VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The holiday season is nearing and experts say a lot of unnecessary stress could be gone with a greater focus on personal finances.

A Harris-Decima poll done for the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants shows 30 per cent of those surveyed in BC sometimes buy things they can’t afford compared to 24 per cent of the rest of Canada.  While, 82 per cent of them are stressed out about it.

Nicholas Cheung with CICA says Canadians are generally aware of the value of money management.  “The fact is that a lot of us are not really doing much about it.  About 77 per cent of us actually develop a budget but only 32 per cent of those with a budget actually say they stuck with it.”

He says if you do stick with budgeting and plan ahead you’ll end up being better off in the long-run.  “It requires discipline, hard work and tough choices.”

Cheung explains we often don’t make the financial decisions that are in our best interest.  “It tends to be self-inflicted, we know what we need to do and that we need to take action, but we don’t.”

He says even more stress can come with the holidays, and it may seem simple but it’s up to you to change that.  “The latest survey clearly shows that not focusing on your personal finances can cause you worry, 61 per cent of all survey respondents admitted to having money worries,” adds Cheung.