How much does your family spend in a month?

Everything has changed. The cost of housing and any thing to do with energy has gone up. Not to mention the wants of cable, internet and your phone bills have gone up.

Oh, did i mention insurance is going up too! Now they might want to charge to drive on the hwy, charge you to get your bills by paper? They weren't charging before, but i guess now they will.

Up, Up, and we are all poor!

food prices are soaring high. our expenses more than tripled .

all taxes on income and what we by including property tax amount to about half our pay now they would like to make us live on the remainder of our income
first the morgage then the heat and hydro food and gas to get to work then there is your phone and internet bills add all that up and you will find there is not anything left but a few scrapes if you are lucky
were will the next raises in government paycheques come from oh I nkow we will just borrow more money so the next generation can pay it back lol .

What most most law makers and stats people aren't taking into account is that paycheques are going down... my whole company took a 4-8% pay cut. This is on top of increases in everything that is on a monhtly re-occuring bill. Middle class is getting this crap kicked out of us right now.
How do we cope? Putting off things like getting married and having children... and that is very discomforting.

yes things have changed say this year my employer has started taking cpp out of my wages again when I am collecting, year before I delogated that cpp monies too purchase my new car full amount Now I have too come up with that 160.00 amonth that they take out plus add more too my federal income tax too make sure I dont have too pay again next year. Also gas has gone up, hydro and that delivery charge whow why bother sometimes I wonder.
Groceries have gone up, the price too heat the home has gone up......

Our finances took a huge hit in 2010. I turned 65 and my job was outsourced to India.We have learned to live within our reduced means, and it is quite pleasant. We realised in 2004 that we had to reduce debt, and gave up our credit cards. It took five years to get them paid off. We have taken steps to reduce our energy bills. Our power bill has been reduced by $60 a month $7 of that is tax! The budget allows for some entertainment, and life is pretty good.

I question our Internet/TV/telephone costs of $140.00 a month. It is strange how "wants" become "needs". We "need" our car, and that costs just over $6,000 a year(21% of our income).

Just remember, you only live once. Don't live beyond your means, but LIVE!

Pay cash, save for big ticket items, and never impulse buy. Since I started following these self imposed rules I have eliminated ALL my debt, changed how I cook (mostly through seasonal shopping/freezing as ingredients are cheaper), and created a savings account. Not bad, but the most important part is paying cash.

With plastic I didn't notice the money going, by paying cash I "see and fee"l every dollar I spend! You would be surprised how many times I have put something back if it meant I had to break another twenty!

Now I sleep better due to reduced stress, I eat really well, I am healthier than ever before, and I enjoy everything I do as I can now "do", in the past I could only dream of doing.

I realize things are very tough - and everything has gone up in price but I do ok - What I do is periodically take a real hard look at where my money is being spent especially on the extras: I've cut back on cable - never really watched all those channels (I mean really do you actually watch them?), cut back on my cellphone (I didn't call 'em before while riding the bus - I don't do it now), dropped some of those extra features too - like call waiting - who cares - leave a message that's what I pay for voicemail for; and I sold my car - just not worth the money or the aggravation - I can rent a car when I really need it and I take public transit to work (I get a break on income tax for that one); I don't have the internet at home - I go to the library or the internet cafe or wireless hotspots - I just don't need to stream live tv on the bus either and - you may be in for a big surprise. Preparing a monthly budget is mandatory - and stick to it. I went from drowning in debt, unemployed and almost homeless to a debt free (except for mortgage) homeowner. Hey sorry if I sound kinda holier-than-thou - but I've been there and got outta that. Times are tough and are not likely to get easier. the way to stay on top is to stopping being the passenger on the money ride - take back control of your money and your life. You'll thank yourself.

@Lindsay, I am the exact opposite. I never use cash. I haven't had cash in my wallet for 4, maybe 5 years. When I use my credit cards (8 in total), I feel every single $ spent. I have never in my life paid interest on a credit card. I am totally debt free. I know how much is on each credit card at any time of day, and when to expect each statement, so that I pay them in full immediately upon receipt or when I should receive them (Note, that if your statement is lost in the mail, you are still responsible for paying the bill on time). I always have sufficient funds available to pay all expenses, plus enough contigency to survive for 1 full year in the event of loss of employment. The rest is put in tax shelters and retirement savings.

There really isnt a lot of planning since dissability is like poverty, rent food phone net hydro ect...

It's tough to be retired on a fixed income(non-indexed company pension) as I have been the last 5 years. Thank god the CPP kicked in this year for me, it made up the loss of my buying power over the last 5 years and the OAS will be a welcome relief 5 years from now. At least I have no debt, no mortgage but I worry that later, as I approach 70, much belt tightening will be needed. Runaway Inflation is my greatest fear. I am not having a very relaxed care free retirement and I cannot find a job to supplement my income.

My wife and I are in our 30's, she's currently in school so I support the two of us... One thing we do to get ahead is save save save, and we eat at home only. It's a tough discipline, but in the end by setting a tight monthly budget whileforcing yourself to bank those 200 bones you might spend on entertainment, it may well get you leverage to invest in education or a small property... I must also mention to avoid buying a car if you can get away from it, and also remember to pay yurself (bank that cash as it will come in handy).

As a single senior, with a mid income, i manage very well. My expenses are geared to my lifestyle, not my income. I truly feel sorry for families with 2 or more children. Food prices are out of sight, they all seem to have cars and houses-which I decided I didn;t need, although i was a single mom of 3 children. They will never have peace of mind in retirement because of the choices they have made. Too bad, and too bad for the children They will enter adulthood thinking they must have it all-always in debt.

as a self employed person for the last 30 years I have to shake my head when I see government funded union reps bemoaning that perhaps they are not keeping up with inflation. try living on half of what you made pre '08. try making some deep cuts in your own spending. I have managed, finally to get my life back on track. as the saying goes, you have to cut the fat. downgrade your cable, get rid of your phone, minimize your cel costs. I no longer take weekends away, even to stay at friends.plan your meals and buy quality foods on sale. what I learned to do was take a monthly expenditure, times it by 12 and see the real annual cost. Sometimes it is shocking, but eliminate what you can. Never eliminate your insurance, particularly extended health or disability. they may save your butt one day. if you are fortunate enough to have a large space, rent a room to a student for the school year and BANK that money. next fall I will have paid off my car bought before the recession and that will make a huge difference. almost above all, DON'T use cards unless you can pay them off in full every month. I do use debit, but agree that using cash really makes a difference in my spending habits. good luck to all, and I hope this all gets better, SOON!

I don't know about the rest of you, but my families highest expense is our taxes, debt repayment to the energy services etc...basically, anything to do with taxes. It is very sad that we are in debt as a province, country when we are taxed at some of the highest rates.

It doesn't make sense that our governements lecture people on house hold debt, when they are in debt. Aren't the households doing what our government has done? Spend more than we can afford?
I guess the only difference is...............if the taxpayers are in debt, who will pay of the countries debt?

If our governments are to be role models, why are they in such a financial mess? I have so many questions, but no real answers. I feel like a mushroom.

I just can,t stop laughing ,Enjoy what you sow. Every left leaning programme driven idiot wanted the government to provide every flaking useless program under the sun for her or his cause. Well enjoy the govermental incroaching agency that infects your rear end. Welcome to the Nanny state and enjoy the rope that will hang you. As a Canadian born citizen ,Its disgusting what Canada has become .I have already chosen to leave this dump enjoy the white elephant in the roomas I burn my passport on the way out.

How is it that Saudi Arabia has oil......largest reserves on earth. We have oil.......3rd largest reserves on earth. We are sitting beside the largest oil consumers on earth.

Our population is slightly larger. Our GDP is more than double. Saudi health care is about the same as ours. Saudi education is free with some caviates. They retire after 25 years work with a full pension.

We are a democracy!!! They are a monarchy. Saudis don't pay income tax.

Are we doing something wrong?