Personal Inflation Calculator

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Data

The data used to create this interactive web application is from the following listed data table:

Table 18-10-0004-01 Consumer Price Index, monthly, not seasonally adjusted

Additional information

Disclaimer text

The personal inflation rate is provided for informational purposes only and should not be used as a substitute for the official CPI inflation rate. It is meant as a guide that will help you understand your unique experience of inflation, and is not an official statistic.

We want your feedback!

At Statistics Canada, we strive to provide relevant and timely data to Canadians. We hear your concerns and value your feedback! You can share any ideas, issues, or suggestions that would help us improve the Personal Inflation Calculator by emailing us at statcan.cpddisseminationunit-dpcunitedediffusion.statcan@canada.ca. We review all user comments, and will incorporate your feedback during a future update to the tool.

Methods

The official inflation rate is the average change in prices over the past year, as measured using the 12-month % change in the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Canada.

The personal inflation rate is calculated in the same way but is adjusted to reflect your particular spending habits. It has been necessarily simplified to make it practical. Some limitations of this tool compared to the official CPI include:

  • Some spending categories have been combined to simplify the entry of household expense data.
  • Only published data available to the public are used.
  • The personal index calculation is similar to that of the CPI in that it uses a Lowe index. However, the methodology for the application of the weights (the user’s personal expenditures) differs in that it results in an historical trend based on the user’s current spending pattern; whereas the CPI trend, in simplified terms, is calculated using weights from an historical reference period.
  • The Personal Inflation Calculator covers approximately 94% of the official CPI basket. Some spending categories have been excluded in order to strike a balance between basket coverage and usability. For example, other owned accommodation expenses, which is made up of infrequent purchases that may not be as relevant in the context of a personalized index such as commission on sale of real estate and legal fees for owned accommodation.
  • While some index data for the capital cities of the three northern territories; Yellowknife, Whitehorse and Iqaluit are available, the data are not sufficient to calculate a meaningful personal inflation trend. Work is ongoing to address this issue.

Notes on the calculation

Every expenditure category with a value is used to calculate a share of your overall spending. These shares are used as your unique basket weights in the calculation of your personal inflation rate. If you leave a category blank, it is not included in your basket of goods and services, so be sure to enter values into all the categories relevant to you! The weights derived from your expenditure shares are then combined with chained price movements from the official CPI to calculate your personal inflation rate.

As an example, Canadian households spend, on average, 4.5% of their overall expenses on gasoline, so it makes up 4.5% of the overall CPI basket of goods and services. If you don’t drive, you may not spend anything on gasoline. Your basket of goods and services will therefore exclude gasoline entirely. Alternatively, you may spend more (or less) than the average of 4.5% of your overall expenses on gasoline. The calculator takes this into account and as a result, your personal inflation rate will be different from the official rate.

How to use

How to use this application

  1. Select “Canada” or a specific province using the drop-down menu. For example, select “Canada” if you wish to compare your personal inflation rate to the official Canada-level inflation rate.
  2. Fill in your typical expenses in the boxes provided. There are monthly, annual, and purchase value groups for the expenses based on how often these products are typically purchased.
    • Hover your cursor over the expense category boxes to see an explanation or examples of products in that category.
    • For product categories with annual values, estimate the amount spent in one year.
    • Provide expenses for as many product categories as possible to obtain the best result.
  3. Hover over the line chart to display the date and inflation rate (official and personal) at a specific point in time.
    • Click and drag the X or Y axis to view different areas of the graph.

Tips

  • You can enter either a rent value or home owner’s expense values, but not both.
  • You can use the reset button to clear all your expense entries back to the default value.
  • Click the mouse and drag your cursor over any portion of the line chart to zoom in.
  • Double click your mouse to reset the graph to default size.

More information

Note of appreciation

Canada owes the success of its statistical system to a long-standing partnership between Statistics Canada, the citizens of Canada, its businesses, governments and other institutions. Accurate and timely statistical information could not be produced without their continued co-operation and goodwill.

Standards of service to the public

Statistics Canada is committed to serving its clients in a prompt, reliable and courteous manner. To this end, the Agency has developed standards of service which its employees observe in serving its clients.

Copyright

Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry,

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 71-607-X

Ottawa

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