Half of Canadians say they couldn't manage a sudden expense over $1,000
As the cost of living across provinces spikes, Canadians are increasingly worried about meeting their expenses, especially a sudden expense.
A new report from the Angus Reid Institute reveals that half of Canadians believe they’d fail to manage a sudden expense of more than $1,000.
When asked how big of an unexpected expense they could deal with, given their monthly budget, 51% of respondents maintained that they could not absorb anything over a grand. Meanwhile, one-in-seven Canadians (14%) said they couldn’t manage any unexpected bills whatsoever.
The report further noted that the split is also gendered.
Half of men (all ages) said they could shell out $1,000 if the sudden need arose, but women could not say the same with equal confidence.
Angus Reid Institute
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Three-in-five women under the age of 55 said they couldn’t deal with an unplanned expense of that magnitude. This includes one-quarter of women aged 35 to 54 who said they “could not manage any unanticipated expense as their budget is already too stretched.”
The survey also categorized numbers by province. Only 39% of people in Saskatchewan said they could afford an expense over $1,000, putting the province at the bottom. The residents of British Columbia, on the other hand, were the most equipped to deal with one — 53% were confident they could overcome the expense.
Angus Reid Institute
Last year, Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) was reported to be higher than it had been in almost 20 years.
The CPI is the main inflation indicator in the country, and it reached 4.4% in September 2021, with prices rising year-over-year in every major category. According to Statistics Canada’s historical records, the inflation rate hasn’t been this high since February of 2003, when it reached 4.7%.
Transportation, shelter, and food prices were the main contributing factors to the increase.
With files from Amir Ali