves lower marks for their progress on debt management. This age group was more likely to give themselves a “B” in this category (38%) instead of an “A”, which was the most popular overall. This age group also had some challenges in terms of budgeting—they were the least likely (20%) to give themselves an “A” for managing their day to day budget when compared to other age groups.

Conversely, those 65 and over felt they were the best budgeters in the country, with this age group giving themselves an “A” (44%) for managing their day to day budget, higher than the “B” earned nationally.

“Financial priorities vary depending on your stage of life, which speaks to the need for advice that is specific to your financial goals,” said Kramer. “Canadians with a mortgage and a young family may have a number of financial priorities within their financial plans, while Canadians enjoying retirement are more likely to focus on effectively managing their budget to make the most of their retirement savings.”