What would you do with $5,000? Here’s what Canadians said amid high inflation

Most Canadians are more concerned with saving and paying down debt amid rising interest rates and inflation than buying a big-ticket item, new polling shows.

If you were given a surprise $5,000 with no strings attached, what would you spend it on? A new car or kitchen renovation? Tickets to an exotic location? Or would you invest it?

As inflation remains near decades-high levels, almost half of Canadians say they’d spend such a windfall on paying down their debt or covering day-to-day expenses, according to a poll from the Angus Reid Institute (ARI) conducted in early August.

Some 38 per cent of Canadians polled said paying down debt or some other long-term financial obligation would be their first priority, while 10 per cent said such a windfall would mostly go towards paying down day-to-day expenses.

Meanwhile, 43 per cent of respondents said the money would be saved or invested and only nine per cent indicated it would go towards a “big-ticket” purchase.

The $5,000-windfall question came as part of a survey from ARI examining the “toll of inflation” and asking Canadians how they’re coping with the rising cost of living. The poll, conducted online, samples more than 2,200 members of the Angus Reid Forum.

Four out of five respondents said they’re cutting back on discretionary spending, putting off major purchases, scaling back travel, driving less or deferring saving in recent months. That figure is up from 74 per cent in February.

Since that time, annual inflation rose to nearly 40-year highs as the war in Ukraine and global supply chain constraints pushed prices up across the board. Headline inflation eased slightly in July to 7.6 per cent amid lower gas prices, but pressure remained high on staples such as food.

ARI President Shachi Kurl tells Global News that for a generation of Canadians, interest rates and inflation have been relatively low and goods have been affordable and accessible. The current inflation episode is marking a change of priorities as some households grapple with making ends meet amid a downturn.