All Quebecers, except perhaps the richest 1%, must have started or continued to pay attention to their spending in 2021. The price increases have become widespread, both at the gas station and at the grocery store as well as ‘somewhere else.
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The little family of 40-year-old Danny Linhares has not been spared. Despite a family income that is close to $ 160,000 a year, he and his wife Mélanie have tightened their belts more than usual.
” It is watche really now, we are very careful ”, launches the friendly fellow, who works as a cement applicator in construction.
Danny and Mélanie are not the type to go into debt. They owe nothing to anyone, apart from the mortgage of $ 450,000 for their new house in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac.
Even their two cars are already paid for. And no question of changing the 2010 Ford Escape and the 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee “just for a change”.
With their 5-year-old son and their puppy, this couple looks like thousands of others in Quebec. Except perhaps in matters of financial discipline.
“We are doing well, but I am enraged to see that the cost of living is going up as if nothing had happened. How are people going to get there? », Asks the father of the family.
Finish the rest
Danny and Mélanie don’t spend like they used to because they have the impression that “some companies are lining their pockets on our backs”.
For 8-10 months, they only buy what [ils] need “.
Finished their two outings to the restaurant per week. Danny also makes lunches every day. Their grocery bill went from $ 130 to $ 220 per week.
However, their menus hardly include any more meat and a lot more frozen fruits and vegetables, “especially when they are on special”.
The consultation of circulars has become routine. They even started cutting coupons.
Curious, they went to Dollarama for the food, but “it’s not really worth compared to Maxi or Super C”.
Insurance and gas are two other expenses the couple saw swelling. “It’s not confusing, we are being eaten away from everywhere”, pushes Danny.
Adieu, bacon
Meat has seen quite a rise in 2021. Official figure: + 10%. You just have to go to the grocery store and look at the price of bacon to be convinced. The small 350g packet now costs $ 8. The beef is no exception either. Enough to raise the price of shepherd’s pie and two eggs and bacon.
Kittens are worth their weight in gold
After toilet paper and sporting goods in 2020, it was the turn of cars in 2021. A shortage of semiconductors and chips has driven inventories of new ones down, pushing the price of older ones towards the bottom. high. Result: + 38% the price of used cars, according to the Canadian Black Book.
“Gazer” drives you crazy
In the United States, President Biden wants the competition authority to look into the “possibly illegal” behavior of oil companies. Nothing like that here. And that’s not to mention the retailers’ margin, the difference between the selling price and the price they pay. CAA-Quebec observed margins of “18 or 20 cents per liter in certain regions”, no later than the beginning of December.
No more debts
Quebecers have Claire many debts in 2020, but the opposite happened in 2021. Debt is on the rise again, partly because of the 20% jump in house prices. Income has also grown more slowly. Desjardins data indicates that the debt ratio for 2021 will be 150%. It had fallen from 155% to 145% in 2020.
The furniture too
The price of furniture increased by 8.7% in 2021. And the multinational IKEA will increase its prices by 9% in 2022. The world leader in this sector of activity must, like everyone else, deal with the increase in prices raw materials and transport. Cozey, a local company that sells modular sofas, saw the same thing. “We swallowed the increase in 2021, but we will increase our prices by 4% in 2022. It is the transport that hurts the most,” said the boss, Frédéric Aubé.
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