Canada’s cost of living is continuing to increase with 45 per cent of Canadians saying these increases are affecting their ability to meet day-to-day expenses, according to Statistics Canada.

Canada is made up of 97.8 per cent small businesses, according to Statistics Canada, and I think this is a huge reason we are seeing these inflations.

Canadians are struggling so Canada raises the minimum wage but then these small businesses have to increase their pricing to pay these minimum wages and the cycle continues.

We are also seeing high prices in real estate and rental properties, with the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment costing $1,804 per month, according to the website, rentals.ca. Which is not attainable for many.

We have seen a lot of apartment tenants being evicted for construction. The apartment owners will slap on some new paint and then charge almost double the rent.

The City Council stepped in creating a renoviction bylaw to try to regulate this but I think a lot of the damage has already been done.

On top of that, actually buying a house is nearly impossible in London today with a single-family house costing an average of $659,800.

As a 25-year-old Londoner I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that the chances of me buying a house in this current market is not something that will happen anytime soon.

I’ve noticed that many of my friends who are looking at buying houses have looked into moving to smaller cities or other provinces like Alberta, where the cost of living is cheaper.

I think what really gets on my nerves is when the older generations compare the current housing market to what it was when they were first buying a house.

I just don’t think it’s comparable because although the minimum wage has increased, inflation has increased more.

Everything is a money grab right now. London does not have the housing for the population so real estate agents can price houses higher and the house will still sell above asking prices because home buyers are limited.

This makes it even harder for first-time homebuyers who don’t have the same budgets.

I think it’s very common to see owning a house as a symbol of social status and as someone who has their life together.

I like to think about the show Friends. When the show started the characters were around 24 years old. The characters Chandler and Monica were the first to buy a house and that wasn’t until season 10, putting the age of the characters in the mid-30s.

I think this generation is putting a lot of stress on home buying, when in reality, even in past generations it was common for people to buy their first houses in their 30s.

Everyone is on their own timeline and some people are fine renting. But if buying a house is something you want, you may need to look at moving to a less populated area where there is less demand and more supply.