iStockPhoto / Getty Images
Name, age: Julia, 36
Annual income: $107,000 from job, $5,628 from Canada Child Benefit
Debt: $66,000 on home equity line of credit (HELOC), $479,422 on mortgage
Savings: $8,100 in registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), $23,084 in registered education savings plan (RESP)
What she does: Ontario government public servant
Where she lives: Guelph, Ont.
Top financial concern: “I just feel like we’re behind. We don’t have savings and we’re not managing much in the way of investments and seeing that grow. The future looks murky.”
Julia, 36, just got back to work after her second maternity leave. She took 18 months the first time and 16 months this time. She says it was great to have time with her babies but also a big financial and career setback.
“During the first mat leave, we bought a house and kept telling ourselves, ‘It’s not going to be this hard next time,’” says Julia, whose kids are one and four. But living expenses skyrocketed between 2022 and 2025, and the family was relying on their line of credit by the end of her second leave.
Her work top-up ended in November, 2025, and Employment Insurance ended in April, said Julia, who works for the provincial government. Unable to get a daycare spot so she could return to work sooner, Julia and her partner resorted to using their line of credit, which “felt awful to do.”
Julia’s partner works in hospitality and makes about $100,000 annually. She says he was supportive of her taking the leaves because “we’ll never get this time back,” and is confident they will recover financially over time – but Julia struggles with regular bouts of financial stress.
“Once a year, I have a giant freakout about finances,” says Julia, who grew up middle class, but with parents who were often stressed about money. “My parents maybe talked about money too much growing up. I was very stressed about money and the lack of it.”
Paycheque project: Quebec City communication advisor, 28, wants children with partner but worries about home prices
She deleted her social media accounts recently because the shiny, online versions of other people’s lives were adding to her own feelings of inadequacy.
“How are friends and family travelling or renovating their homes? Is everyone up to their eyeballs in debt?” she would wonder. “I was so in my head, seeing what people had.”
Julia and her partner bought their home after the birth of their first child. His grandmother gave them $200,000 for their down payment on the $710,000 house.
“It felt like winning the lottery,” she says.
Now that Julia is back at work, she’s planning to focus on paying down their line of credit and resuming transfers to her registered retirement savings plan.
She’ll also have to rebuild her career, saying taking a leave “slows down any progress professionally. I kind of have to start over. My male counterparts are looking at manager and director jobs. That’s a way off for me.”
Her typical monthly expenses
Investment and savings: $1,188
$800 to work pension. “Employer matches and I continued to pay into it while on parental leave.”
$388 to RESP
Servicing debt: $3,702
$200 to line of credit
$772 to car payment. “One year into a four-year lease.”
$2,522 to mortgage. “Just renewed this year and were able to get better fixed rate than first three-year term.”
$208 to Canada Greener Homes Loan. “For heat pump.”
Household and transportation: $1,790
$85 to property insurance
$403 to property tax
$370 to utilities
$40 to parking space
$265 to gasoline
$272 for car insurance. “Two vehicles.”
$75 on car maintenance.
$200 to cell phones. “Partner just got a new phone.”
$80 to internet
Food and drink: $1,692
$1,492 to groceries. “This shocked me after adding it up.”
$30 to coffee shops
$150 at restaurants
$20 to alcohol
Miscellaneous: $1,991
$60 to union dues
$50 to concerts. “Two concerts this year.”
$22 to streaming services
$40 to other apps. “Spotify and Apple storage.”
$150 to clothing
$86 to daughter’s dance classes
$170 to YMCA memberships
$60 to YMCA childcare. “When we are in the gym.”
$200 to pets. “Two cats and a dog.”
$736 to daycare and after-school care
$75 on haircuts
$25 on cosmetics. “Skincare.”
$40 on getting eyebrows done
$25 on supplements
$100 on vacations. “No big trips planned.”
$50 on donations
$30 on gifts
$48 on life insurance
$20 on credit card fees
$4 on banking fees
Some details may be changed to protect the privacy of the person profiled. We want to thank them for sharing their story. Are you a millennial or Gen Z who would like to participate in a Paycheque Project? Send us an e-mail.