Soaring costs are causing some families to reach a tipping point
A new survey is shedding light on the impact of rising costs.
“This is probably the hardest we’ve had for our household,” said Marcelle Fausto, a Cambridge resident.
Fausto said with her family of three, she has made some changes to her grocery shopping habits to save where she can, including purchasing frozen produce instead of fresh, buying mainly discounted items and meal planning.
“Flyers, there’s price-matching, couponing, whatever can save a few dollars, and it adds up, and it works,” said Fausto, “I’m going to start to work extra hours just to help not feel as stressed.”
The Maru Public Opinion survey found 49 per cent of Canadians and their families have had to make drastic lifestyle changes due to rising costs, while a third said rising interest rates have pushed them to the brink of dispair. When it came to spending, 74 per cent of Canadians said inflation has caused them to cut back on spending.
The survey also indicated more than a quarter are using their credit card to pay the bills, and a fifth are cashing out their investments in order to make ends meet.
Doug Hoyes, an licensed insolvency trustee and co-founder of Hoyes, Michalos, said high inflation is a tough reality he sees everyday.
“All of my clients have always been right on the edge. They got an extra $200 to 300 a month, and that’s it, and now that $200 to 300 is gone because when you go to the grocery store, it costs more, rent, gas, everything is more,” said Hoyes.
Hoyes estimated there has been a 30 per cent increase in new clients throughout the month of November.
“We’re definitely getting more people calling us and saying they scrimp and save a bit but have all these other debts to pay,” said Hoyes.
He said inflation may hit everyone differently, but almost everyone feels it in some way or another.
“At the start of the year, you might have two or three different streaming services, and now it’s like, ‘one or two is all I need. Maybe I’ll give it up.’ It’s the little things like that but bigger things too, like food, trying to find any way to cut back,” said Hoyes.
The pressure has left some residents feeling stressed and strapped.
“We have cut back, and we just have to watch what we’re doing and what we’re spending,” said Len Porter, a Cambridge resident.
The dollar simply is not stretching as far as it once did.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.