MONTREAL 91裸聊视频� With inflation at a nearly 40-year high, Canadians are feeling the financial strain. In a six-part series this summer, The Canadian Press is speaking to people at different stages of life to see where they91裸聊视频檙e being hit the hardest. This story details the experiences of parents with young children.

91裸聊视频斺赌斺赌�

Carlyne St Jules may have to cut her family vacation short this year, thanks to soaring inflation.

91裸聊视频淓verything out here, it91裸聊视频檚 $300 and up,91裸聊视频� she says of hotel rooms in Montreal, where she has family and previously studied dance.

91裸聊视频淭o fill my tank 91裸聊视频� to come here it was like $89. I have a small four-door Kia.91裸聊视频�

St Jules, a 29-year-old event co-ordinator who now lives in New York City with her three children, ages two, seven and 10, says she 91裸聊视频渂rought them out here so they can see my old stomping grounds 91裸聊视频� but I don91裸聊视频檛 know how much I91裸聊视频檒l be stomping around here with these prices.91裸聊视频�

From ballooning grocery bills to pricier extracurricular activities, parents are confronting cost-of-living increases that have them worried about opportunities for their children and a stable financial future for their family.

Inflation hit a 39-year high in June amid an economy hampered by COVID-19, labour shortages, supply chain challenges and the looming threat of a recession.

Money doesn91裸聊视频檛 stretch as far these days on everything from diapers to daycare and family outings and vacations are harder on the wallet as the cost to fill up your gas tank soars and prices for travel accommodations rise.

Young parents aren91裸聊视频檛 accustomed to such speedy price hikes; many weren91裸聊视频檛 born yet when inflation last hit this pace in 1983.

Mortgage and rent, along with car loans take some of the biggest bites out of parents91裸聊视频� incomes, said Scott Hannah, CEO of the Credit Counselling Society.

For drivers, prices at the pump have increased even faster 91裸聊视频� gasoline prices for June, the most recent month available, were 54.6 higher than in the same month in 2021, Statistics Canada data show, the biggest driver of inflation in that period.

Those financial drains are 91裸聊视频渞eally hurting a lot of Canadians now,91裸聊视频� he said. Meanwhile appetites grow, clothes need replacing and extracurricular sports, classes and activities mount. 91裸聊视频淚f you91裸聊视频檝e got a young family, it91裸聊视频檚 the most expensive part of your years.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檒l be 65 next February 91裸聊视频� it91裸聊视频檚 hard to say that 91裸聊视频� and back when I was a kid it wasn91裸聊视频檛 that big of a deal if you didn91裸聊视频檛 have the latest and greatest. But boy, it sure is now,91裸聊视频� Hannah said of the pressure of consumer trends.

For Montreal residents Nabil and Samia Haliche, bigger grocery bills and toll at the pumps have pushed them to hunt harder for food sales.

91裸聊视频淲e see it clearly at the grocery store,91裸聊视频� said Samia, after she and her husband stepped out of a second-hand clothing store in Montreal with their two daughters, ages two and 10.

91裸聊视频淓verything is more expensive than usual.91裸聊视频�

Families with young children often have one parent on parental leave, off work or working part-time, adding to the financial strain.

Housing prices and rents also shot up throughout the pandemic. The national home price index, which adjusts for pricing volatility, peaked at $835,000 in March, capping off a two-year climb of 52 per cent, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. Prices spiralled upward in a frantic buying streak that saw families stretch budgets to enter the market or upgrade to more spacious digs amid COVID-19 confinement and rock-bottom rates.

The average Canadian rent leaped 9.5 per cent in June from a year earlier, though remained 3.5 per cent below June 2019, according to Rentals.ca, an apartment-search website.

91裸聊视频淎 lot of young families in the last two years have used this opportunity, No. 1, to start their family, and No. 2, to get into that first home,91裸聊视频� said Leah Zlatkin, a mortgage expert at LowestRates.ca.

Many pushed their budgets to the limit to make down payments and monthly interest 91裸聊视频� which promptly began to rise as the Bank of Canada started raising its key interest rate.

91裸聊视频淔or those people, when you see a variable-rate increase it could be a bit shocking,91裸聊视频� Zlatkin said.

For homeowners worried about their situation, Zlatkin suggested sitting down with a mortgage broker to discuss refinancing. If payments seem beyond their means at the moment, she said clients should immediately inform their mortgage provider, who can offer a payment deferral program or temporary interest-only payment plan.

A clear-eyed look at what can be removed from the budget 91裸聊视频� or replaced with less expensive options 91裸聊视频� is also called for.

91裸聊视频淟ate night while you91裸聊视频檙e bottle-feeding or breast-feeding the baby, flip through the Flipp app and find some deals and do some price matching when you91裸聊视频檙e in the grocery store.91裸聊视频�

Hannah suggests buying in bulk 91裸聊视频� small families can team up with larger ones 91裸聊视频� cashing in loyalty points and swapping name brands for generic ones. Even a slightly awkward conversation with family members to lower holiday gift expectations may be wise.

91裸聊视频淣o one wants to receive a gift from someone who can91裸聊视频檛 afford to give it,91裸聊视频� he said.

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

Like us on and follow us on .