MONTREAL B次元官网网址� With inflation at a nearly 40-year high, Canadians are feeling the financial strain. In a six-part series this summer, The Canadian Press is speaking to people at different stages of life to see where theyB次元官网网址檙e being hit the hardest. This story details the experiences of parents with young children.

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Carlyne St Jules may have to cut her family vacation short this year, thanks to soaring inflation.

B次元官网网址淓verything out here, itB次元官网网址檚 $300 and up,B次元官网网址� she says of hotel rooms in Montreal, where she has family and previously studied dance.

B次元官网网址淭o fill my tank B次元官网网址� to come here it was like $89. I have a small four-door Kia.B次元官网网址�

St Jules, a 29-year-old event co-ordinator who now lives in New York City with her three children, ages two, seven and 10, says she B次元官网网址渂rought them out here so they can see my old stomping grounds B次元官网网址� but I donB次元官网网址檛 know how much IB次元官网网址檒l be stomping around here with these prices.B次元官网网址�

From ballooning grocery bills to pricier extracurricular activities, parents are confronting cost-of-living increases that have them worried about opportunities for their children and a stable financial future for their family.

Inflation hit a 39-year high in June amid an economy hampered by COVID-19, labour shortages, supply chain challenges and the looming threat of a recession.

Money doesnB次元官网网址檛 stretch as far these days on everything from diapers to daycare and family outings and vacations are harder on the wallet as the cost to fill up your gas tank soars and prices for travel accommodations rise.

Young parents arenB次元官网网址檛 accustomed to such speedy price hikes; many werenB次元官网网址檛 born yet when inflation last hit this pace in 1983.

Mortgage and rent, along with car loans take some of the biggest bites out of parentsB次元官网网址� incomes, said Scott Hannah, CEO of the Credit Counselling Society.

For drivers, prices at the pump have increased even faster B次元官网网址� gasoline prices for June, the most recent month available, were 54.6 higher than in the same month in 2021, Statistics Canada data show, the biggest driver of inflation in that period.

Those financial drains are B次元官网网址渞eally hurting a lot of Canadians now,B次元官网网址� he said. Meanwhile appetites grow, clothes need replacing and extracurricular sports, classes and activities mount. B次元官网网址淚f youB次元官网网址檝e got a young family, itB次元官网网址檚 the most expensive part of your years.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檒l be 65 next February B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 hard to say that B次元官网网址� and back when I was a kid it wasnB次元官网网址檛 that big of a deal if you didnB次元官网网址檛 have the latest and greatest. But boy, it sure is now,B次元官网网址� Hannah said of the pressure of consumer trends.

For Montreal residents Nabil and Samia Haliche, bigger grocery bills and toll at the pumps have pushed them to hunt harder for food sales.

B次元官网网址淲e see it clearly at the grocery store,B次元官网网址� said Samia, after she and her husband stepped out of a second-hand clothing store in Montreal with their two daughters, ages two and 10.

B次元官网网址淓verything is more expensive than usual.B次元官网网址�

Families with young children often have one parent on parental leave, off work or working part-time, adding to the financial strain.

Housing prices and rents also shot up throughout the pandemic. The national home price index, which adjusts for pricing volatility, peaked at $835,000 in March, capping off a two-year climb of 52 per cent, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. Prices spiralled upward in a frantic buying streak that saw families stretch budgets to enter the market or upgrade to more spacious digs amid COVID-19 confinement and rock-bottom rates.

The average Canadian rent leaped 9.5 per cent in June from a year earlier, though remained 3.5 per cent below June 2019, according to Rentals.ca, an apartment-search website.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of young families in the last two years have used this opportunity, No. 1, to start their family, and No. 2, to get into that first home,B次元官网网址� said Leah Zlatkin, a mortgage expert at LowestRates.ca.

Many pushed their budgets to the limit to make down payments and monthly interest B次元官网网址� which promptly began to rise as the Bank of Canada started raising its key interest rate.

B次元官网网址淔or those people, when you see a variable-rate increase it could be a bit shocking,B次元官网网址� Zlatkin said.

For homeowners worried about their situation, Zlatkin suggested sitting down with a mortgage broker to discuss refinancing. If payments seem beyond their means at the moment, she said clients should immediately inform their mortgage provider, who can offer a payment deferral program or temporary interest-only payment plan.

A clear-eyed look at what can be removed from the budget B次元官网网址� or replaced with less expensive options B次元官网网址� is also called for.

B次元官网网址淟ate night while youB次元官网网址檙e bottle-feeding or breast-feeding the baby, flip through the Flipp app and find some deals and do some price matching when youB次元官网网址檙e in the grocery store.B次元官网网址�

Hannah suggests buying in bulk B次元官网网址� small families can team up with larger ones B次元官网网址� cashing in loyalty points and swapping name brands for generic ones. Even a slightly awkward conversation with family members to lower holiday gift expectations may be wise.

B次元官网网址淣o one wants to receive a gift from someone who canB次元官网网址檛 afford to give it,B次元官网网址� he said.

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

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