Vancouver woman considers moving amid cost-of-living crisis

With the Bank of Canada toeing the line between driving down inflation and a possible recession, many people are running out of options to deal with the cost-of-living crisis in the Lower Mainland.

One Vancouver woman is trying to come up with some creative solutions in a bid to find her financial footing.

She doesn’t want to be identified, but works in the arts, is in her 30s, and rents alone in the South Vancouver neighbourhood of Marpole. She says her rent right now is $1,175 a month but that’s going up to $1,200 in the New Year. She has a car but is trying to walk more to help save on gas.

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She says she uses coupons, buys store brands, and rarely eats out.

“When I moved to this place two years ago, an average grocery shop was between $40 and $50, and now that costs like $80, and I’m not even buying meat. I’m not buying lots of spices or anything.”

Her next solution if things don’t improve soon is to move out to the suburbs or get a roommate.

“It’s not the kind of thing where you want to ask your parents to help you pay your rent in your 30s, and so I don’t feel that’s a fair ask to make,” she said. “There’s lots of people who do it and lots of people who have good communities with their roommates, and I understand it’s a privilege to live alone.”

She says moving out of the province is not something that’s in the cards because she wants to remain close to her family.

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While trying to keep up with the cost of living, she’s also trying to pay down tens of thousands of dollars of debt, which include student loans.

“It’d be nice to feel like you could get ahead. I’m not paycheque to paycheque, but it’s not like I have a retirement plan and I know I’ll be secure when I’m in my 60s and 70s — definitely not in that kind of situation.”

She’s also frustrated because she feels wages here don’t keep up with how much everything costs.

“Income is not rising to meet those expenses that have climbed so fast, and it does stress me out and it makes me think about other options I need to be researching and considering, just in case because you want to make sure you have enough leftover to save to pay your taxes or for emergency expenses.”

Today’s interest rate hike of 50 basis points makes it the sixth consecutive time the Bank of Canada has raised interest rates, making it the fastest monetary policy tightening in its history. There is expected to be another rate hike in December before the bank hits pause in the New Year to assess the situation.