Growing up, it seemed we Canadians always had a bit of an identity crisis living beside the States. In school, we were all taught that we are special because we support a cultural “mosaic” rather than the US “melting pot” and we’re ever so lucky because we are rich in natural resources (which we seem to be selling away from future generations to the highest international bidder).

One thing we’ve always known is that we pay more than Americans for almost everything. This was confirmed in a recent TD report illustrating the Spending Differences between Canada and the US (Dec 2013).

On balance, Canada has a more diverse population and is older. We’re also more likely to be home owners.

Americans are more prolific in their spending, but their money goes a lot further. With average spending adjusted for price & exchange differences, Canadians would have to spend $4K more than Americans to buy the same stuff. Americans are richer (because they aren’t house poor) and tend to spend more than Canadians do on almost everything — but not alcohol (which we are heavily taxed on) and food. To read the report yourself, visit: http://lnkd.in/daMCBtt