How is everyone dealing with their finances in this economy?

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by Zary's-Mustache

I wish I had the ability to make points like opendoor.

It's fascinating, actually. They're essentially the most interesting poster on CP. Has a handle on covid, economics, geopolitics, and so much more that I'm forgetting. Brings facts to their arguments and debates without the atiitude or arrogance that most posters bring eventually.

[chedder]

Originally Posted by activeStick

It's fascinating, actually. They're essentially the most interesting poster on CP. Has a handle on covid, economics, geopolitics, and so much more that I'm forgetting. Brings facts to their arguments and debates without the atiitude or arrogance that most posters bring eventually.

I, only have joking, think opendoor must be a pretty advanced AI! The posts are all incredibly articulate, concise, factual and persuasive. And never emotional.

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by activeStick

It's fascinating, actually. They're essentially the most interesting poster on CP. Has a handle on covid, economics, geopolitics, and so much more that I'm forgetting. Brings facts to their arguments and debates without the attitude or arrogance that most posters bring eventually.

This x 100000000000

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by indes

My wife and I are lucky that we both have 6 figure jobs but really unlucky that my divorce/custody battle pretty much sank me and left me with a mortgage worth of debt.

That being said its getting impossible to climb out of the hole. We have 3 kids and everything just keeps going up and up and up - except wages. At some point the funnel to the top has collapse right?

Not sure how the collapse of the debt based system will look, but I don't think we're too far away now.

I agree, the bubble has to burst at some point, could a city like Calgary one day sustain the avg house price of 1 million?

The biggest cost has to be kids. When we were kids, we cost next to nothing. No there's daycare, after school care, activities, toys, internet etc...

The OP's wife not working is actually the better track. If she picked up even a part time job, how would she manage the kids these days? Maybe if she was working from home?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

When we were kids, we cost next to nothing.

LoL

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

LoL

Things used to be "dirt cheap". Dirt ain't cheap anymore.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Things used to be "dirt cheap". Dirt ain't cheap anymore.

To say it was "next to nothing" is wishful thinking and looking at it through rose coloured glasses.

I was born in '71, #### was expensive through the 70's & 80's.

We ####ing barely got by. Powdered milk, hand me downs from my older sister, it wasn't an easy time for an immigrant family & I based on those that lived in the rental homes around us it wasn't ####ing easy for the Canadians either.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

To say it was "next to nothing" is wishful thinking and looking at it through rose coloured glasses.

I was born in '71, #### was expensive through the 70's & 80's.

We ####ing barely got by. Powdered milk, hand me downs from my older sister, it wasn't an easy time for an immigrant family & I based on those that lived in the rental homes around us it wasn't ####ing easy for the Canadians either.

sure but could to imagine if your parents came to Canada now

it's really next to nothing compared to now

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

sure but could to imagine if your parents came to Canada now

it's really next to nothing compared to now

Immigrants come to Canada all the time, you don’t actually have to imagine it.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by V

I don’t want to derail the pylon pile-on, but on another note, I find it very interesting how offensive it seems to be to even bring up the idea of budgeting or cost management in this thread. It really shouldn’t be.

Agreed. There’s a difference between telling someone making 45k a year to suck it up and deal with it, and encouraging middle and upper middle class to cut back on frivolous spending if they’re struggling with prices.

I’m not big on detailed and strict budgeting myself, but I am a cheerleader for preparing your own fresh food. I don’t think it’s dismissive of peoples’ struggles to explain that Skip the Dishes is more of a luxury than a need. And it’s not asking people to turn their backs on progress and the good things in life to encourage them to make a stir-fry, or a pot of stew that will provide three meals for a family, for a fraction of the price of ordering takeout.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Immigrants come to Canada all the time, you don’t actually have to imagine it.

Sure, but it was citing his example specifically.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Cowboy89

I live in the US after moving from Calgary a year and a half ago and make frequent trips back to Calgary. Unequivocally now the cost of living is higher in Canada, especially when you factor in incomes and earning potential in the US. There are positives and negatives of both places and I think Canada has such a complex with the US that makes Canadians blind to anything that might actually be better in the US and also blinds them to things that are objectively awful in Canada.

Cost of living in Canada has always been higher. The tradeoff is we have public health care, much better public education, lower poverty, lower crime rates, far fewer slums. And overall a more cohesive, egalitarian high-trust society. YMMV on whether that’s a desirable tradeoff (and I don’t mean that sarcastically - people have different values).

[MoneyGuy]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Cost of living in Canada has always been higher. The tradeoff is we have public health care, much better public education, lower poverty, lower crime rates, far fewer slums. And overall a more cohesive, egalitarian high-trust society. YMMV on whether that’s a desirable tradeoff (and I don’t mean that sarcastically - people have different values).

I’m willing to pay for those things.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

sure but could to imagine if your parents came to Canada now

it's really next to nothing compared to now

I can speak to my experience.

But back to your comment on kids costing next to knowing, that isn't correct.

It is wishful thinking.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

sure but could to imagine if your parents came to Canada now

it's really next to nothing compared to now

Spending on children has skyrocketted in recent decades. Spending on kids sports and enrichment activities alone almost quadrupled in 20 years. Lots of parents in the 70s provided kids with a roof over their head, alphagettis, and clothes from Zellers. That was it. Spending money once they hit their teens was up to them getting jobs. Few parents set aside money for university.

There’s a reason fewer people are having kids - the societal expectations of what you need to provide them to be happy and successful are far higher than they used to be.

[topfiverecords]

When we were kids in the 80s none of us were in activities, needed furniture, bikes, hockey sticks and nets, went to the movies, went to sporting events, had birthday parties, got gifts, gave gifts, video game consoles, computers, ate food, or even wore clothes! Simpler times.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I can speak to my experience.

But back to your comment on kids costing next to knowing, that isn't correct.

It is wishful thinking.

GirlySports is saying that kids used to cost far less than they do now. Your kids are athletes. How much have you spent on league fees, camps, equipment, etc. compared with how much your parents spent on you at the same age?

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Zary's-Mustache

I wish I had the ability to make points like opendoor.

Originally Posted by activeStick

It's fascinating, actually. They're essentially the most interesting poster on CP. Has a handle on covid, economics, geopolitics, and so much more that I'm forgetting. Brings facts to their arguments and debates without the atiitude or arrogance that most posters bring eventually.

Yeah, I'm 100% happy being uninterested in who posters are behind their username and posts here, but opendoor has me soooo curious about his background, vocation, etc. Like, who the hell is so smart and articulate without talking over our heads on such a broad range of topics? I hope IRL he's killing it. Such a neat dude.

MBates would be up there as well.

And I see Photon thanked Zary's-Mustache's post about wishing he had the ability to make points like opendoor...Photon, you do! I recall you used to be more interested in talking about religion and such years ago, but man did you always nail really interesting points and were punching above the level of most of us on here.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I’m willing to pay for those things.

I think most Canadians are.

The other poster mentioned that Canadians have a US complex where they believe everything is worse, but I honestly think that Canadians have a Canada complex. People here just don’t understand how good they have it and how much better they COULD have it not by becoming more like the US but by leaning further into what makes Canada great.

Like, sure, you can get slightly cheaper phone plans and in some places gas is slightly cheaper and if you’re willing to live in a crappy state you can get a cheaper house than you could in rural Alberta.

But is it worth having a $30 plan from Verizon instead of a $45 plan from Telus when you’re spending $400 per month USD to get the same healthcare coverage you get for free in Canada?

Maybe to some people, I guess. “Urnnhhh marxism!” and all that trash.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

When we were kids in the 80s none of us were in activities, needed furniture, bikes, hockey sticks and nets, went to the movies, went to sporting events, had birthday parties, got gifts, gave gifts, video game consoles, computers, ate food, or even wore clothes! Simpler times.

Nobody has said it cost nothing. But it costs considerably more now. This is pretty well substantiated. Bigger houses, higher day care costs, much more spent on sports and activities, saving for post-secondary eduction, fewer teens working jobs, more staying at home until their mid or late 20s. This isn’t anecdotal stuff. You can look it up.