How has the Economy treated you ?
- Thread starter Francis2004
- Start date
Nope, but it sure cut back on the amount of work available. Wife and her partner closed their little shop, though.
Decreased.
Nope.
I'm Irish, I don't even know how MANY family members I have let alone their situations.
Has it caused any major changes in lifestyle? No.
I worked a total of just over a month this year,the wells they had planned to drill got put on hold,pipelines that were ready to put in the ground were cut up and shipped to another location,a lot of the construction projects planned with govt. money havent even started yet,and the gold exploration camps in the Arctic are also waiting before they throw any money into this summers drill programs.
I own my own bussiness so even though I have to pay EI it's not available to me.
I know lots of owners of huge construction outfits throught Alberta and BC,not much going on but Sask does have work and I just may go there.
I own my own bussiness so even though I have to pay EI it's not available to me.
I know lots of owners of huge construction outfits throught Alberta and BC,not much going on but Sask does have work and I just may go there.
Interesting post.
To me anyway.
Stats Can says inflation is really really low.
Almost non-existent.
And yet when you talk to friends and acquaintances they all say day to day costs are going up.
Especially food, some folks say in the last couple of years that lots of foodstuff's are up between 20 and 40%.
So how can that be, does Stats Can lie to us to make us feel better or what?
Also is it a location thing because even though I don't live there I have heard that day to day living increases are pretty noticeable on Van Isle.
Having said that I must admit fresh produce and veggie prices are sky-rocketing in Alberta.
Trex
Yeah, food has gotten pretty expensive the past couple years. We grow more and more of our own, preserve a lot more, go gathering more, etc. I think some of the reasons are diminished agricultural land, increasing population, more control by outfits like Monsanto and probably more reasons if I thought more on it. Oh, wifey says demand as people have less time to expand and act on food sources like growing, for instance. Prepackaged, prepared, etc. type convenience foods and all that.
First of all we live in Nanaimo on Van Isle
Groceries are where inflation is most visible. My wife and I do our big grocery shopping about once a month. We buy staples as needed and meat for the freezer. The cost of that grocery shopping has gone from around $325.00 to over $400.00 Everything has gone up but the main increase has been the meat. A three pound chicken now costs close to ten dollars...Up from maybe seven dollars. A nice beef roast will cost at least $60.00
We buy fresh vegetables and salad stuff as we need it.
There's certainly had to be adjustments due to the weakening economy. Food is definitely more costly where we live- bread alone has pretty well doubled in the past year. We are getting a bit of a break on gas this year. As far as "the way it's treated me"- that's rather a moot point, the question is more like how do I deal with IT. I can't complain and nobody should be who has 3 squares a day, a dwelling place, clothes on their back and enough left over for a beer on a Saturday night. We've got so used to regarding so much junk as "necessities" that we've completely lost our focus. Now the chickens are coming home to roost and if you weren't prepared for it you are getting bitten in the back. I guess it's easy for us pensioners to be a little smug, eh. The young people are in dire straits now.
Are you following the "flyers" Juan? Naturally I do most of my shopping at SOM but I buy my best buy's where ever they are. I have never paid $60.00 for a roast and we have roasts in the store that are guaranteed to be tender. I noticed that you say we all live in Nanaimo on VanIsle (you are getting a little heavy on my shoulders :lol:;-))and on the monthly income. I nearly always buy chickens at Quality Foods - they usually have the best price but SOM always has a $10.00 coupon off a case of chicken breasts (almost always)which are good to have around for things like stir frys. I have noticed that many things "on sale" are now on sale for what used to be the regular price. I don't know about other stores but if you just hang onto a month's worth of SOM flyers, you'll see that they follow pretty much the same pattern with most of the same things on sale each month. That way, you know what to wait for go get the best price. This would be true anywhere there are SOM stores. It's probably true of all stores that put out flyers. Naturally there would be some changes for seasonal produce.
Sorry VanIsle
I forgot about your handle.;-):lol:
We now buy most of our fish and a lot of the beef roasts we eat at the Superstore. For chicken, steaks and chops, we go where the best price is. It is hard to beat SOM "warehouse pack" prices. SOM used to have good lamb chops but not for a while.....We still look.
I forgot about your handle.;-):lol:
We now buy most of our fish and a lot of the beef roasts we eat at the Superstore. For chicken, steaks and chops, we go where the best price is. It is hard to beat SOM "warehouse pack" prices. SOM used to have good lamb chops but not for a while.....We still look.
You have to be very careful with some of the flyers too. (I suspect that $60 "roast" was a hind quarter, I've never spent over $20 for a roast) Anyway Buy-Low Foods which is an excellent store in most ways, pulls this trick of two for the price of one on their meat periodically, but then when you look at the price tag you realize they've just doubled the price. We quite often find good pork roasts for under $10. As for beef the best value for the buck is probably the blade or the Xrib roast, but do them as a pot roast. Pot roasts are generally tastier than oven roasts anyway. For steaks, buy roasts and cut your own steaks, that will often save you $1.00 a lb. You have to be very wary these days.
Well Time to go pay my property taxes that went up another 10% this year..
You guys are all making me depressed with the food talk being so high. I know the cost of it has gone way up and feeding the kids has been unreal.
Oh and on that topic I start my new pay decrease tomorrow "Canada Day" as my company gave us all a great 10% cut back in wages. I guess I should be happy to have a job, but they are looking at more cuts so I should stay on my toes..
You guys are all making me depressed with the food talk being so high. I know the cost of it has gone way up and feeding the kids has been unreal.
Oh and on that topic I start my new pay decrease tomorrow "Canada Day" as my company gave us all a great 10% cut back in wages. I guess I should be happy to have a job, but they are looking at more cuts so I should stay on my toes..
The secret to getting good deals on poultry is to know where the Hutterites hang out after they come back from selling their wares at the city,they allways hit a local bar near me or in the city and if you know where that is then chances are they will cut a deal on whatever they didnt sell because they hate to take it back,they also like their beer.
I remember making deals in Lethbridge in the York hotel on saturday afternoons with them,for $5.00 you could get a ring of garlic sausage,a block of cheese,couple chickens,huge loaf of home made bread and the right to shoot a deer on the colony at any time.
Once you have befriended them you can literally do your shopping with them,make sure you get a couple gallons of their elderberry wine.
I remember making deals in Lethbridge in the York hotel on saturday afternoons with them,for $5.00 you could get a ring of garlic sausage,a block of cheese,couple chickens,huge loaf of home made bread and the right to shoot a deer on the colony at any time.
Once you have befriended them you can literally do your shopping with them,make sure you get a couple gallons of their elderberry wine.
Since i've been working since 78 I thought I would do some research today on how some outfits are doing as I have lots of Connections in the energy industry and the mining industry from Alta,B.C. and Nunavut.
In Alta. Sask. and B.C. the gas and pipeline industry is pretty well at a standstill,Sask is doing the best by far though where pipelineing new gas wells is still going on.
On the HRDC site the majority of the jobs in skilled and trades seem to be in N.B. Winnipeg and Ontario,and Vancouver has it's share but who can afford to live there now as a tradesman?
If your a concrete worker or framer in Calgary you will have your pick of job's.
And for some reason the majority of ads for jobs around Lethbridge and Calgary Alberta are for the auto dealers and I couldnt believe it myself while searching today.
This is just what I got after about 4 hours on the net today scouring job banks and stuff trying to get a take on what I should do next,cancel my wcb and go hourly to get stamps or hope things turn in the next month,or wait for the investors in Vancouver to decide if they have enough money to do another 3 month core drill program again in the arctic,the ice is just melting now so im waiting for an E-mail.
Normally I would do 2 weeks in(north of Rankin inlet) and 2 weeks out but after this last slowdown I think the hiring of someone to spell me off would be on the backburner,I would do the whole 3 months myself.
In Alta. Sask. and B.C. the gas and pipeline industry is pretty well at a standstill,Sask is doing the best by far though where pipelineing new gas wells is still going on.
On the HRDC site the majority of the jobs in skilled and trades seem to be in N.B. Winnipeg and Ontario,and Vancouver has it's share but who can afford to live there now as a tradesman?
If your a concrete worker or framer in Calgary you will have your pick of job's.
And for some reason the majority of ads for jobs around Lethbridge and Calgary Alberta are for the auto dealers and I couldnt believe it myself while searching today.
This is just what I got after about 4 hours on the net today scouring job banks and stuff trying to get a take on what I should do next,cancel my wcb and go hourly to get stamps or hope things turn in the next month,or wait for the investors in Vancouver to decide if they have enough money to do another 3 month core drill program again in the arctic,the ice is just melting now so im waiting for an E-mail.
Normally I would do 2 weeks in(north of Rankin inlet) and 2 weeks out but after this last slowdown I think the hiring of someone to spell me off would be on the backburner,I would do the whole 3 months myself.
With interest rates so so low, I pay our taxes monthly. They always add in a little square on the tax bill that says what your monthly payment would be if you want to go on the pre-paid plan. I'm not fond of pre-paid plans and companies having access to my bank account. I just take their figure and set it up as a payment on my own banking. This year we lucked out and over paid because hubby turned 65 this year so we got a better HOG.
How have we been hit? Money's fine, stress is high.
Hubby received a big promotion. He's now attempting to institute a quality system for merging divisions of an international company for the Canada region, ranging from Alberta to Newfoundland. And, of course, thanks to the recession, they don't need to give him a raise for the promotion, OR, any resources with which to implement the countrywide quality program for thousands of employees and millions of dollars in potential revenue. He just kind of has to wing it apparently.
So, fine(ish) on the money front. But stressed to the max.
Hubby received a big promotion. He's now attempting to institute a quality system for merging divisions of an international company for the Canada region, ranging from Alberta to Newfoundland. And, of course, thanks to the recession, they don't need to give him a raise for the promotion, OR, any resources with which to implement the countrywide quality program for thousands of employees and millions of dollars in potential revenue. He just kind of has to wing it apparently.
So, fine(ish) on the money front. But stressed to the max.
I reached the "old bastard" category last year and my taxes were just over $540 and this year they jumped to just over $660. I sent an email to the mayor and got a bunch of B.S. back from one of his minions, but anyway had to pay.
JLM,
Are you all talking about PROPERTY taxes? OMG if you are. Aren't your property taxes based on the value? Those rates are dirt cheap. I have a very nice house, but no mansion, 2,000 sq. ft., 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, an acre in Dallas county, a pool, a fireplace (a treat in Texas) and a garden. Our taxes, after the senior break, are still $1,800 per year. Essentially it boils down to school taxes, which you have to die to get past.:sad10: We are trying to avoid that option.
Uncle
PS: My husband is quite a bit older.
Are you all talking about PROPERTY taxes? OMG if you are. Aren't your property taxes based on the value? Those rates are dirt cheap. I have a very nice house, but no mansion, 2,000 sq. ft., 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, an acre in Dallas county, a pool, a fireplace (a treat in Texas) and a garden. Our taxes, after the senior break, are still $1,800 per year. Essentially it boils down to school taxes, which you have to die to get past.:sad10: We are trying to avoid that option.
Uncle
PS: My husband is quite a bit older.
You are quite right Unclepercy (shouldn't it be Auntiepercy?):lol: When evaluating taxes you have to look at the entire spectrum, eg. Oregon apparently has very high property taxes but no state taxes on purchases. I wasn't complaining about the tax per se, just the percent increase in one year.