This N.L. woman saw the price of her oil bill, and decided it was cheaper to move

Ashley Sheppard of St. John's thought the home she was renting with her three roommates would be where she stayed until she could afford her own home.

Then she experienced this past Newfoundland and Labrador winter, paired with the price of home heating fuels going through the roof.

"Our most expensive oil bill was about, I think, just under $1,200," Sheppard told CBC News Monday. 

"We did the math, and it worked out that if we [filled our tank and] had paid it in instalments, once a month for 12 months of the year, it would have been $650 a month."

Sheppard, 24, has lived in the home for three years, but said it has become unaffordable when factoring in the cost of heating and rent. She made a decision to move as a result this week, and signed a lease for a place she can afford.

"None of us could have expected the significant difference in the cost of our oil over the last year. I think it was shocking to all of us even though we anticipated that it wasn't going to remain the same," she said.

"And to hear that it's going to continue to grow, it just made staying here completely unsustainable for us."

The implementation of the federal carbon tax is set to dramatically increase the price of home heating fuels in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Speaking with CBC News in June, Finance Minister Siobhan Coady said the tax will raise the price of furnace oil by17 cents per litre — and by 45 cents per litre by 2030.

Sheppard says that number terrifies her, and was a key factor in her decision to seek more affordable housing.

"It's really discouraging when you're an adult who should be financially stable in the situation that they're in, and they're in a situation where they're renting with two other people — splitting utilities, splitting rent — and still unsure if they can make it work," she said.

"You factor in all these expenses skyrocketing, it just feels like such an impossible situation."

Sheppard knows that her struggle, as someone with a roof over her head and a good career, signals a greater impact on those on lower-level or fixed incomes.

Jade Kearley, a board member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing and Homelessness Network in Corner Brook, says she's heard of many suffering due to the ballooning cost of living.