Vancouver Island residents offer tips for coping with inflation

Sooke resident Cindy Larson made the switch to seeking out ultimate savings around the time she became a stay-at-home mom in 2018, and shares her finds on Instagram at @yyj_couponer. (CTV)

South Island families are feeling the pinch of rising inflation – hitting historic rates around 7 per cent – in an already-expensive place to live.

“It’s hard,” says Sooke resident Cindy Larson, a mother of three.

“It’s crazy just to see the difference between now and, say, January even.”

From gas prices to cooking oil, diapers and more, Larson is reviewing her budget at least once a week.

“I cut things out as much as I can,” she says.

She made the switch to seeking out ultimate savings around the time she became a stay-at-home mom in 2018, and shares her finds on Instagram at @yyj_couponer.

“There’s a lot that goes into it, like researching prices, price matching, matching up with points with PC Optimum, as well, is a big thing because then you get cash back," Larson says. "You can save it for groceries, birthday presents, that’s what I do.”

Greater Victoria Public Library says users stand to save there as well. The price of admission is free, and it’s not all about books.

“If you are someone who likes to watch movies or TV, we offer services like Hoopla which has popular movies,” says GVPL’s Rachel Rogers. “And something that’s very popular with Victoria is British TV shows through Acorn and BBC.”

Before you hit the grocery aisle on your next shop, Victoria’s zero waste outreach coordinator reminds overbuying is a big problem costing Canadian households an estimated $1,300 annually.

“About 63 per cent of food is actually wasted in households,” says Rhiannon Moore. “It does end up in our landfill as well and it causes greenhouse gases when it’s not composted properly.”

Moore encourages people to plan their meals over the course of a week, then stick to buying what’s on the list. She also encourages people to learn about food preservation.

“Look at what you can put in your freezer, what you can preserve better by putting in water in the fridge,” she says.

The research can go beyond the kitchen. Larson says Facebook and Instagram have robust couponing communities, herself included.

“If you put the effort into it, you can save hundreds,” she says.