Rob Carrick is on holidays. Business reporter Kate Helmore is writing the newsletter this week in his absence.
I moved to Toronto two months ago. In the past 60-ish days, I have been to countless coffee shops, one art gallery, one museum, the movie theatre, signed up for the gym, doubled down on the hobbies I already had and spent $500 on one particularly pricey weekend getaway, all with the intent of forging new connections.
I don’t regret a dime spent. One of the best parts about moving to a new city is the new people. A message to my new friends: the ROI has been well worth it.
Nevertheless, I still gawked at my credit card statement. And I’m not alone. According to a recent survey from Capital One, 64 per cent of Canadians aged 18-34 say that the cost of going out causes them financial stress, 80 per cent of those young people are looking for ways to save money in their outings.
And why are we surprised? With young adults paying more for everything from rent to food, never mind student debt, a thriving social life is more expensive than it ever has been.
One obvious solution is to seek out the cheaper options. Consider trading the cinema for a movie night at home or the restaurant – where prices increased 4.3 per cent in April alone – for a potluck dinner party.
That makes good financial sense. It is how I saved money in Vancouver, but that’s also where I had established friendships. Cozying up with an old friend to watch a show on the couch is easy. It is a different story with new friendships, especially post-COVID.
To put it bluntly, “friend dating” requires a steep upfront investment and – for myriad reasons from distance to time to compatibility – we’re not always lucky to reap the rewards.
This leaves me wondering what the long-term costs of this increasingly pricey investment will be. Will we avoid new friends? Fail to expand our social circles? Who wants to be the one who admits they can’t afford that fun night out?
And yet, soaring costs are absolutely changing our behaviour. A November poll from accounting firm MNP found that half of Canadians surveyed said that they were staying at home more often to save money. A third of respondents said they were spending less time socializing with friends to save money. This has an impact on mental health: 19 per cent of respondents said they felt a “sense of loneliness.”
That’s a bleak outlook. Spend money or be lonely. I feel like there must be a middle-ground. Maybe all I need is time, and perhaps a comfy public couch where I can low-key watch movies with new friends, for free. Wouldn’t complain about some free popcorn either.
Subscribe to Carrick on Money
Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail version to you? If so, you can sign up for Carrick on Money here.
Kate’s personal finance reading list
Toronto’s condo market is facing its biggest test since the 1990s recession
Toronto’s condo market has experienced some setbacks over the past few years as interest rates and inflation soared. Prices are deteriorating to levels not seen in decades, according to a report by Shaun Hildebrand, president of Urbanation, and Benjamin Tal, chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets.
Flyers, price-matching, local stores: How Canadians’ grocery habits have changed
Strategies listed include shopping at price-matching stores, purchasing off-brand, switching grocers to cheaper options and shopping in bulk. Overall it seems like cost-conscious shoppers are having to spend more time in aisles, checking prices and clipping coupons.
Insurance claims from last year’s floods, wildfires in Nova Scotia total $490 million
The significant losses tallied by the Insurance Bureau of Canada represents homes, buildings and livelihoods lost from extreme weather – a poignant sum given the wildfires that ripped through Jasper this week, destroying 30 per cent of the town’s structures.
Grocers are facing government crackdowns, but will it lead to change?
Canadians are not the only ones calling for grocers to do something to reduce food inflation, reports the Canadian Press. Accordingly, Australians, Americans and the French are asking for change. The tricky part is that the topic has become increasingly political, says experts interviewed in the article. Are these crackdowns theatre or are they meaningful policy?
Podcast fans
Subscribe to Stress Test on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
In the social sphere
Social Media: Check out this Reddit/PersonalFinanceCanada discussion on products with the highest return on life (ROL). Some of my favourites: laser-eye surgery, personal training sessions and a $200 vasectomy.
Watch: Loved the Blackberry film. It is funny, the acting is great and it moves at a nice pace. Not bad for a film about business gone bad.
Money-Free Zone: Just finished reading Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup – John Carreyrou’s play-by-play account of what happened with Theranos – and I was gripped. It reads like a thriller.
ICYMI
More personal finance stories from the Globe:
- What inflation? FIRE advocates on how their aggressive retirement savings plans are holding up
- Business owners should plan ahead for life in retirement
- Yes, loyalty program devaluations are irritating. But there are ways to still find value
- Can Kai and Sandra get back on track after five years living on a financial ‘shoestring’?
