The cost of living

Well, I find the price of most foods (the healthier the more the bill) here in town outrageous. I spend a great deal of money on foods each month (approx 1000-1200/month) and I feel like I am constantly running out. We are not a large/fat family by any means, but I want my kids to eat healthy nutritious foods, so the bill gets large.

I did the drive to Cranbrook once a month, and the Superstore/Saveon/Safeway offers a lot more in bulk, and cheaper prices on the parishables. The only downfall is the 50 dollars in gas, the 200+KM's I put on my van each month, and it takes 3 or more hours out of my day just to buy food.

However, I do find that shopping in Cranbrook for bulk at the begining of the month is cheaper, I am spending less than 900 dollars on food, and it lasts a lot longer.

I have spoken to people about the raising cost of food (especially in the winter, the prices raise even more) and apparently this is because of cost of transportation and gas costs to get food here. However, the big dissappointment is when the gas prices drop to less than a dollar a litre, the food prices don't seem to affect.

So until the bulk variety is more well balanced, and the food prices drop a bit, Cranbrook will continue to get most of my food money. I'm all for shopping local, I think it's great. But the lack of appreciation for the local's is a sore spot for me.

All the best in your adventure for cheaper more affordable healthy food.

The Kalispell Costco gets my business every couple months. (The major price differences I see are in cheese and chicken.)

The food prices here are ridiculous, and I don't buy the argument that it has to do with shipping costs. We deal with large shipments each month traveling half way across Canada and our prices have not increased in over a year.

I am all for shopping local too (as I think most people in Fernie are) but we can only do so much when the prices just keep increasing - only in Fernie.

And my biggest beef? Chicken. When did a chicken become so expensive??

I've seen this brought up here before, and I don't know, I honestly can't say that the food prices here are any higher than any other town. I mean the flyers for Extra and Overwaitea are the same for all their stores, so how could the prices be different? They're not, and I know because I check from time to time when I'm in Cranbrook. Of course shopping in Alberta you will save some tax, and places like Costco are definitely cheaper if you buy in quantity, and the larger cities of course have more variety and inventory. And obviously this is all moot when you factor in the travel and time costs to get there. The cost of living, and food especially is exorbitant wherever you go, there's a lot to bitch about when it comes to Fernie but I don't think this is a legitimate beef.

I save $5/lb on chicken brests at Costco
($2.30/lb vs $18/kg ). If I buy only 10lbs of chicken, I have more than paid for my gas.

I believe it's not only the goods in this town but the general cost of living versus low wages that's criminal.

How is is that everything rises apart from wages. Correct me if I am wrong but I'm told that wages at a certain major employer in town haven't risen since 1998. How does one survive On $8.50 an hour when 30 hours work a week is hard to come by.

This together with a lack of cheap affordable housing for all the minimum wage(or close to)workers in this town. I understand the hotels have made an effort but still, how do people pay their workers barely enough for basic living arrangements. Other resort towns in Canada have got their act together! Accommodation is basic yet fine, just a simple set-up purposely built that young people cant trash it even if they try. Until then it's cram as many people into a basement suite that's barely suitable for a dog.

It seems that about 10% of young people in this town are doing ok (those earning good tips) and the rest are skipping meals, living in sub standard accommodation and turning to means other than alcohol(is cheaper)for nights out...

not quite the picture perfect Fernie life....

[quote=kneedeep]I believe it's not only the goods in this town but the general cost of living versus low wages that's criminal.

How is is that everything rises apart from wages. Correct me if I am wrong but I'm told that wages at a certain major employer in town haven't risen since 1998. How does one survive On $8.50 an hour when 30 hours work a week is hard to come by.
[/quote]

The majority of most businesses don't make a great deal of profit either and can't pay a higher wage. You think that it's as simple as saying a store should pay its clerks $20 an hour instead of $9...? They would be out of business.

I agree with Megadude. A family member of mine owns a business and pays employees $9/hr and actually loses money some days or just breaks even. It's not easy, especially for a small business, to pay employees high salaries. Big stores, such as extra foods (whose employees are also unionized) are able to pay higher (I know some clerks make $12+ /hr) because they are both a large store and unionized. However, there are few of these types of stores/jobs available in Fernie, and most businesses are small and only employ a few people, thus making it difficult to pay much more than minimum wage.

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Say NO to Flathead Park!

I wonder if being an union member automatically means an employer can justify a larger wage. Now I know union members general make a larger wage but don't high wages generally come from increased production or increased capital? If all it took to increase wages was to join the Teamsters, than couldn't poverty in many nations be cured by simply joining a union?

Even the dentist charges more in Fernie than Cranbrook.....com'on is that the cost of living........?