Young couple in front seat of car
It’s easy to think that once you’ve hit that six-figure milestone in your career, you’re financially set. Unfortunately, that assumption doesn’t hold up for many Canadians.
An Angus Reid Institute Economic Stress Index from October 2024 indicated 20% of Canadian households with annual incomes of over $200,000 claimed to be struggling financially, compared with 35% earning less than $50,000.
Additionally, households that are raising children are more likely to face financial stress. Families that confess to struggling identify that the topic concern is their ability to cover housing, grocery costs and debt — with the biggest concern being their waning optimism for the upcoming year.
Despite these fears and very real financial stressors, it appears that wealth is less about how much you earn and more about how you think about money — and what you do with it.
To help, here are five ways higher-income earners approach life, career and finances — and how the rest of us can learn from their money management skills.
Contrary to popular belief, most multimillionaires In Canada aren’t cruising around in a neon orange Lamborghini or smoking cigars stashed in their Gucci bags. Many high-net-worth (HNW) or well-off Canadians tend to downplay their wealth and financial standing, even when they have significant assets.
According to The Globe and Mail, this behaviour is likely due to cultural modesty, especially when discussing money. Plus, many Canadians, including those with high incomes, feel less wealthy than they actually are — suggesting attitude trumps practice.
These attitudes follow the “stealth wealth” trend, also known as quiet luxury. As a Canadian normative attitude, quiet wealth means we culturally tend to favour value over brand name. For example, while the market for luxury vehicles holds true for some, many wealthy Canadians prefer higher-end models of tried and true makes, such as Ford, Toyota and Honda, indicating a preference for practical choices over flashy displays of wealth.
Wealth Tip: Wealthy Canadians stay wealthy by resisting the urge to flaunt it.
Another major psychological difference between the rich and the poor is a wealthy person’s ability to delay gratification.
Wealthy Canadians understand that wealth is built over time. A 2017 study showed that when Canadians had extra money, they put it away to save for retirement rather than spending it immediately on a consumer good. This ability to save for future financial goals shows that wealthier people — people who earn more or save more — tend to have greater patience and were better at delaying gratification.
Wealth Tip: The ability to resist instant gratification is a key sign of future financial success.
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Because wealthier Canadians are better at practicing delayed gratification, they’re also more likely to invest their money rather than spend it.
In 2021, about one in three Canadians were invested in the stock market. These numbers will likely continue to grow as broader groups of people begin to invest their savings. A 2023 study from FINRA and the CFA Institute found that Canada has the highest rate of Gen Z investors, with nearly 74% reporting that they have at least one type of investment.
Will Gen Z be the next highest group of millionaires? These numbers suggest the younger generation understand the importance of their money working for them, rather than the other way around.
Wealth Tip: To make money you need to spend money, but not on consumer goods. The key is to invest early and often to allow for compound interest and cumulative gains to grow your wealth.
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Debt can be both bad and good — it’s all about how it’s used.
Lower-income Canadian households are more likely to rely on costly forms of credit to manage their finances. Research from theFinancial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) on payday loans shows that users are more likely to be from vulnerable populations, including those in households earning less than $40,000 annually.
According to the Bank of Canada’s Financial Systems Review, in 2022 wealthier Canadians tend to use debt for productive investments, such as real estate or business ventures. These assets have the potential to grow in value, while consumer goods like cars or electronics lose value over time.
Wealth Tip: Rethinking how you use debt could be a game-changer on your path to building wealth.
In a constantly shifting economy, wealthier individuals know the key to preserving and growing wealth is to keep learning new skills and adapting to unexpected changes.
The Employment and Social Development Canada experts state that as a learning nation we “share a common understanding that to achieve prosperity for individuals, households and communities, we must prioritize learning throughout our lives.”
Signing up for professional courses, attending workshops and expanding your horizons, professional education or increasing your financial literacy, can give your career — and your savings — the boost it needs to step up and amplify wealth creation.
Wealth Tip: Invest in education and learning, both for career goals and for financial success.
1. Angus Reid Institute: Cost of Living and the Vote: Those economically ‘Struggling’ lean CPC, but it’s a shrinking group (April 1, 2025)
2. Financial Post: Posthaste: The ranks of Canada’s ‘haves’ are growing, but there’s a dark flipside to that by Gigi Suhanic (March 22, 2024)
3. The Globe and Mail: A rising number of Canadians are millionaires. So why don’t they feel rich? by Meera Raman (July 7, 2025)
4. Auto Service World: The Most Popular Car Brands in Canada by Baxter Hall (April 18, 2024)
5. Wealth Professional: Canadians don’t save because money is for pleasure by Steve Randall (Nov 21, 2017)
6. FINRA: FINRA Foundation-CFA Institute Research Focuses on Gen Z Investors (May 24, 2023)
7. Government of Canada: Understanding Payday Loan Use and Perspectives
8. Bank of Canada: Financial System Review—2022
9. Government of Canada: Canada – A learning nation: A skilled, agile workforce ready to shape the future
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.