{"id":4539,"date":"2018-03-19T21:00:19","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T01:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irasmithinc.com\/blog\/?p=4539"},"modified":"2018-03-15T12:53:42","modified_gmt":"2018-03-15T16:53:42","slug":"annual-cost-of-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irasmithinc.com\/blog\/annual-cost-of-living\/","title":{"rendered":"ANNUAL COST OF LIVING: \u00a0WHY EVERYTHING RISES BUT YOUR SALARY"},"content":{"rendered":"
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annual cost of living<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Annual cost of living:\u00a0 Introduction<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

We all read the headlines. The annual cost of living is rising, interest rates are rising<\/a>, house prices are rising<\/a>, food prices are rising, everything is rising; everything except for our paycheques. How can Canadians expect to keep up with their financial obligations when their paycheques are the only things that seem to be frozen in time?<\/p>\n

Annual cost of living:\u00a0 The Canadian consumer price index<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

According to Statistics Canada<\/a>, the consumer price index is:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026an indicator of changes in consumer prices experienced by Canadians. It is obtained by comparing, over time, the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services purchased by consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Statistics Canada measures the consumer price index against the year 2002.\u00a0 So as the base year, the 2002 consumer price index is the 100% level.\u00a0 The consumer price index has risen steadily every year since then.\u00a0 The annual average Canadian consumer price index for 2017 was 130.4%.\u00a0 The January 2018 Canadian consumer price index was up 1.7% as compared to January 2017.\u00a0 So, as you can see, up is the only direction our expenses go.<\/p>\n

Annual cost of living:\u00a0 Frozen salaries breed discontent<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

This situation has created a great deal of dissatisfaction among employees. According to a poll conducted by Indeed (a major world-wide job hunting site):<\/p>\n