Your financial education is a lifelong journey. As you move through different ages and stages, you’ll face unique financial challenges and changing priorities. When it comes to your personal finances, knowledge is power. More financial education can lead to more informed decisions. In this article, we’ll walk you through the different life stages and outline common financial challenges and what you can do to prepare for and overcome them.
Teenagers and students
A recent survey by Intuit found that 73% of Canadian high school students find personal finance confusing, and 70% feel it’s intimidating. Unless your parents taught you foundational topics like how to make a budget and manage your credit, this might be your first exposure to managing money.
Common challenges at this stage
- What is a budget? Why do I need a budget? How to create a budget?
- Money management. How to save, invest, and manage bill payments, credit, and household debt.
- Student loans. How many student loans to take out, and how to create a plan to pay them back.
20s and 30s: Young adults
As you graduate from post-secondary, enter the workforce, and begin to develop in your career, you’ll face a whole new host of financial challenges.
Common challenges at this stage
- Finding employment. The unemployment rate for Canadians aged 15 to 24 years old was 14.5% as of August 2025, higher than the pre-pandemic average. This means you may find it difficult to get a job due to fewer entry-level opportunities, more competition, and a gap in educational and market demands.
- Budgeting is important at each stage. Learning to create and keep a budget, especially when you have new income and expenses of living on your own, will help with keeping your bills in tune with your savings.
- Entering the housing market. The high cost of mortgage payments is one of the factors making it difficult for younger Canadians to enter the housing market. More first-time homebuyers are relying on parental support to enter the market.
- Student loan debt. With the rising cost of living and a challenging job market, it can be difficult to juggle loan repayment. The most recent statistics from Statistics Canada show the average government-sponsored debt owed at graduation is $20,600.
40s and 50s: Midlife
Welcome to the mid-life squeeze, where you get to deal with several competing responsibilities like raising children, supporting aging parents, growing your career, while also paying off debt and saving for retirement. Here are some of the common challenges older millennials and younger Gen Xers are facing:
Common challenges at this stage
- Unexpected expenses. How to handle a potential job loss, divorce, or an unexpected illness.
- How to budget for changing expenses such as school for your children or new cars and vehicles.
- Managing debt. Canadians in the 45 to 55 age group have the highest average debt, at $34,564, according to statistics from Equifax. This is a state when many are juggling student loans, credit card debt, car payments, personal loans, and mortgage debt.
- Saving for kids’ education. Finding money to put aside to fund your children’s post-secondary education.
60s and beyond: Retirement age
If everything has gone according to plan, the retirement stage is when you get to slow down and reap the benefits of your hard work. But this isn’t the case for many aging boomers.
Common challenges at this stage
- Inadequate retirement savings. Fifty-nine percent of unretired Canadians are worried they’ll never be able to retire due to their financial situation, according to a recent study by the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP).
- Health issues. In some cases, health issues force Canadians into early retirement. Statistics Canada reports that 23% of men and women cited health issues or disability leading to their choice to retire.
- You have to maintain a budget even when you hit retirement. Less or No income but there are still bills to pay. If you start budgeting at an earlier stage, this shouldn’t be a big challenge.
- Financial abuse. Refers to the exploitation or theft of an elderly person’s money, property or assets, and is the most common form of elder abuse in Canada.
How to Improve Your Financial Education at Every Age
Improving your financial education at each stage of life is essential because money decisions build upon each other over time. The financial habits you form in your teenage years inform the decisions you make in young adulthood, and so on.
To ensure you can financially handle big life changes like job loss, starting a family, and retirement, it’s important to continually work on your financial literacy. Your financial education will provide the knowledge and tools you need to weather changing times.
Teens and students
- A budget is a plan for your money. It tracks how much money is coming in (income) and how much is going out (expenses). Without a budget, it’s easy to blow through your money with no idea of where it’s gone. For help creating a budget, there are several budgeting apps and online resources available. The Government of Canada also offers a free budgeting tool.
- Student loans. Before you take out student loans, make sure you understand the terms and conditions of your loan. How much interest will you pay, and when do you have to start paying the money back? To avoid taking out more student loans than you need and accumulating more debt, take time to calculate a realistic estimate of what you need.
- Your credit score is a measure of how well you manage your credit. Establishing a good credit score when you’re young can improve your financial opportunities in the future. As a student, you can start building credit with a secured credit card. Focus on paying your bill on time and in full, to avoid maxing out your card.
20s and 30s: Young adults
- Adjust your budget. If you’re beginning to think about buying a house or starting a family, now is the time to adjust your budget. Start to streamline your spending and save for your goals. If you’re trying to save for your first home, you can direct funds into the government’s First Home Savings Account (FHSA).
- Pay off your student loans. If you had to take out student loans to pay for school, make debt repayment one of your priorities.
- Children’s education. If you’ve started a family, set up a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). This is a long-term savings plan to help you save for your children’s post-secondary education.
- Start saving for retirement. When saving for retirement, time is your greatest asset. The earlier you can start, the better. Take advantage of Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Plan (TFSA). If your employer offers a pension plan, make sure you contribute enough to meet any employee match.
40s and 50s: Midlife
- Pay down debt. Focus on debt repayment to avoid entering retirement age with debt. Prioritize high-interest debt, like credit cards, and look into accelerating your mortgage payments so you can aim to be mortgage-free before you retire.
- Boost retirement savings. If you can afford it, increase contributions to your RRSPs and TFSAs.
- Build your emergency fund. Make sure you have money set aside for three to six months of expenses. This can help you manage any unexpected costs due to job loss, divorce, or other issues.
60s and beyond: Retirement age
- Retirement strategy. Understand how much you can expect to receive from programs like the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS), and if you have a pension plan through work.
- If you’re moving to a fixed-income budget in retirement, consider if you need to downsize to reduce expenses.
- Estate planning. Review documents like your will and power of attorney. Make sure you have designated a beneficiary for RRSPs, TFSAs, life insurance policies, and pensions. If you haven’t started estate planning, reach out to a professional for help.
Speak to a Licensed Insolvency Trustee
If you’re struggling with debt and it’s impacting your financial well-being and preventing you from reaching your goals at any stage of life, speak to a Licensed Insolvency Trustee at Allan Marshall & Associates. Trustees are debt professionals and can offer the widest range of debt relief options, including a Consumer Proposal and Bankruptcy. For a free, no-obligation consultation, give us a call at 1-888-371-8900 or complete our online contact form. You don’t have to manage your debt alone. We can help!
