Brett Bundale, The Canadian Press Posted Wednesday, August 10, 2022 5:32 am EDT
With inflation at a nearly 40-year high, Canadians are feeling the financial strain. In a six-part series this summer, The Canadian Press spoke with people at different stages of life to see where they were most affected. This story details the experiences of mid-career adults and their families.
Myron Genick didn’t think much about the cost of food a year ago.
But now the 43-year-old father-of-three is suffering from sticker shock as his family’s grocery bill soars.
“No. 1 is the increase in food,” said Gennick, an entrepreneur from Mississauga, Ontario. “My kids are growing up, so they’re eating more, but food prices have also gone up.”
With inflation rising at its fastest rate in nearly 40 years, the price of everything from food to gasoline has skyrocketed.
Canadians across the country are feeling the pinch, but large families with many children sometimes shoulder much of the higher costs — and changing demographics and consumer patterns have left some more exposed to inflation than in previous generations.
Some face skyrocketing grocery bills to feed voracious teenagers or help older children pay for college or buy their first home.
Others face rising costs associated with supporting aging parents.
Then there are those who do both – the so-called sandwich generation.
“Some still have children at home and are also helping aging parents,” said Elena Jara, community engagement partner at insolvency firm Bromwich and Smith.
“Inflation just makes that harder.”
Middle-aged adults traditionally have the advantage of entering their prime earning years, taking some of the brunt of inflation. But as milestones for many Canadians occur later in life, that pattern is changing.
First-time home buyers are getting older, for example, with the average age now around 36.
This means mid-career Canadians are more likely to have a large mortgage, making them vulnerable to higher interest rates.
Canadians also have children later in life. Over the past five decades, the average age of a first-time mother has risen steadily from 22.6 in 1969 to 29.4 in 2019.
Older children also live longer at home. New census data shows that almost half of young adults in Ontario cities such as Toronto, Oshawa, Windsor and Hamilton live in a household with at least one parent.
That leaves parents in the age range of about 40 to 60 potentially shouldering more day-to-day expenses or unable to downsize.
“Having a larger household with many mouths to feed will definitely increase your food costs and make you more sensitive to food inflation,” said Rebecca Young, vice president, head of inclusive economics and sustainability at Scotiabank.
Higher costs could also cause Canadians in their prime to cut back on savings, potentially delaying retirement later to pay the bills, she said.
But inflation is even worse for low-income Canadians because they spend more of their disposable income on essentials, Young said.
The situation has Canadians feeling increasingly bleak about their finances, according to a number of recent surveys.
More than half of Canadians aged 55 and older said they have delayed retirement because of rising inflation this year alone, based on respondents to a recent survey by Bromwich and Smith and Advisorsavvy.
Another survey by TransUnion Canada found that 60 per cent of Canadians surveyed lacked optimism about their household finances in the next 12 months, with almost a third concerned that they won’t be able to pay their bills in full in the coming months.
For Gennick, who runs his own Bay Street asset management firm, he hopes high inflation will be a “temporary blip” in his financial journey.
Still, he feels squeezed by the higher prices.
“I’m definitely spending more money this year than last year on staples,” said Gennick, CEO and co-founder of Evermore Capital Inc., a Canadian asset management company that focuses on affordable retirement investments.
“It directly affects how much I can save for retirement.”
Inflation also shapes his spending habits and even changes his vacation plans.
For example, the Genick family is planning a trip to the Rocky Mountains with their three children, ages seven, 11, and 13.
A few years ago, the family flew to Calgary and rented a van for two weeks for $1,900.
This summer, the cost to rent a van was $8,000.
“We got creative and found that if we flew to Edmonton, we could rent a five-seater SUV there for a much more reasonable price,” he said.
“Having a growing family, you also need more space. When you get a hotel room, the days of a room with a pop-up crib are over.
“All these things add up.”
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