How Much Should I Budget for Food If Nursing Homes Budget Is $8.33 per day?

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The Ontario provincial funding rate for food for residents in long term care facilities, most of whom are seniors, has always been lower than seems reasonable. In 2014 the amount was $7.80 per person per day for the “raw food.” That number was so low that a public outcry managed to get a small increase to $8.33 per person per day. It’s been stuck there ever since, though, despite the rate of inflation for food and the drop in the value of the Canadian dollar versus the American dollar which affects the prices of imported fruits and vegetables. Reading an article in The Star made me wonder what I should budget for our food costs if the government believes that a person can eat healthily for $8.33 a day.

Why Does the Government Provide More Money for Prisoner’s Food Per Day than for Pensioners?

One fact has always been extremely upsetting in the provincial funding for food: the funds provided for residents in Long Term Care homes are lower, per person, than those for prisoners.

At first, it may seem vaguely reasonable. Aren’t more prisoners younger men who have a higher caloric need than most pensioners who are often older women?

But then you realize that more of the older residents have special dietary needs. You shouldn’t eat grapefruit, for instance, if you taking certain medications. If you are diabetic, you may need to carefully balance the amount of carbohydrates you eat at each meal. Overall, due to reduced ability to absorb nutrients, you need to maximize the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat to increase the likelihood of receiving proper nutrition.
And, of course, it seems “morally” wrong to feed wrong-doers better food than older or disabled persons.

In March 2017, the Ontario government is paying $8.33 per person per day for raw food costs for each resident in a long term care facility. It is paying $9.73 per day for prisoners.

That just seems unjust.

What Could I Afford at $8.33 Per Day for Raw Food Costs?

I realized that this question has an attached question: where am I living? If I live in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, I have access to a large variety of food stores. Within walking distance of my suburban home (yes, some suburbs are walkable!) I can count six grocery stores, a butcher, a bakery and an organic greengrocer. Only two of those grocery stores belong to a major Canadian chain. The others are independents who tend to compete well on pricing.

When I think of one of our vacations to the Maritimes, though, I remember being unhappy with the fruit and vegetable selections at both the big chain grocery stores in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. The prices were between reasonable and high, but the quality was terrible. And many items I can easily get here were not even for sale.

Where you live will likely play a big factor in your grocery budget. If you have to pay $7 to get a bus to and from the store, that is another big cost that affects those that can least afford it.

Budgeting for a Typical Day’s Food And Its Costs

Ok, let’s try any way.

Breakfast
1 /2 cup of oatmeal
1 / 4 cup of milk
1 serving of coffee

Snack
2 clementines

Lunch
2 cups nappa cabbage
1 /4 c craisins
1 english muffin
1 /4 c pork tenderloin, leftovers
1 tea bag

Snack
1 gala apple

Supper
1 /4 of a store-made roast chicken
1 cup broccoli
1 /4 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup jasmine rice
2 home made chocolate chip cookies

Snack
1 /2 cup Rice Krispies
1 /2 cup milk
1 mini Kit Kat

My total cost? About $9.

Could I do this in another location though? I doubt it. The fruits and vegetables I buy almost always are purchased at the independent grocery stores. They have noticeably lower prices. I’m sure that many people who don’t live in a “food oasis” like this must pay much more for the same food.

What Will I Budget for Food Costs for Retirement?

I don’t know exactly what I should budget for food costs for retirement, but I know it will be more than $8.33 per day.

It’s especially important to remember that the $8.33 per day includes

  • Any food lost due to spoilage. (Ever open a carton of eggs and find one is cracked? Opened a head of lettuce and found brown leaves in the middle?)
  • Any food for special holidays such as a turkey, fancy dessert, cheeses.
  • All snacks even the occasional candy bar or soda pop.

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Do you think the government should boost funding for food for long term care homes? Please share your views with a comment.

How to Get T5 Tax Documents for Your Online Bank Accounts at EQ Bank, Oaken Financial, PC Financial, Tangerine, ZAG Bank

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As tax-filing time approaches, I’ve started rounding up my tax slips including my T5s for our savings and chequing bank accounts with EQ, Oaken, PC Financial, Tangerine and Zag Bank.

Use Caution Saving Electronic (and Paper) Copies of Your Tax Slips Including T5s

Be sure to keep your electronic copies in a secured location—they have valuable information such as your name, address and SIN number which could be used for identity theft!

How to Get and Print Your T5 Tax Form for Your EQ Bank Savings Account

  1. Sign in to your EQ Bank accounts.
  2. From the drop-down list under the Accounts tab, click on: Tax documents
  3. From the drop-down list under Select the tax document you want to generate, choose the T5 for the year of interest.
    For example, I selected 2016 – T5 to complete my income tax return by April 2017.
  4. Click on the Generate document button.
  5. Wait a few seconds to a minute or two.
  6. The T5 will be displayed on your screen.
  7. Click on the Print or save button.
  8. When you are finished, near the bottom of the screen, click on the Back to tax documents button.

Interesting, no where do I seem to get a choice to save the T5 to my hard drive!

According to their online chat, I can only save the T5 if I use Google Chrome. I have no intention of using that program, so I will just scan and save my hard copy printout.

How to Get Your T5 Tax Forms for Your Oaken Financial Bank Accounts

Oaken Financial mails out its tax forms. So you’ll have to check your letter mail for your T5s and other tax forms.

How to Get Your T5 Tax Forms for Your PC Financial Bank Accounts

President’s Choice Financial mails out its tax forms. So you’ll have to check your letter mail for your T5s and other tax forms.

How to Get and Print Your T5 Tax Forms for Your Tangerine Bank Accounts

  1. Sign in to your Tangerine account/s.
  2. From the list on the left side of the screen, select My documents.
  3. Click on the link Tax receipts.
  4. From the drop-down box, select the year for which you wish the documents.
    It’s probably easiest to leave the selections “All account types” and “All receipts” so that you don’t miss a slip unless you are looking for something specific.
  5. From the list of PDF files of receipts, click on the one you want to print or save first.
  6. A popup window will let you choose to Open the PDF file or to save it.
  7. If desired, select Open and then print the file; or
    If desired, select Save and choose a destination to save the file. Be sure to keep your electronic copies in a secured location—they have valuable information such as your name, address and SIN number which could be used for identity theft!

NOTE: Tangerine combines the interest from your chequing and savings accounts onto a single T5 if the amount is $50 or more. You have to manually report any interest earned below $50 even if you did not receive a tax slip.

How to Get and Print Your T5 Tax Forms for Your Zag Bank Accounts

  1. Sign in to your Zag Bank account/s.
  2. Click on the Accounts tab.
  3. Click on the Statements link.
  4. From the Document Type: drop-down list, click on Year-End Tax Forms & Statements
  5. From the Tax Year: drop-down list, select the year of interest.
  6. From the Tax Forms: drop-down list, select T5, or just click on the View button.

Hmmm. I got an error message: The system is unavailable. Please try again later.
So no luck so far!

It’s probable that an error message is displayed because I had less than $50 of interest on my account and that there is no T5 for this account. In which case, I’ll have a LONG wait….

Aren’t Income Taxes Fun?

So now I’ve found the T5s for my bank accounts that earned more than $50 last year in interest, and I’ve added up the amounts I earned in interest for accounts that earned less than $50, I am one step closer to filing my income tax return for 2016. Oh joy!

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Do you have a check list of all the T slips you need before you file your taxes? Have you ever missed a slip? Please share your tax stories with a comment.

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