Quebecers facing inflation | More and more unpleasant choices

Each of us deals with the rising cost of living in our own way. Postponed renovations, reduced travel, supervised grocery basket, canceled outings, increased debt, there are not 36 solutions. You have to make unpleasant, sometimes difficult choices.
A dossier by Marie-Eve Fournier

Marie-Eve Fournier
The Press

Fewer outings, no more skiing

“Inflation is slowly destroying our lives,” Francis wrote to me.

With the good salary that his job as a nurse gives him, he never thought he would be so tight one day. But fate sometimes plays tricks on us.

Father of an 11-year-old boy, he separated a few months after the start of the pandemic. In itself, this event was sure to shake his budget considerably.

To do badly, inflation has also entered the game. Especially when it comes to real estate.

Since his ex-spouse kept the house, Francis found himself with his son in shared custody in an apartment that cost him $1,700 a month. It was too much to save for the purchase of another property in the midst of soaring prices!

In the first quarter of 2022, the median price of single-family homes in the Greater Montreal area jumped 20% to $555,000. The condos followed the same curve. Their median price is now approaching $400,000.

At 40, Francis therefore returned to live with his parents, on the South Shore.

“I collected enough money to make a down payment without having to pay the CMHC insurance”, specifies the one who takes possession of his purchase in Varennes these days.

This house was “overpriced” – $430,000 – but the mortgage will be less than his old rent, he consoles himself. “I wanted to put in $300,000. I finally realized that at that price, I would have a condo, and again. »

To lighten the price of his redevelopment, he managed to include appliances and some furniture in the sale price. Other pieces of furniture were bought second-hand, which Francis had never done before.

The father tells me that inflation affects every aspect of his life.

The outings with her boy have suffered. No more alpine skiing. “I didn’t go this winter… for $85 or $90 for two hours…” The single father really liked taking his son to the Biodôme, a paid outing that he replaced with free activities.

Francis is also slashing restaurant dining, Uber Eats orders and nights out at a bar having drinks with friends. These changes in habits “have a big impact” on his quality of life, he laments, even if he sees very favorably the idea of ​​consuming less.

He also evokes the end of Apple products in his life, which have become unaffordable. On principle, he refuses to live on credit, even if it would be an easy solution.

“I don’t want to go into debt. It’s in my values. »

In his employment contract, Francis is obliged to have a car to visit several hospitals. He drives around with a hybrid and does everything possible to use only the battery, given the “incredibly high” price of gasoline. He manages to fill up only every “two or three months”.

“I lived well at one time, but now I calculate,” he concludes with some discouragement.

The $140 challenge with the kids

A champion in managing her finances, Julie manages to work miracles with each of her paychecks.

Even though her salary is lower than the Quebec average, and she is raising two teenagers aged 12 and 14 on her own, she manages to deposit a little money each week into an RESP, her RRSP and her TFSA. She even pays for private school at her oldest, owns a house and a recent car whose monthly payment is close to $500. “Yes, I managed to do all that. I’m no worse! “, she sneers, at the end of the line.

But you will have understood that every dollar is counted. And Julie knows how to count. The superfluous and luxury have no place in his life.

Travel is by car in Quebec. “We go camping, in tents. This year, it will be more difficult. We will select activities that are not too expensive or free. We may go less far than usual since gasoline is expensive. »

The one who has a manual job in a printing press says that she has the advantage of being “very interested in finances”. She has read the books of Pierre-Yves McSween, she seeks advice on the web and consults an expert at her bank.

“I am thrifty. But being thrifty means accepting being judged, she laments, while assuming that her children are her absolute priority. Their needs (school, orthodontics, swimming lessons) come before the aesthetics of the furniture or the land. “I rely on my children. »

Like everyone else, Julie is struck by the rise in the price of groceries, which has been accelerating for months. In March, the basket jumped 8.7%, unheard of since March 2009. Gasoline also weighs on the finances of Granbyenne.

The single mother therefore redid her budget and now she has $140 a week to feed her family.

Julie then invented a kind of game that takes the form of a challenge.

The goal: do all the groceries for the week with $140.

“My son is thrifty,” she adds. He has already managed to buy groceries with $100, a saving of $40! My daughter is more difficult. She would like certain things, but she understands that she will have to cut elsewhere,” Julie tells me enthusiastically.

Before going to the grocery store, therefore, a precise list is drawn up from the best sales displayed in the flyers of various retailers. Shopping is done at Maxi where competitors’ discounts are granted. The recipes for each day are obviously predetermined.

The children are warned that there must be enough food on the list to feed everyone, all week, and that we “won’t go back to the grocery store” if something is missing. Even though the meat is more expensive, the family still eats it. But legumes are a little more common on the menu.

“If my daughter puts chips on the list, I’m not happy, but that’s the deal. I accept the consequences. I’ve been doing this for two months and my only regret is that I didn’t start sooner! concludes Julie.

Budget doubled for a used car

Myriam is driving around in the 2006 Matrix. A faithful racing car which, despite its venerable age, starts “every time”, even in winter.

But last fall, it became clear that the car whose front “holds on with tie wraps and duct tape” was at the end of its life. “It smelled of gas, you had to open the windows while driving,” recalls the mother of two children aged 10 and 12.

Self-employed photographer, Myriam needs a vehicle to work. She therefore began to browse a host of sites to find the successor to her Matrix as quickly as possible. Family budget: $12,000.

As we know, the shortage of new vehicles and the long delivery times have ignited the second-hand market.

The most recent price index from the AutoHebdo sales platform showed that last December, the average price of a used vehicle had increased by 34.5% compared to December 2020, to reach $33,240. It was the highest average price ever achieved in Canada for a used vehicle.

In Quebec, the increase was even higher: 35.4%. The average price of $29,434 still remains below the national average.

“All used vehicles saw double-digit year-over-year price increases, ranging from 24.6% for European vehicles to 45.1% for North American vehicles,” the report said. report released in February.

By comparison, the average price of new vehicles sold in Canada last year was $42,500, up 15% from 2020, according to a Desjardins report citing a compilation by J.D. Power.

But if we look only at the month of December 2021, the average price of new vehicles in Canada was $50,758 (+13%), according to AutoHebdo. It was the first time the $50,000 mark had been crossed.

In the end, Myriam and her husband decided to buy a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid from a family friend. They will take possession of it in the coming weeks, not without having to spend twice the planned budget. The vehicle is also larger than desired, but it is the best compromise they have found according to their criteria, in particular environmental ones. The bill will be paid with the mortgage margin, which will also have to be used to quickly change the main staircase of their triplex, a priority since it is dangerous.

Obviously, Myriam sees the inevitable mortgage rate increases coming with some stress. Especially since other major work on his property will have to be done fairly quickly, such as the roof and the windows. Two big pieces, it must be said.

In the meantime, the price of gasoline has become a new concern for the family since they will be leaving for a month in road trip in Western Canada aboard a rental recreational vehicle. A long-planned dream.

“We’re going to do the same, but with gritted teeth, because at the time of reserving all this, there was no question of gasoline at $2 per liter for a camper who consumes 20 L per 100 km”, says Myriam, while being aware that other families are immensely tighter financially.

“It’s going to cost us so much… but it’s the only expense that’s going to give us a nice memory. »