{"id":74810,"date":"2024-02-27T16:06:29","date_gmt":"2024-02-27T23:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/?p=74810"},"modified":"2024-02-27T20:12:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-28T03:12:00","slug":"inflation-across-the-nation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/2024\/02\/27\/inflation-across-the-nation\/","title":{"rendered":"Inflation across the nation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Comic shop:<\/strong> University of Calgary student Sammi Thai completes a transaction with Trenton Wise, an employee at Phoenix Comics. Thai is purchasing containers for her card collection. (Photo by Fernando Moreno-Prado\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I<\/span>nflation has impacted the lives and spending habits of many people in Calgary and across the world for the last couple of years, especially on groceries and entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Every single person has a different experience, because we each buy different things,\u201d says Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary. \u201cThe price of one item will be increasing at a different rate than the price of another.\u201d<\/p>\n

The variations of price rates can be seen in the December 2023 Consumer Price Index of released by Statistics Canada<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Consumer Price Index<\/a> jumped by 3.4 per cent over a year-by-year basis, which is a 12-month change. The index includes gasoline which rose by 1.4 per cent and transportation by 3.2 per cent over 12 months.<\/p>\n

Tombe sites the main factors for the increased cost of living as the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions to global transportation and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen inflation rise a little over 8 per cent last summer,\u201d said Tombe. \u201cThat\u2019s a year-over-year price change that accelerated from 3 per cent a year earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tombe points out that this acceleration is the fastest seen since the 1950s, making this an unprecedented situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI police pretty heavily what kind of things I buy at the grocery store,\u201d says SAIT film student Jackson Clarke. \u201cI don\u2019t buy chicken anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Struggling student:<\/strong> SAIT student Jackson Clarke enjoys a beverage in the Stan Grad study hall on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. Clarke has had to allocate his funds to groceries and bills while cutting back on his hobbies. (Photo by Fernando Moreno-Prado\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The higher prices create incentives for some people to shop around more and monitor the prices at the various grocery stores in the city. The Consumer Price Index shows that store-purchased food prices rose by 4.7 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re all very mindful of what we should and shouldn\u2019t be doing,\u201d says Linda Gardner, a SAIT business practicum instructor. \u201cI go to some stores more than others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entertainment and luxuries took a hit in many people\u2019s budgets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve noticed last year that I\u2019ve spent more than I have this year,\u201d says Isabelle Milner, a student in the business administration program at SAIT. \u201cThat\u2019s just because I can\u2019t afford a lot of things and don\u2019t want to be spending that money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some students admit to being a lot more selective when it comes to dining in restaurants.<\/p>\n

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Money teacher:<\/strong> Trevor Tombe, economics professor at University of Calgary in his office on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. He shared his take on the causes of the current inflation situation. (Photo by Fernando Moreno-Prado\/The Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t go out for meals anymore,\u201d says Clarke. \u201cI haven\u2019t been out for a meal in almost two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over at Phoenix Comics, staff and customers admit that inflation prices affected their spending.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been bouncing between several different hobbies,\u201d says Sammi Thai, a U of C student and frequent customer at Phoenix Comics. \u201cI\u2019ve tried to limit myself from spending too much in one (hobby) so that I can enjoy the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other patrons have slashed their consumption more drastically to save money.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had to pull back spending on my hobbies significantly,\u201d says Clarke. \u201cI\u2019ve cut more than half the comics I regularly subscribe to.\u201d<\/p>\n

But some people have not made any changes to save money, even if there are consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t really made an adjustment to my budget,\u201d says Suliana Mekonnen, a SAIT business student waiting for a friend by Tim Hortons in the Senator Burns Building. “I’m just spending as usual, so it’s really impacted my savings.”<\/p>\n

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Coffee spending:<\/strong> SAIT student Jenna Willox grabs her Tim Hortons order in the Senator Burns Building at SAIT. Willox works as a server and keeps track of her expenses. (Photo by Fernando Moreno-Prado\/The Press<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thai believes that high prices are the result of corporations, monopolies and collusion to keep prices high.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can jack up the prices while we suffer,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Gardner says she believes it’s a matter of wages not being increased while the prices of goods and services rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt concerns me that some of our students are having to work several jobs to pay their rent, tuition and whatnot,” she says.<\/p>\n

According to Tombe, there’s not a\u00a0 single cause for the recent acceleration of prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnergy, food and durable goods that Canadians import are largely the factors,\u201d says Tombe. \u201cUnderlying all three of those factors was that there was a good deal of demand for goods and services in part facilitated by strong household finances.\u201d<\/p>\n

The way many people have dealt with this situation is to avoid debt and live more within their means.<\/p>\n

\u201cAvoid the temptation of going to credit for things you can\u2019t afford,\u201d says Clarke.<\/p>\n

A better hold on budgeting has also worked for some people.<\/p>\n

\u201cTry to be conservative when spending and save where you can,\u201d says Brian Ziemba, owner of Phoenix Comics.<\/p>\n

Despite the difficult economic times, Tombe believes there is still reason to be optimistic this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the drop in inflation was farther than many expected,\u201d he says about the figures. \u201cIf recent trends continue then it\u2019s going to continue getting back to normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tombe mentions that most of the items of the items responsible for inflation except shelter have come down with the potential to normalize by the summer.<\/p>\n

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How are students and teachers in Calgary adjusting to an increased cost-of-living? [ READ MORE ]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":874,"featured_media":74811,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ef_editorial_meta_text_assignment-slug":"S2 Inflation Situation FM","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9,2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-74810","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-life","9":"category-campus-2"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/874"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74810"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74963,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74810\/revisions\/74963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saitjournalism.ca\/thepress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}