In an interview, the director of the Québec Federation of Family Community Organizations (FQOCF), Alex Gauthier, confirmed an increase in participation and the number of inquiries to family community organizations.
The increase is significant, he admits. And with inflation, the cost of living, and the price of gas, there are other choices.
Family Community Organizations (OCF) are tasked with providing activities intended for children and their parents, at very low cost or even free of charge. These can be scientific, sporting or leisure-related activities, for example going to the cinema.
There is also the opportunity to participate in cooking workshops that bring families together, adds the director.
This is an opportunity not to spend too much money during the spring break, stresses Mr Gauthier, who specifies that inflation has a strong impact on households that are already in a precarious situation.
But for some time now, the OCFs have been seeing newcomers moving in, the director notes. We now see people who had no recourse to organizations knocking on those doors.
No need to break his little pig
Still, the key to a successful spring break is planning, says Sylvie de Bellefeuille, lawyer and budget and legal adviser at Option Consommateurs.
Budget problems aren’t necessarily the prerogative of people on low incomes, she says. There are people who work but find that their wages are not increasing at the same rate as the bills.
She recommends always budgeting for spring break to avoid unpleasant annual surprises.
You can plan something like that, like Christmas, like the start of school. It’s still the best way to avoid debt and enjoy it as much as possible without worrying about the expenses that come with the activity.
Families can also be imaginative, advises Ms. de Bellefeuille. It’s basically quality time we want, and not so much extravagant activities. If we’re more of a couch potato, we can organize a camping night in the living room to break the routine without having to break our little pig.
With information from Kim Vermette