Back in My Day, They had Penny Candies. Inflation Hurts
Back in My Day, They had Penny Candies. Inflation Hurts
Pennies?
Back in my day they had Penny Candies, now they don’t even have Pennies. Makes you feel old doesn’t it? I remember my dad or people say when I was a kid that only costs 25 cents, now its a small fortune. I’m 34 and can name a tonne of stuff when I was younger that didn’t cost much or was bigger. You eat a Reese peanut better cup lately? Dam so good but oh so small, forces you to buy the 4 pack! 5 cent Candies? 25 cent candies? I don’t see em anywhere. Those vending machines to get gumballs or runts. yup now a dollar……..
Now I know there’s the argument we make more per hour or salary now. Well that is true but are you getting a raise over inflation every year? I’m not, my wife isn’t either. I’m not really complaining because we both do well and life is generally pretty great.
Income
The government of Canada posts the Average weekly earnings ( Including overtime) by province and territory. Link here
Based on the average Canadian in 2012 we earned $895.58 per week. In 2016 we earned $956.50. So about 12$ a year increase weekly. But in 2015 we brought in $952.24 on average, again in 2016 we earned $956.50. A $4.26 raise! I tell ya something my expenses have definitely increased more than $4.26 per week. That extra 4 bucks probably just covers the bump in price of bread for the week. I don’t remember the last time the grocery bill was under 100 bucks. Yeah we price match and all the nines too!
Robots
Soon enough I think we will see that number stagnate. Elon musk was talking awhile back that the government should start a universal basic income. He claims that in the future the robots will take our jobs and the government could tax the companies and pay people a monthly income. A 2013 oxford study suggests 47% of U.S jobs could potentially be eliminated in 10 to 20 years. Less jobs out there will lower people’s incomes. Read Link Here
Inflation
Trading Economics keeps track of the average Canadian consumer inflation increases per month. Feel free to go to their site to see the long term history. Clearly things keep going up. Not one month did the average consumer prices go down in the past year.
source: tradingeconomics.com
I was working at a client’s place the other day and they were complaining about the cost of hydro and other stuff. Everything keeps accelerating including our bill…. They are a retired couple with a great property. I’m sure they can afford it but are now talking about selling it as it’s costing to much in maintenance, taxes and bills.
Passive Income
This is a huge reason I’m a fan of passive income. Hopefully the trend with dividends and other passive income keeps increasing as well. I have already noticed the snowball growing and the momentum starting to roll. So many people complain they aren’t making enough, life’s tough etc etc. Well if you aren’t starting to pay off your debts or investing I guarantee you it will get harder. Here’s a post of mine with various Passive Income Ideas
Awhile back I heard someone on youtube say “Excuses only matter to the one’s who make them” For some reason that really stuck with me, and I tend to think about it before ever making any excuses anymore. It is a great quote!
If you are broke, are in debt and or don’t have any passive incomes. Only you can change that. Start small, after paying off our debt I used to make $500 stock purchases. While the dividend income from those purchases was small it got the ball rolling!
Inflation keeps doing a number on your finances, time to fight back. Start investing and pay off that debt! Good luck.
Hey I’m Rob, creator of Passive Canadian Income.
In 2011 me and my wife had almost $60,000 in debt and a negative $7,000 Net Worth. Through hard work and financial education we paid all that off. Now we are focusing on increasing our Passive Income Streams to make the money work for us. Feel Free to Follow along the Journey by clicking the Social Media links below or subscribing to get notified of new posts on the sidebar.
Thanks for ending on a positive note 🙂
Wah wah too depressing? Equifax data breach. Got to check out your post!
Great post! And I totally agree – the cost of living in Canada (particularly food) has definitely been going up. Investing in the companies that are raising the profits sure is a good way to hedge yourself! Thanks again
Morning Jay. Thanks. I its blows my mind how much stuff is every time i go there.
Inflation is often on my mind when I make any purchases. The price of grocery, especially fresh fruits and vegetables are increasing a lot faster than our salaries. One way to keep our budget in check is to buy fruits and vegetables when they are in season or to grow your own to cut down on your grocery bills.
Since our income are not increasing that fast, to make more money, I save a bit more and use my savings to increase my passive income. This way is much better than getting a second job. My m the long term I am hoping the passive income will be able to replace most of my salary.
Great points leo! I agree. Unforetunately i couldnt do a vegetable garden this year. But currently setting up the garden walls etc for next yr
Expenses keeps going up. The minimum wage is going up too. I just think, instead of increasing the minimum wage the government should reduce the payroll tax for people making less than $50,000per annum.
Hey pell that would be a great idea for the people but not the government. That would lower the govts income vs raising it by collecting more income tax. The raise is really going to hurt as there will be less jobs.