8 Women Get Brutally Honest About Their COVID-19 Spending Habits

Over 2 million Canadians have lost their jobs since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown — and that’s just the start of the ripple effect this pandemic will have on the economy and our wallets for months, maybe years, to come. Despite government aid like the CERB and rental relief for small businesses, many are finding it tough to pay their bills, let alone save for the future.

Canadians’ finances weren’t in that great of shape to begin with: Rent and housing costs have skyrocketed, while wages have stayed relatively stagnant, not to mention we spend a lot of money, and many of us have the credit-card debt to prove it.

Though we're no longer spending on dinners out and live entertainment (#stayhome), the cost of groceries is climbing. And some of us are shopping online more than ever before — because the only form of retail therapy we're getting these days is filling up that virtual cart.

We spoke to women across the country, from a new doctor to an influencer who’s taken a $13,500 hit thanks to COVID-19, about the status of their bank accounts, what they’ve been buying these days (surprisingly, none of them said yeast), and whether the pandemic was helping them save for a rainy day. Here are eight of their stories.