Cost of gas and groceries on the rise, putting families in a pinch

Record high gas prices don't appear to be going away anytime soon, making it tougher for the average household to make ends meet.

Driving a car these days is rough on the wallet, and people filling up their gas tanks Monday agree.

“Gas prices? They’re phenomenal,” says one driver.

“This is crazy. We can’t take this,” says another.

It is especially tough if your job is to drive.

One Uber driver who spoke to CTV News says he used to make about $150 per day, but now it's closer to $100 after he fills up.

“Twenty kilometres of driving, I used to spend two to three dollars of gas, now I probably spend about five or six dollars. So that makes a difference.”

But even with gas prices at an all time high, gas expert Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, says it hasn't even hit its peak yet.

“Unfortunately, it’s going to be several months of extraordinary pain on a scale at which Canadians have never experienced, at least in a lifetime,” says McTeague.

He also says when gas goes up, so does everything else.

“It doesn’t just deal with our convenience of transportation,” says McTeague. “It really puts a crimp on the availability of every product we consume.”

Including groceries.

Racheal Power says she used to spend about $300 a week on groceries.

“Now I’m looking at close to $600 a week,” she says. “I work two jobs myself and I’m married and my husband also works two jobs. We need to work two jobs just to support ourselves.”

Food prices have skyrocketed in the last year.

Some shoppers are finding themselves spending anywhere from 30 per cent more to double their usual bill, depending what they’re buying.

“Groceries that I would get at $100 are now coming to probably $125, $130 at minimum,” says shopper Prateek Kapoor.

Shopper Christine Saikaley adds, “It’s getting a little more difficult and spending double for half the amount of stuff that I get is kind of discouraging.”

With food and fuel costing more than ever, some drivers are already thinking it is time to move away from gas-powered vehicles.

Gas is expected to rise another two cents on Wednesday and again on April 1 when the carbon tax adds another 2.5 cents per litre to the cost.