Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis in a scene from HBO's Sex and the City,CRAIG BLANKENHORN/HBO via AP
Rob Carrick is on holidays. Business reporter Kate Helmore is writing the newsletter this week in his absence.
I’m rewatching Sex and the City – the groundbreaking nineties to early 2000s sitcom about four women in their 30s and 40s living large in New York.
It’s sharp, it’s funny and its shameless and unusual discussion of female sexuality drew a devoted following. Which is perhaps why the series is airing a reboot – “And Just Like That …” But with today’s concerns about the rising cost of living, the original series feels a little out of touch.
After all, Carrie Bradshaw, the show’s cosmopolitan protagonist, was working as a newspaper columnist and freelance writer. Her lifestyle was hard to believe in 25 years ago, when salaries were more in step with living costs, which inflation has sent through the roof. But now it just feels like sheer fantasy.
To put my questions to the test, I sketched out the costs of an average week in Ms. Bradshaw’s life – if she was living in Toronto today and earning Canadian dollars.
- Average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Trinty Bellwoods (based on lively newsroom discussions about which Toronto neighbourhood would be right for Ms. Bradshaw): $2,150, coming out to $537.50 per week.
- Utilities and living expenses: Approximately $20 per week for internet and $17.5 per week for hydro, according to averages crunched by University of Toronto. Cellphone plan: $25, covering data, phone calls and the payment plan for the latest iPhone, on the Rogers network. (Total monthly was $129, based on calculator on the telecom’s website.)
- Average cost for five cab rides or Uber, with a 10-per-cent tip: $138. Note that five rides a week is a conservative estimate. Ms. Bradshaw does not drive and is never seen taking transit.
- A Manhattan and a slice of cake at an up-and-coming Toronto restaurant with three girlfriends: $48. This includes $25 for a drink, and $15 for a slice of cake, plus, 20-per-cent tip. *Based on the menu at Bar Prima in West Queen West.
- A Friday night at a “crème de la crème” bar in Toronto: $80. Including, three cocktails, with a 20-per-cent tip. Free cover for women. *Based on the menu at Mr. Vanders nightclub in King West.
- Brunch at a cute bistro in Queen West with three girlfriends, to discuss the night before: $36. Includes $20 for a light breakfast (avocado on toast with a side salad) and $10 for a mimosa, plus, 20-per-cent tip. *Based on the menu at The Mission Eatery in West Queen West.
- Date with a cute but questionable man: $44, including $20 for a salad, and approximately $17 for one Cosmo cocktail and 20-per-cent tip. Carrie would cover her bill, because it is 2024, not 1998. *Based on the menu at Savor Thai (cocktail off menu) in St. Clair West.
- Seven packs of cigarettes: $87, assuming Carrie smokes one pack a day.
- Groceries: $85, assuming Carrie spends on the low end of $340 per month (the average weekly grocery spend, as calculated by the University of Toronto).
- Manolo Blahnik strappy sandals: $273.50, which is the cost of a new pair ($1,094) divided by four because, while Carrie loves her designer shoes, she doesn’t buy a new pair every week.
Total weekly expenses =$1,476.34 (adding a broad 13-per-cent GST tax on everything, save groceries).
Required annual salary, after tax, would be $70,837, minimum, to break even. Before tax, that salary would amount to $101,449. This assumes Carrie has no student or other debt – and includes no contributions to RRSP or TFSA, no investments and no rainy-day fund.
She would also be unable to go on vacation, purchase birthday presents, buy a new laptop, cover birth control, dental surgery, makeup, haircuts or purchase designer clothing – not standard weekly expenses, and not always on display in the sitcom, but certainly a part of living the cosmopolitan life.
Today, the average base pay for a Canadian journalist ranges from $41,000 to 67,000, before tax, according to Glassdoor.
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Kate’s personal finance reading list
Norway’s pension fund – Live calculator
I’ve been reporting in Norway for the last week (watch out for coming stories on fish farms) and have been blown away by the country’s commitment to transparency. The storied pension fund is no exception. A live website continuously tracks the fund, and Norwegians can see all investments by country, asset class and sector. Plus, it is easy to navigate.
CPP Investments spends billions of dollars to outperform the market. Has it?
Canadian Pension Plan Investments has underperformed since the inception of active management in 2006, according to the Toronto Star. It says Canadians would have an extra $42.7-billion had the investment arm followed a passive investment strategy.
A ‘hopeless’ feeling: Struggling seniors face sky-high rents and few, if any, options
High rent doesn’t just hit the young. CBC charts the story of a number of seniors who are sometimes paying 90 per cent of their pension into rent, leaving pennies behind for medication, transportation, food and other essentials.
Is ‘loud budgeting’ an inclusive conversation or an exclusive trend?
I’m interested in the idea of “loud budgeting” – putting everything, from salary to the costs of your furniture, on the table. It upends old-school ideas about keeping money talk to oneself. I just have questions about whether the trend will border on the obnoxious.
Podcast fans
Subscribe to Stress Test on Apple podcasts or Spotify.
Calling first-time aspiring home buyers
Journalist Kelsey Rolfe is working on a story for The Globe about whether first-time home buyers are cooling on condos. If you’re in the market (or recently bought) and have tried to avoid condos in your home search, she wants to hear from you about why that is. You can reach her at kannerolfe@gmail.com.
In the social sphere
Social media: Reddit’s r/PersonalFinanceCanada on some sketchy auto-deposit stuff kept me scrolling.
Watch: Ring A Ding Ding – Sex and the City. I had to suggest one episode. And in this, Ms. Bradshaw has to contend with her financial expenses ($40,000 spent on designer shoes) and try to secure housing. Granted, it is a little frustrating, but it discusses some salient issues, such as how much is too much to borrow, whether money talk among friends a no-go and the perils of lifestyle creep.
Money-free zone: I’m reading Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food, by Paul Greenberg. On the surface, it is a history of how we domesticated salmon, tuna, bass and cod, but ultimately, the book ponders the philosophy of animal husbandry – and whether we’ll be able break thousands of years of breeding practices to instead prioritize ecological diversity and environmental sustainability.
ICYMI
More personal finance stories from The Globe:
- The hidden cost of entrepreneurship is the emotional toll on couples
- Students will find a more amenable rental market in big Canadian cities this year
- Why unemployment is rising, but jobless benefits aren’t keeping pace
- Condo rents in Toronto region dip for first time in three years, report finds
- Statscan study: Converting Airbnbs won’t make dent in housing crisis
