The holiday season is in full-swing, and this year some Canadians are taking a different approach to the annual festivities after high inflation rates loomed over the majority of 2022.
A recent study detailed how most Canadians are choosing to not only spend less this year on holiday shopping but also to spend strategically.
For 58-year-old Daniel Robert, this is the exact approach he and his wife took this year as they adjust their budget in preparation for retirement.
"We started in the summer. Whenever something was on sale, I thought, 'This will make a great Christmas gift for so and so, that's on sale 40 per cent off.' You know, we had to do these things ahead of time," Robert told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Dec. 1.
Aside from cutting back on gifts, Robert says he's had to scale back on his travel plans due to high gas prices where he lives in Temiskaming Shores, Ont.
With how limited the transit system is in Northern Ontario, Robert and his wife rely heavily on their vehicle to get around. As with most Canadians, the couple became familiar with pain at the pumps this year, and Robert says they're opting to stay home for most of the holidays and only visit family that live in their vicinity.
However, this isn't stopping him from still seeing his family outside of Temiskaming Shores, as he says he'll be using a hack he learned throughout the pandemic to spend time with family: a webcam.
"These are all little things you can do that add up to still having that same Christmas from the past, but you're not spending as much," he said.
Gertie Riemer of Kincardine, Ont., says this year she's all about keeping it simple.
The 64-year-old retired teacher says she'll be making gifts to give to friends and family by creating gift baskets with items she says are more useful, like food.
"It gets down to: what do we really need and what would we splurge on if we could. So that's why I bought chocolates, special treats, coffees and teas that feel like splurge," she told CTVNews.ca in an interview on Nov. 26.
Additionally, Riemer says she's cutting back on buying any seasonal decor for her home and will use natural decorations, like pine cones, that she can use even after the holiday season.
"I think you can find a positive in it where you just look a little closer around you, so you can be creative and it doesn't cost anything," she said.
Over the last three years, Riemer and her family had been planning on downsizing , and after they settled on a smaller home this year, she says, it alleviated a lot of financial stress.
Nonetheless, she says she is familiar with adjusting her budget and with the financial hardships Canadians have been facing this year.
"We've been seeing this for some years now, especially after 2008 with the first huge economic issues we had. We have to forgive ourselves and others throughout this and keep it simple, not expensive," she said.
Riemer hopes this year Canadians, especially parents, won't be too hard on themselves for not being able to splurge on lavish gifts for their family. Ultimately, most holiday celebrations are about spending quality time together, she says.
"Just be kind to yourself and it's OK to make life simpler, and that, to me, is where you can feel happy, not surrounded with all these bills afterwards and regret."
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