Saskatchewan small business owners, consumers face holiday money crunch

The holidays are now just a month away, and many are getting into the holiday spirit.

But with the rising cost of living affecting holiday optimism, for both consumers and small businesses, those spirits may not be so high this year.

A Conexus Credit Union financial wellness manager said it can be intimidating to talk about money especially when you’re not feeling too great about your financial situation.

“Financial stress can have effects on your physical, emotional and mental health including insomnia, depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, social withdrawals and more,” said Joel Graham.

A recently-released study conducted on behalf of Conexus Credit Union found that money was already listed as the number one stressor among its respondents.

“Our most recent survey data suggests that, particularly in the retail and hospitality sectors, small business confidence remains low,” said Brianna Solberg, Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) Senior Policy Analyst.

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“That just speaks to the stress that small business owners are still facing in regard to labour shortages, supply chain issues, inflationary pressures, and just uncertain about consumer spending habits heading into the holidays.”

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses is encouraging consumers to recognize that everyone has a role to play in supporting small businesses this holiday season.

Following Black Friday, Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses started an initiative called Small Business Saturday coming up on Nov. 26.

“We’re just encouraging everybody to join us in kicking off their holiday shopping on Small Business Saturday and to look for ways they can champion shopping local,” said Solberg.

“Maybe there’s some deals to be found or some special rates. And yeah, just showing some love to our local businesses.”

Solberg said only half of small business owners in Saskatchewan are back to making their normal sales, but they’re still staring down significant debt for the average small business owner in the province.

2:32 While people cut back on spending, retailers optimistic lower prices on the way for Christmas shopping season