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Name, age: Rose, 29
Annual income: $66,000
Debt: $250,000 on mortgage
Savings: $12,000 in savings account, $70,000 in tax-free savings account (TFSA), $40,000 in registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), $20,000 in company shares
What she does: Administrative assistant
Where she lives: Kawartha Lakes region, Ont.
Top financial concern: “After things like mortgage, groceries and internet, maybe I’ll have $200 left over. When those surprise things come up, like your car needs something fixed or your washing machine crapped out, the margin is already so small.”
Rose and her fiancé have been together for seven years and spent a lot of time during the pandemic learning about personal finance. They read several books about money management, which they borrowed from the library to save money, and took a free, online personal finance course from McGill University to wrap their heads around the basics.
“The course talks about how money works and investing, things like what is a TFSA and RRSP, what is compound interest,” says Rose, 29, who works as an administrative assistant. “I went to school for business but didn’t learn how to manage money.”
After that, she took her savings out of high-cost mutual funds and moved them into self-directed exchange-traded funds to save money. She also started making monthly contributions to her RRSP, TFSA and savings accounts.
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Rose was able to save a lot of money by living at home until 27, when she bought her condo with her partner.
But after her monthly contributions and expenses, she only has about $200 left a month to spend. She says she’s good at saying no to things, despite the fear of missing out that can be stoked by social media.
“I’ve been honing in on what I want to spend my money on,” says Rose, who invites friends over for potlucks when they ask her to go out for dinner. “Certain things I value, like travel, and if someone asks me to go to a concert, I’ll probably say yes – if it’s someone I want to see.”
Rose makes $66,000 before tax and deductions, and her fiancé makes $55,000. As they plan their wedding, they have realized how hard it is to keep costs low while still throwing the type of event Rose feels she’s been conditioned by society to want.
“I do want my dad to walk me down the aisle, and I want people to see us getting married and I want a ceremony,” she says. “We’re going to have a sit-down dinner, and we do need a DJ. I thought I was pretty chill about the whole wedding thing, but I do want to have those things.
“We thought we could do it for under $10,000 with 50 people, and that is not true at all,” she adds. They now expect to spend about $18,000, which includes some sacrifices such as buying a second-hand wedding dress and doing her own hair and makeup.
She notes that she’s been surprised by how much pushback she’s received from some people in her life. “You can easily spend $50,000 on a 50-person wedding.”
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Her typical monthly expenses:
Investment and savings: $1,000
$200 to pension. “Matched by employer.”
$200 to savings account. “For emergencies, a new (used) car when I need one and vacations.”
$300 to TFSA. “Self-directed investing. A few individual stocks but mostly exchange-traded funds.”
$300 to RRSP. “Same as TFSA. I was invested in mutual funds but the fees were too much.”
Servicing debt: $1,300
$1,300 to mortgage. “I split this with my fiancé.”
Household and transportation: $1,075
$270 to condo fees. “It’s an older building without an elevator.”
$292 to property tax
$33 to condo insurance
$20 to parking space
$140 to gasoline
$180 to car insurance
$50 to car maintenance
$45 to cellphone. “My former provider kept increasing my phone bill. I didn’t realize they could do this whenever they wanted once you have paid off the tab on your phone.”
$45 to internet
Food and drink: $600
$500 on groceries
$20 at coffee shops. “We rarely get coffee out.”
$60 at restaurants. “Drive-through if we’re feeling lazy.”
$20 on alcohol
Miscellaneous: $525
$100 on going out. “In the summer, I’ll usually get to a concert in the GTA.”
$38 to streaming services. “Crave and TSN.”
$14 to Spotify. “A must.”
$30 on clothing. “Sometimes I need something special for an event, but my friends and I have been working on sharing clothes recently.”
$44 to gym membership. “Paused in the summer when I’m outside more.”
$25 on gardening. “It’s my favourite hobby.”
$25 on pickleball league
$10 on haircuts. “I stopped dying it to save money.”
$13 on cosmetics. “I love makeup and skincare but I try to be frugal.”
$17 on contact lenses
$167 on vacations
$42 on gifts
Some details may be changed to protect the privacy of the person profiled. We want to thank them for sharing their story.
Participate in the Paycheque Project
Welcome to Paycheque Project, a regular series in The Globe and Mail that looks at how much young Canadians are earning – and where that money is going. We’d like to hear from young adults from a diverse range of backgrounds, geographic locations, and earnings ranges.
If you’re a millennial or Gen Z and would like to participate, fill out the form below or send an email to Roma Luciw at rluciw@globeandmail.com. Please include your name, age, where you live, occupation, your biggest financial concern and your email. And remember, Paycheque Project is a judgement-free zone.