Winnipeg geologist earning $117,000 is getting ready to sell his first home | Canada Voices

Name, age: Tom, 27

Annual income: $117,000

Debt: $242,192 mortgage

Savings: $24,322 in savings account, $96,073 in tax-free savings account (TFSA), $47,156 in registered retirement savings plan (RRSP)

What he does: Geologist for a mining exploration company

Where he lives: Winnipeg

Top financial concern: “My industry contains boom-and-bust cycles. It is booming right now, but that could very quickly change. If I don’t have a job, I want to have enough savings to live comfortably for a while.”

Tom lives in Winnipeg in a house he bought with a family member to save on costs. They’ve been living there together for four years and get along “extremely well,” he says.

They’re currently renovating the house before putting it on the market, in part because Tom wants to move in with his girlfriend. They bought it for $290,000 and expect to sell it for about 30 per cent more.

While that’s good for his finances, Tom says it makes him uneasy to be part of a real estate system that keeps pushing prices up and making it harder for his peers to get a foothold.

“If we want to … have lives similar to our parents, I feel like we have to buy houses, and that means participating and helping to prop up the exorbitant prices of the housing markets,” Tom says, adding that “… many friends of mine are stuck in the loop of just being able to make ends meet with most of their money going to pay for rent.”

His girlfriend of two years is in that position, and the couple has struggled to figure out how they would combine their finances if they move in together.

“It has come up in some conversations where it’s very stressful for her, because she doesn’t have the same finances and can’t bring the same to the table,” says Tom.

The couple’s current plan is that Tom will buy a house, in his name, with the money he gets from the sale of his current home. She won’t own the house, but can live there rent-free to allow her to start saving money. “It takes the stress off her, but also me if it doesn’t work out,” he says.

Tom travels a lot for work, going to remote communities to investigate potential mining sites. He loves the adventure – “you could be riding in a helicopter or in a remote part of the world that no one has seen” – and gets a good salary in exchange for his willingness to be away for weeks at a time.

He says he’d have to look for a different job if he were to have a family, which he’d like to do one day.

“It’s taking a pay cut, but you’re at home more,” he said. “It’s an industry that’s extremely hard on family and relationships.”

His typical monthly expenses:

Investment and savings: $500

$500 to RRSP. “When I have extra cash throughout the year I will transfer a little more.”

Servicing debt: $1,225

$1,225 to mortgage. “I split all housing costs 50/50 with the family member I bought the house with.”

Household and transportation: $1,558

$125 on property tax

$234 for electricity

$150 on renovations. “To maintain and prep our house for the market.”

$266 on gasoline. “I drive lots for work.”

$320 for vehicle insurance. “Motorbike, car and boat trailer.”

$320 on car maintenance. “Driving and repairing an older vehicle.”

$143 on internet and cellphone. “Including unlimited data for the U.S., but I regret that because I refuse to travel down to the U.S. and be a tourist due to the current state of affairs.”

Food and drink: $1,155

$625 on groceries. “I visit the grocery store multiple times per week as I hate wasting food.”

$60 on coffee

$400 at restaurants. “I often eat out as I work rurally, which I like to justify is a boost to the local economy.”

$70 on alcohol

Miscellaneous: $6,149

$5,391 to payroll deductions

$150 to going out. “I like keeping busy, trying new things, going to concerts.”

$12 for Paramount+

$11 on Amazon Prime

$34 on electronics

$50 on clothing

$30 on gym membership

$30 on running. “Organized race fees are getting expensive.”

$40 on haircuts

$8 on dentist. “I go yearly for a cleaning.”

$50 on glasses. “Normal and prescription sunglasses every year.”

$10 on other medical expenses

$208 on vacations. “I often go on a yearly trip somewhere fun with friends.”

$50 on boat maintenance. “An old, simple boat for fishing.”

$25 to donations. “Homeless people when it’s cold outside. Cash to the local food bank.”

$50 on gifts. “I like to spoil my girlfriend at Christmas and for her birthday.”

Some details may be changed to protect the privacy of the person profiled.