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Posthaste: A third of Canadians worry about covering 'daily living expenses,' survey finds Back to video

Good morning!

As inflation trips along, almost one-third of working Canadians say they are worried about being able to cover their “daily living expenses,” according to a new report.

The Financial Wellbeing Index for Summer 2022 released by LifeWorks, a unit of Telus Health, found that 29 per cent of survey respondents fear they won’t meet their day-to-day costs of living. The index’s reading of Canadians’ overall financial well-being dropped to 64 (out of 100), its lowest-ever number since the quarterly index was launched in the winter of 2021.

“The last quarter has been riddled with heightened financial concerns as inflation, interest rates and overall cost of living have significantly increased,” Idan Shlesinger, president of retirement and financial solutions and executive vice-president at LifeWorks, said in a press release.

Among those experiencing financial anxiety, the survey, on which the index is based, found that people aged 40 and under are 75 per cent more likely than those older than 50 to be fretting about basic living expenses. And people with children are 40 per cent more likely than people without children to be worried about covering daily costs.

Some Canadians, however, are thriving. For example, those working in the mining and oil and gas extraction industries said their financial well-being has improved, with their index score rising to 72.5 from 69.9 last winter. Those in the professional, scientific, technical services had the second-highest score at 70.6, up from 70.4.

Scores between 0 to 49 correspond with distress levels, scores between 50 to 79 correspond with strain levels and scores between 80 to 100 correspond with optimal levels.

Of course, no poll about personal finances would be worth its salt these days without feedback on inflation.

Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, increased 7.6 per cent in July from the previous year, down from an 8.1 per cent increase in June. Still, the core reading, which excludes gasoline, continued to rise in July, up 6.6 per cent compared with 6.5 per cent in June. Statistics Canada will release numbers for August on Sept. 20.

The LifeWorks survey found that inflation is hitting 50 per cent of Canadians in the survey hardest at the grocery store, while 35 per cent said they were feeling it most at the gas pump, followed by housing at seven per cent and debt repayment at five per cent.

LifeWorks also asked how Canadians are handling rising interest rates and whether they would feel mortgage payment pressure if the Bank of Canada raised its benchmark lending rate above three per cent.

The survey was conducted in early July, well before the central bank raised its rate to 3.25 per cent on Sept. 7.

At the time of the survey, 23 per cent said they were “concerned” and a further 17 per cent were “unsure about their ability to meet mortgage payments” based on a Bank of Canada rate higher than three per cent.

On the investing side, 44 per cent of respondents said the decline in equities had an impact on them while 22 per cent said it had not, with the former having a financial well-being index score of 65.9 and the latter a score of 69.1.

Stock markets have taken a hit in 2022, with the S&P TSX composite down 7.6 per cent year to date as of Thursday. In July, at the time the research was conducted, the TSX was down 13.6 per cent.

The data for this report was collected through an online survey of 3,000 working Canadians between July 7 and July 13.

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GROCER FIGHTS BACK Michael Medline, chief executive of Empire Co. Ltd., during an earnings call pushed back at accusers who allege Canada’s grocery giants are profiting from the rising cost of living. “Quite frankly, I am tired of these armchair quarterbacks who make little effort to understand even the basics of our business but are comfortable sitting on the sidelines pontificating about how Canadian companies are reaping unreasonable profits on the backs of inflation,” said Medline, who termed the criticism levelled at the industry “reckless and incendiary.” As the cost of food has continued to rise along with grocers’ profits, some media stories have suggested the big grocers are greedy. Photo by Peter J. Thompson/National Post

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The average price of homes sold in Canada in August fell 3.9 per cent from the same month last year to $637,673 according to new statistics released Thursday by the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Home sales, meanwhile, edged down just one per cent between July and August, making this the sixth consecutive — though smallest — month-over-month decline in volumes.

Despite the decline from last August, the actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price inched up $7,702 over July. The price was heavily influenced by sales in Greater Vancouver and the GTA, two of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets.

The Financial Post’s Shantaé Campbell has the full story.

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Many of us would love to add to our income, whether it is through a raise at work, passive income or a “side hustle.” A coveted source of passive income is a rental property but that’s not an easily attainable option for many Canadians. As the cost of living has increased, more people are looking into second jobs or side hustles that will allow them to earn some extra income without taking over their lives. Our content partner MoneyWise explores five flexible and realistic ways to boost your income without draining all of your spare time.

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Today’s Posthaste was written by Gigi Suhanic (@gsuhanic), with additional reporting from The Canadian Press, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg.

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