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Name, age: James, 34
Annual income: $87,000
Debt: $0
Savings: $109,000 in stocks, $101,300 in tax-free savings account (TFSA), $98,200 in registered retirement savings plan (RRSP)
What he does: Process engineer
Where he lives: Mississauga
Top financial concern: “Rent … I’ve actually gotten involved in housing issues and went and read a statement at council in Mississauga to complain about housing costs.”
James, 34, has spent much of his working life in a small, northern town, where he was able to save a sizable nest egg. But since moving to the Greater Toronto Area, he’s been paying so much in rent that he’s feeling anxious about his finances.
Up north, he rented the top floor of a house for $850 a month, utilities included, and was able to save between $3,000 and $3,500 each month. He moved to Mississauga two years ago, changing jobs after the breakdown of a relationship. He currently pays $1,910 for a two-bedroom – and that’s a deal he got because he signed his lease during the pandemic, when no one was moving.
“I remember driving down Hurontario [Street] with a U-Haul towing my car, seeing these skyscrapers and being, ‘Oh my God,’” he recalled of his move to the GTA. “The rent was such a shock. This is a huge burden, but I have to suck it up.” The move and job change did not come with an increase in pay.
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His current place is in an older building. “The flooring is dated. The parking garage has paint peeling off the ceiling … I live right next to the garbage chute, and sometimes you get garbage smell coming through the wall.”
But if he were to move within Mississauga, he believes his rent “would go up something like $800 a month, or I could go to a one-bedroom and get rid of my electronics tools.” As an engineer whose hobby is building electronics, he has a workbench and a 3D printer in his second bedroom.
Right now, he’s able to put away about $1,700 per month – a dramatic drop from the $3,000 or more he was saving up north. He has a girlfriend, and they’d like to buy a home and have kids, goals that add pressure to save as much as he possibly can now. He has always dreamed of visiting Japan before having children but has a hard time justifying the expense since he knows what’s coming.
A trip like that would erase three or four months of savings. “That feels irresponsible to me,” he said. “I know it’s weird. It’s this thing I know I can afford, but I also feel this pang of guilt: ‘Things are precarious right now. You shouldn’t be spending this money.’
“I’m already looking at how much it costs to put kids in soccer and I’m like, ‘Oh boy.’”
His typical monthly expenses:
Investment and savings: $1,783
$580 to TFSA.
$83 to RRSP. “This is through work, and they match my contributions up to $1,000 per year.”
$1,120 to unregistered investments.
Household and transportation: $2,495
$1,910 to rent. “It’s a two-bedroom apartment I got during COVID in 2021. It was only $100 more per month than a one-bedroom.”
$14 to renters’ insurance.
$40 for electricity. “I don’t pay for water or heating.”
$80 for parking space.
$110 for gas. “I’m a 10-minute drive from work. … I visit friends in Southwestern Ontario and up north occasionally.”
$130 on car insurance.
$22.50 for car repairs. “Two oil changes and a linkage replacement this year. I used to be able to do this myself but can’t in a parking garage.”
$6 on transit. “I take the subway into Toronto to hang out with friends about once every month or two.”
$34 on cellphone. “Had 2 GB but now have 20 GB with Koodo.”
$48 for internet.
$100 on housewares. “Odds and ends to finish the apartment.”
Food and drink: $645
$350 on groceries. “I make nearly all my food at home and look out for sales.”
$0 on coffee shops. “I bring my own grounds to work.”
$70 on eating out. “Meals out with friends once a month or so.”
$25 on entertainment. “I mostly stay in with my friends playing board games or go to museums.”
$200 on alcohol. “I know there’s room to cut on this one.”
Miscellaneous: $375
$18 on Netflix
$44 on other subscriptions. “Globe and Mail, Spotify and Nebula.”
$36 on clothing. “My girlfriend got me into thrifting.”
$33 on indoor soccer league. “It’s my main exercise.”
$70 on hobbies. “Guitar, fiddle, biking, playing video games and building electronics.”
$25 on haircuts. “Nothing special, just the local guy.”
$4 on cosmetics. “Those nose pore strips are so satisfying.”
$5 on dental. “It’s covered by my work’s plan mostly.”
$100 on vacations. “Now that market rent is so expensive and life feels precarious, I’m putting off the Japan trip I want.”
$40 to donations. “TVO and Doctors Without Borders.”
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