A Conexus-sponsored survey shows travel, home renovations and financial security are the top fall saving priorities for Saskatchewan residents. (ID 11074235 © Helder Almeida | Dreamstime.com)

By Kenneth Cheung

CONEXUS SURVEY

What Saskatchewanians are saving for this fall?

Nov 18, 2025 | 3:46 PM

Whether they’re dreaming of beaches, fixing up the house or hunting for the perfect Lego set, Saskatchewanians have a wide mix of fall savings goals — and winter getaways are topping the list, according to a new Conexus-sponsored survey.

The online survey, conducted by Insightrix with 805 adults across the province, asked residents to list their top five financial priorities for the season. Travel and vacations led the way, with 34 per cent including it among their top goals and 18 per cent ranking it as their number one.

Adam Thome, Conexus’s vice-president of member experience, says the findings reflect what’s on many people’s minds as temperatures drop.

“I think that travel and vacations, especially in the fall, come up as a top priority just because of our climate. We’ve got cold winters, people look forward to getting away somewhere warm over the course of the winter.”

“It was interesting too, how often European trips popped up as an option. I think [it’s] potentially a growing trend.”

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Home renos, bills and debt also stand out

Home improvements and renovations were the second-most common focus, listed by 24 per cent of respondents — especially those aged 35 to 54 (29 per cent) and 55 and older (26 per cent). Only 13 per cent of younger adults named renovations as a fall priority.

Another 15 per cent said they are setting money aside for debt, bills and financial security, a priority that remained consistent across age groups.

Meanwhile, 29 per cent of people said they are not saving or planning for any major purchases this fall — a response more common among those 55 and older (39 per cent) and residents in households earning under $90,000 annually (34 per cent).

From Lego to hockey jerseys

Thome says respondents didn’t hesitate to share their more whimsical goals.

The dataset included “a lot of detail,” with people mentioning “Pokémon cards, Lego sets, hockey jerseys, 3D scanners, Cricut machines,” among other personal priorities.

“There were quite a few unique and very specific saving priorities.”

Retirement didn’t surface in the top categories

One result that caught Thome’s attention was the absence of retirement savings from the top five categories. He said that doesn’t mean people aren’t thinking about long-term planning — only that it didn’t register as a top fall priority for most.

Retirement funds and emergency savings were “scattered throughout the result,” he said, but didn’t appear frequently enough to rank alongside travel or home projects.

What is it for?

Thome said the survey was designed to understand what people are focusing on this season, not to evaluate how well they are saving. Savings habits, he added, are “very unique to the individual,” shaped by income, expenses and life stage.

And for those trying to map out a plan, he said professional guidance can help.

“I think an advisor can really help a person understand how much they need to save, over what time frame to meet the goals that a person set.”

“The second part that an advisor can really help with is making sense of all of the different savings vehicles. So, there’s different accounts and it can be difficult to make sense of those and which one is most advantageous to the saving goal that you have, your life stage, and many other factors.”

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com