She worked full time and after monthly bills, there was $9 left for food
CBC
It was a selfie video recorded and posted in a moment of extreme frustration.
Stephanie Finlayson of Woodstock, Ont., had been going over her monthly budget, trying to find a way to cover costs from food and insurance to fixing or replacing her 2005 Honda Accord.
The car, which she's still driving, has a leaky radiator and 377,000 kilometres on the odometre. It needs more work, but her mechanic doesn't recommend she put more money into it. He was also worried its creaky frame might not survive another trip up the hoist at his shop.
After running some numbers and having a conversation with her father about her financial situation, Finlayson put the phone on the dash and pushed record.
"I worked eight-and-a-half hours today, knowing that it's not enough. It won't be enough," she said in the video while fighting back tears.
Finlayson posted the video in September. It now has more than 9,100 shares, 64,000 likes and almost 18,000 comments.
"I posted it on TikTok but I didn't think anybody would see it," she said.
In the video Finlayson, who is 42 years old, tearfully explains that her fixed monthly bills are $2,701 against an income of $2,710.
"Do the math," she said on the video. "Nine dollars a month before I pay for food."
Renting the one-bedroom house she shares with her 18-year-old son gobbles up $1,650 of her monthly budget.
"Things were getting tight, and my savings were dwindling away."
After fixed expenses including her cellphone, heat, gas and insurance, there's no money left for extras. She doesn't have cable and chose not to visit family last Thanksgiving because she couldn't afford the train fares to Port Hope, Ont.
A new report from Food Banks Canada released Tuesday found that this year, with the cost of living skyrocketing, food bank usage rose to its highest level since they started surveying users in 1989.
Part of Finlayson's frustration is that at the time the video was made, she had a decent job. She made $21 an hour in customer service and logistics support for a heating, ventilation and air conditioning company.
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