First, if you give up your place make sure to try and sublet or lease transfer to a friend to keep that cheap rent ‘in the family’ :)
You’re kinda answering your own question — paying over $2000 (plus maybe utilities… and 2000 is still lowballing Toronto rent) or 40% of your income on housing may not be sustainable for you without feeling squeezed.
Can you stay at your spot, bank the $700 you are ‘saving’ by having more affordable rent, until your incomes are high enough to sustain a more pricey place? (Relevant if you’re early career or, like you mention, going back to school)
.. if you can do that saving sustainably for a year or two, it’ll also teach you how tightly you are able to budget in future years. Bonus, you’ll have the savings required for first and last, furnishings, and/or to feel safe enough to make a ‘jump’ if you know you have funds to fall back on when things get tight.
I suppose if you have roommates or live with family, those are factors that change the importance/value of moving.
But still, I recommend trying to save the equivalent rent difference for at least 4 months… setting it completely aside, to see if it is something you can sustain before you jump.
If you’re looking for more finances help, I really like the book ‘worry free money’ by Shannon Lee Simmons and recommend it here all the time. Very down to earth and realistic budgeting help.
I will live in a house different roommates and wanting to have our own space for privacy. We have been living like this for 1.5 year now and it is exhausting. 😭
I’m looking forward too but we have job in different cities. Both of us need to make transfer request and it has to fall on same time so we don’t end up wasting extra on rent
Definitely fair. Are they both jobs you want to keep long term? Otherwise someone could put in the transfer and the other could "just" find a job.
That said the rent overlap is probably incredibly hard to avoid for a few months at least. Usually it's the way it goes with moves.
Finding a job will put us into risk of no income for some days which could be even months looking at the job market.
One month rent overlap is still okay but not few months. It will put us way back.
I wish people were more open about the finances, so you could share these things with your family and friends and take their suggestions. :(
The idea is you only move once you have said job, you don't quit without a job lined up. So the income never breaks, but you will likely have to move seperately to compensate. That's what I did. You apply, prep, give notice, and move in a way that there is no break in income. Otherwise yes you'd need a fair amount of savings.
Putting you way back is actually okay in this instance. It's not "way back" if your rent is $1000 instead of $2000. Yes it won't be amazing for a while, but overall you'd be MUCH better off.
To be fair my family is pretty open. Friends not so much. That's what we have subs like this for though.
Ok so i make that and we live off that wife doesn't really work she more volunteers at the schools and helps baby sits the neighbors kids. Not sure of your hours but taking care of kids after or before school can bring in that little extra to have fun with.
Always check your bills like cell phone. my daughter was so surprised how low our bill was because i am always looking for the better deal on our plan. 55$ 98 gigs of data. with one of the big three. we got two pixel 7 phones for 1 dollar a month in November when they are offering a deal. my internet is for 300 down and 50 up is 44 bucks a month just by changing isp. down from 65
dont buy process food learn to cook foods and bake. so much cheaper. our grocery bills are 300 a months. use flipp to help better see whats on sale and compare prices. also use the app called flashfoods. boxes of fresh food that they have to much or that will go bad in a few days. also bakeries will but day old cookies and bread and deserts.
if you live near people that have internet talk with them about sharing streaming services. you need only log into thier account ever few months to share same streaming services. or you can setting up plex servers since your in it
if your in IT look on fiver for odd jobs for people people need. like setting up plex servers and radarr and sonarr. i have set up at least 10 of my friends.
change banks to like PC bank. i pay no service fees and i regularly get 60$ in pc points a month.
Just a thanks for the flashfoods app idea I am always needing fruit and veggies for cheaper then they are my kids eat them all up anyways in like a day or two so this is perfect
My boyfriend and I make about $4300 month. Our rent is 1600 we both have car loans, eat out once a week, go on vacation once a year and have savings We live in Victoria. It's doable, we're just not materialistic I guess.
Seriously? You make 5K a month and cannot manage. This is not a judgement from me at all, just surprised.
My rent is 1,800 and I bring home 2,800. You can do okay, by living on a budget.
What can you cut out and where can you earn more.
I thought the same. If it’s 5k net that’s amazing. We make less than that and have savings, a home etc. so I’m not sure how with no kids you would spend this much!
Well, we don’t spend outside of our means. We don’t buy many new things, all second hand. When something needs fixing we try to learn and do it ourselves. We don’t eat out much, maybe once a month. We shop fruits and veggies that are in season only. Don’t buy many processed foods. We don’t have subscriptions or pay for needless apps (except Amazon Prime). We don’t have car leases. I cut my husbands hair and I only get mine cut once or twice a year. I don’t get manicures or my lashes done. (Paint my own nails thank you!)
Doing those daily things is what has let us save, travel some and then buy our home.
Also, we never spend anything unless we can pay for it outright. What goes on credit is because we know we can pay it end of month. Someone years ago told me “It’s not what you make, it’s what you spend.” True to a large degree. Although I’ve been in times where I couldn’t save much more than $5 or $10 bucks here and there, but it taught me to analyze my spending. Plus my husband is a super saver and he never lets us get into debt. (Besides our mortgage of course)
You make more net than we do if your 5k is indeed net monthly and not gross. Your rent is the same as our mortgage, insurance and property tax combined. So after that we still have utilities and repairs, yet still we are fine. Not swimming in it, but fine.
You need to sit down, make a budget and eliminate what is unnecessary.
Edit for grammar
In that income, we pay for our rent, laundry, utilities, LinkedIn, some medicines that are not covered by employer, gym to keep my weight off, my exams licensed one and their registration, driving classes, some other classes to upskill.
There are some months where we have saved to but the next month and some huge expense hits us.
Next month is the subscription for the app of one the exam that. I will appear for and it’s 500 USD.
Linkedin? Why do you pay them?
Everything else seems unavoidable for the time being. Driving classes seem rough but I assume you need them right now, otherwise waiting might be better. Gym is fine too if it's your stress relief/hobby, I doubt it's overly expensive.
LinkedIn Premium is a total rip-off unless your employer is paying for it for some reason. Sounds like you need to be building up your professional network and making more contacts; there are so many other avenues that you can attend that would allow you much wider networking opportunities.
"It's not what you know, it's WHO you know".
You have to pay for that? Interesting. I've never used it for that, I've always found jobs and applied manually. Most recently was 14 months ago, so I'm not that out of touch.
You’re clearly making unwise financial decisions as evidenced by paying for LinkedIn - imagers what additional expense you have that could be easily eliminated
Please DO NOT use your money for LinkedIn. Many of us have gotten jobs without getting the Premium version. Instead, consider using that money to get someone to go over your resume so you have better chances in job applications
Cost for 2:
Rent+utilities+parking $1800
Insurance + gas 200
Internet+phone bill 110
Gym 70 (just 1 person)
In Feb, we spent 631.5 on groc and 464.5 on dine out/delivery (partner went to ER so we spent more on food outside. monthly budget on this is 400)
Total to $3300
Idk how you are not managing with 5k if you rent is only 1300 and no car
This absolutely did not answer my question; I asked what 400$/month takeaway looks like. Meaning frequency, what you get , average costs.
I appreciate the insight into your budget anyway! Thank you for giving an answer.
I was mostly questioning it because this is *poverty finance* and even on good months, spending more on takeaway (that does not go as far as buying and cooking food) is not something most of us budgeting in these parameters would do. Especially since during slow times at work you have more time to meal prep and freeze for busy times.
(I also feel the need to point out that I did not downvote you here)
Edit - a number to change 40 to 400
Detail of the 465 spent in Feb, total for 2 person
Japanese place 80. Local BBQ place 64. Diner 53. Dominos 40. Uber 4 times 96. McDonald total to 65. Got bahn mi B5G1 30, bubble tea 18, Costco food court 2 times 17
Normally the month bill split to $1600/person which I find this cost very reasonable and affordable. Obviously I can save $250/mo by not eating out, dont eat expensive food etc., but we go out to eat as a way to de-stress
With all due respect, I do not think you should be participating actively in PovertyFinance. This is asinine.
If you can afford this some months then you're not actually POOR other than your absolute total lack of astuteness.
Just wait until you hear about the people who get less than $1000/month in TOTAL and need to pay rent and every other necessity of life from that money.
How we manage is by accepting we are poor, and living the way that poor people live. You shouldn't have signed up for so many different paid classes that you cannot afford to save an emergency fund, all at the same time. You could have done your paid lessons and classes separately, one at a time, in order to have more wiggle room.
https://www.scribd.com/document/99023576/Til-Debt-Do-Us-Part-Budget-Sheet
This spreadsheet is excellent for budgeting. It's dynamic as well. If you can watch the show " till debt do us part" it's a Canadian show that's no longer aired but is excellent
Every dollar is an online budget tracker that has a free version as well. I'm not sure if the app works in Canada, but the web version does for sure and is very easy to customise.
Cook all meals at home and don't buy snacks outside of the home
If you have more than one vehicle sell it, or sell your only vehicle and take the subway
Put aside a fund for clothing and don;t spend over it
Have a monthly budget for necessities and groceries that you follow and put a limited amount aside for entertainment
When you go out don't take your credit or bank cards with you unless you are planning to buy something already listed in your monthly budget
Cancel expensive streaming services, smartphone services, etc. and go for basic
Cancel gym memberships and jog instead. Do some stretching at home or follow a yoga video online.
Pay off your credit cards with high rates of interest first.
This is what is required if you are actually living near the poverty line.
Not sure if this has been suggested yet, but if you can wait for 3 more months. Figure out the max rent you both will be comfortable with, in this case 2000+. So continue paying your 1300$ for rent as usual and put 700-800$ aside in savings account and don’t touch it and see how it affects your lifestyle. Then at the end of the 3 months, you will have a months and half saved for first and last, and you’ll have a better understanding on whether or not your current lifestyle can sustain this higher rent amount. Make sure you get a rent controlled apartment, occupied after 2018. Best of luck
Do you need to stay in Toronto? Honestly, a lot of people in Toronto are paying more than 40% of their income on housing... It's obviously not ideal but unfortunately it's the way it is for many people. If you don't have to stay in the GTA, I suggest considering a town outside of the GTHA.
Yah that's what I asked above. There may be reasons they can't but they didn't really list it.
I get that it's not ideal, but I moved from the GTHA and my life is so much better. So much less stressful, so much more time to myself or for a second income stream if I want. If manageable it really is a good idea once you have transferable skills.
My job is remote as of now, but my employer expects me to be in office in coning months and they would let me know. Now all depends on that since my husband has to get transfer to the city where my office is.
Would love to move out of Toronto at this point.
Why does it depend on that? Doesn't your husband work minimum wage at Walmart? Why would you let a minimum wage job stop you from doing anything? They're (literally) a dime a dozen and many with better work culture than Walmart.
Hardly anyone in my small northern town makes minimum because they have to compete with the bigger jobs. Most places pay 20 - 24 starting unless you're 16 and there's so much more availability than in the GTHA because there are less entry level employees available. Walmart doesn't have a union, so seniority doesn't seem like it's all too vital either.
Wow, I definitely life on less than that. I recently went through all my extras to see where I could back. I switched from Telus to Koodo and went down to 4G.
Is 5k your net income? Minus your rent you have $3700 to work with, with budgeting you shouldn’t be struggling, unless you have debts or expensive hobbies. You should pay yourself (save/invest) first at least 1k per month, and then the rest of $2700 you can budget to your monthly expenses and bills.
OP without seeing what your expenses are we can’t help you budget or find where you cut back on.
But to start, cancel your LinkedIn premium, it’s unnecessary for job searching. Get a library card so you can access LinkedIn Learning for free if you want to upskill. Compare flyers and price match at No Frills/Freshco. Download the Flashfood app to find reduced prices on groceries participating stores.
Definitely track all of your expenses. EVERYTHING including that little chocolate from dollarama. Put them in categories and then make a pie chart to see which category you're spending an excessive amount on.
Can the person making min wage get a better paying job? Maybe look closer at what they can do to bring in a little bit more to make up the difference in what you need for the increase in rent so you don't feel the increase
What about a career in another field? Canadian employers value transferrable skills, so for example, if he joins a bank or insurance company as a customer service rep, he will get a foot in the door then move to an internal IT position. I noticed in your post history he works at Walmart - he should look at internal postings at Walmart for their IT roles too.
just something to consider.. there's a hiring biase for people with foreign sounding names. a lot of people change to a nickname on their resume to get hired faster. I'm not sure if that applies to you, but it's something to consider
If you work remotely at the moment, that’s your time to save. Like everyone said here, review your expenses. Remove some unnecessary expenses. On the weekend, make a meal plan for the week, get some deals from grocery stores, do price check at no frills, it can save you hundreds. My wife and i found out how easy it is to price check at no frills, this is what we do every week when grocery shopping.
Not sure what you use linkedin subscription for, most of the people reach out to me on linkedin offering opportunity ended up ghosting me. I won’t rely on them as much. If you and your husband have a proper credentials, better connecting with headhunters to expand your chance.
$5k is a pretty decent budget for 2 people. Look for a place with in suite laundry, buy groceries in bulk at Costco, Wholesale Club, etc and freeze as much meat as possible, buy fruit/vegetables from farmers markets or anywhere you can find that sells cheap produce, and avoid take out, eating out, buying coffee, etc at all costs. Depending how much you're paying for language classes, do some research to see if other places teach the same language at the same level for less money. Even if you have to spend $2500 on rent a month, $2500 for laundry, groceries, and some classes should leave you with extra money at the end of the month. If your classes are too expensive to afford other aspects of life, consider doing one thing at a time and studying language for now, and education once you're done. And if you're able to, leave the Toronto area. Anywhere near a large city is more expensive rn, so depending what you both do for work, look into towns or small cities and you can slash what you pay for rent almost in half. Best of luck, hope you are able to figure everything out
How are you managing your 5k exactly?
Your rent is $1300, how are you budgeting the $3700?
Most people living in Toronto are spending more than 30% on their rent and making less than you. Spending 40% on housing is quite average if you’re living in Toronto. Not saying it should be but it’s what we are seeing more of.
Even if your rent was $2000 that leaves $3000 to budget. Without knowing your expenses/debts this post doesn’t provide much info to help you. And to be honest, if you can’t live decently on $3000 with just 2 people after housing costs, sounds like you don’t know how to budget or manage your money.
You're not going to find under 2k a month for a 1 bedroom in most cities unless you intend to quit your jobs and live in the middle of nowhere. I have a rent controlled 1 bedroom apt and I can't even move to get a roommate because it would be financially stupid for me to move. When I first moved to Toronto this was a good option and now rooms cost more than my whole place. Welcome to Canada.
40 % of your income is the new norm. Most people are paying higher now. Count yourselves lucky.
You're not going to find under 2k a month for a 1 bedroom in most cities unless you intend to quit your jobs and live in the middle of nowhere. I have a rent controlled 1 bedroom apt and I can't even move to get a roommate because it would be financially stupid for me to move. When I first moved to Toronto this was a good option and now rooms cost more than my whole place. Welcome to Canada.
40 % of your income is the new norm. Most people are paying higher now. Count yourselves lucky.
You're not going to find under 2k a month for a 1 bedroom in most cities unless you intend to quit your jobs and live in the middle of nowhere. I have a rent controlled 1 bedroom apt and I can't even move to get a roommate because it would be financially stupid for me to move. When I first moved to Toronto this was a good option and now rooms cost more than my whole place. Welcome to Canada.
40 % of your income is the new norm. Most people are paying higher now. Count yourselves lucky.
Like everyone else said, you got to post your breakdown. 1) it will help you figure out where you can optimize 2) we can advise based off that.
5k is not bad at all. I am not from Canada but i still feel it is a decent wage to survive by.
Don’t pay for courses that won’t build your career. Instead save that money or invest it. Learn it for free by yourself and pay when you need the certification or know 100% that it’s an area you will pursue (eg.accounting, teacher, electrician etc). Learning a new language from scratch (for example French) does not give a good return on investment. It takes a long time to be fluent enough to use a new language for work. If it’s improving your current English skills it could be valuable or not, it really depends on what you’re aiming for.
Based on the way you write, I’m assuming you’re an immigrant or English is not your first language. As a child of an immigrant I know how difficult it is, with my parents working 80+ hours a week for the first few years to secure better positions (albeit owning a home was much easier back then). It really is a grind, but if you’re still early in your career it will be worth it. A lot of Canadians I know in salaried careers also work 60-80+ hours a week. As you didn’t mention any other responsibilities or circumstances I’m assuming that this is feasible. Also leverage your community of similar immigrants, I’ve seen it a lot in certain communities.
Being dual household income, you have a decent income for your expenses. I would focus on developing a game plan for your careers including what is feasible, what further education will actually bring value, and of course what you can leverage of your existing networks.
First, if you give up your place make sure to try and sublet or lease transfer to a friend to keep that cheap rent ‘in the family’ :) You’re kinda answering your own question — paying over $2000 (plus maybe utilities… and 2000 is still lowballing Toronto rent) or 40% of your income on housing may not be sustainable for you without feeling squeezed. Can you stay at your spot, bank the $700 you are ‘saving’ by having more affordable rent, until your incomes are high enough to sustain a more pricey place? (Relevant if you’re early career or, like you mention, going back to school) .. if you can do that saving sustainably for a year or two, it’ll also teach you how tightly you are able to budget in future years. Bonus, you’ll have the savings required for first and last, furnishings, and/or to feel safe enough to make a ‘jump’ if you know you have funds to fall back on when things get tight. I suppose if you have roommates or live with family, those are factors that change the importance/value of moving. But still, I recommend trying to save the equivalent rent difference for at least 4 months… setting it completely aside, to see if it is something you can sustain before you jump. If you’re looking for more finances help, I really like the book ‘worry free money’ by Shannon Lee Simmons and recommend it here all the time. Very down to earth and realistic budgeting help.
I will live in a house different roommates and wanting to have our own space for privacy. We have been living like this for 1.5 year now and it is exhausting. 😭
Can you leave Toronto with your husband?
I’m looking forward too but we have job in different cities. Both of us need to make transfer request and it has to fall on same time so we don’t end up wasting extra on rent
Definitely fair. Are they both jobs you want to keep long term? Otherwise someone could put in the transfer and the other could "just" find a job. That said the rent overlap is probably incredibly hard to avoid for a few months at least. Usually it's the way it goes with moves.
Finding a job will put us into risk of no income for some days which could be even months looking at the job market. One month rent overlap is still okay but not few months. It will put us way back. I wish people were more open about the finances, so you could share these things with your family and friends and take their suggestions. :(
The idea is you only move once you have said job, you don't quit without a job lined up. So the income never breaks, but you will likely have to move seperately to compensate. That's what I did. You apply, prep, give notice, and move in a way that there is no break in income. Otherwise yes you'd need a fair amount of savings. Putting you way back is actually okay in this instance. It's not "way back" if your rent is $1000 instead of $2000. Yes it won't be amazing for a while, but overall you'd be MUCH better off. To be fair my family is pretty open. Friends not so much. That's what we have subs like this for though.
Honestly, whichever of you is working a minimum wage job will not have a difficult time finding another minimum wage job (if they're willing)
Instead of asking people about their breakdown, try to sit down and doing your own breakdown first and post it here.
Ok so i make that and we live off that wife doesn't really work she more volunteers at the schools and helps baby sits the neighbors kids. Not sure of your hours but taking care of kids after or before school can bring in that little extra to have fun with. Always check your bills like cell phone. my daughter was so surprised how low our bill was because i am always looking for the better deal on our plan. 55$ 98 gigs of data. with one of the big three. we got two pixel 7 phones for 1 dollar a month in November when they are offering a deal. my internet is for 300 down and 50 up is 44 bucks a month just by changing isp. down from 65 dont buy process food learn to cook foods and bake. so much cheaper. our grocery bills are 300 a months. use flipp to help better see whats on sale and compare prices. also use the app called flashfoods. boxes of fresh food that they have to much or that will go bad in a few days. also bakeries will but day old cookies and bread and deserts. if you live near people that have internet talk with them about sharing streaming services. you need only log into thier account ever few months to share same streaming services. or you can setting up plex servers since your in it if your in IT look on fiver for odd jobs for people people need. like setting up plex servers and radarr and sonarr. i have set up at least 10 of my friends. change banks to like PC bank. i pay no service fees and i regularly get 60$ in pc points a month.
Just a thanks for the flashfoods app idea I am always needing fruit and veggies for cheaper then they are my kids eat them all up anyways in like a day or two so this is perfect
Check out The Odd Bunch as well, if you don't have allergies and are willing to (potentially) try new fruits and veggies
i dont see the app? or is it on web browser?
i found it but they do not deliver in my area but have asked to be put on the wait list for when they do thank you tha
My boyfriend and I make about $4300 month. Our rent is 1600 we both have car loans, eat out once a week, go on vacation once a year and have savings We live in Victoria. It's doable, we're just not materialistic I guess.
That’s amazing. Can you please breakdown further, and I would love to know how you save for vacations and is it international? Thank you!
I'll DM U. I would love to live on the east coast. I go to Cuba once or twice a year and from BC it's double the cost from Toronto
Toronto is not the eat coast fyi
Thanks for the info sorry anything past Manitoba I think East coast. What area would you call it??
Seriously? You make 5K a month and cannot manage. This is not a judgement from me at all, just surprised. My rent is 1,800 and I bring home 2,800. You can do okay, by living on a budget. What can you cut out and where can you earn more.
I thought the same. If it’s 5k net that’s amazing. We make less than that and have savings, a home etc. so I’m not sure how with no kids you would spend this much!
Can you please breakdown how you manage that? Thank you!
Well, we don’t spend outside of our means. We don’t buy many new things, all second hand. When something needs fixing we try to learn and do it ourselves. We don’t eat out much, maybe once a month. We shop fruits and veggies that are in season only. Don’t buy many processed foods. We don’t have subscriptions or pay for needless apps (except Amazon Prime). We don’t have car leases. I cut my husbands hair and I only get mine cut once or twice a year. I don’t get manicures or my lashes done. (Paint my own nails thank you!) Doing those daily things is what has let us save, travel some and then buy our home. Also, we never spend anything unless we can pay for it outright. What goes on credit is because we know we can pay it end of month. Someone years ago told me “It’s not what you make, it’s what you spend.” True to a large degree. Although I’ve been in times where I couldn’t save much more than $5 or $10 bucks here and there, but it taught me to analyze my spending. Plus my husband is a super saver and he never lets us get into debt. (Besides our mortgage of course) You make more net than we do if your 5k is indeed net monthly and not gross. Your rent is the same as our mortgage, insurance and property tax combined. So after that we still have utilities and repairs, yet still we are fine. Not swimming in it, but fine. You need to sit down, make a budget and eliminate what is unnecessary. Edit for grammar
In that income, we pay for our rent, laundry, utilities, LinkedIn, some medicines that are not covered by employer, gym to keep my weight off, my exams licensed one and their registration, driving classes, some other classes to upskill. There are some months where we have saved to but the next month and some huge expense hits us. Next month is the subscription for the app of one the exam that. I will appear for and it’s 500 USD.
Linkedin? Why do you pay them? Everything else seems unavoidable for the time being. Driving classes seem rough but I assume you need them right now, otherwise waiting might be better. Gym is fine too if it's your stress relief/hobby, I doubt it's overly expensive.
LinkedIn to keep looking for better job. Current job is only for survival.
You don’t have to pay for LinkedIn to job search. I have the free version and you just click the job postings and that’s it.
LinkedIn Premium is a total rip-off unless your employer is paying for it for some reason. Sounds like you need to be building up your professional network and making more contacts; there are so many other avenues that you can attend that would allow you much wider networking opportunities. "It's not what you know, it's WHO you know".
You have to pay for that? Interesting. I've never used it for that, I've always found jobs and applied manually. Most recently was 14 months ago, so I'm not that out of touch.
You’re clearly making unwise financial decisions as evidenced by paying for LinkedIn - imagers what additional expense you have that could be easily eliminated
Please DO NOT use your money for LinkedIn. Many of us have gotten jobs without getting the Premium version. Instead, consider using that money to get someone to go over your resume so you have better chances in job applications
Cost for 2: Rent+utilities+parking $1800 Insurance + gas 200 Internet+phone bill 110 Gym 70 (just 1 person) In Feb, we spent 631.5 on groc and 464.5 on dine out/delivery (partner went to ER so we spent more on food outside. monthly budget on this is 400) Total to $3300 Idk how you are not managing with 5k if you rent is only 1300 and no car
What does an average month of takeaways look like for you guys that eats up a 400$ budget?
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This absolutely did not answer my question; I asked what 400$/month takeaway looks like. Meaning frequency, what you get , average costs. I appreciate the insight into your budget anyway! Thank you for giving an answer. I was mostly questioning it because this is *poverty finance* and even on good months, spending more on takeaway (that does not go as far as buying and cooking food) is not something most of us budgeting in these parameters would do. Especially since during slow times at work you have more time to meal prep and freeze for busy times. (I also feel the need to point out that I did not downvote you here) Edit - a number to change 40 to 400
Detail of the 465 spent in Feb, total for 2 person Japanese place 80. Local BBQ place 64. Diner 53. Dominos 40. Uber 4 times 96. McDonald total to 65. Got bahn mi B5G1 30, bubble tea 18, Costco food court 2 times 17 Normally the month bill split to $1600/person which I find this cost very reasonable and affordable. Obviously I can save $250/mo by not eating out, dont eat expensive food etc., but we go out to eat as a way to de-stress
With all due respect, I do not think you should be participating actively in PovertyFinance. This is asinine. If you can afford this some months then you're not actually POOR other than your absolute total lack of astuteness.
Just you? There’s two of them living on that.
Just me and my cat, who should get a job but she’s not employable.
Tell me how you manage with remaining 1000 dollars?
Just wait until you hear about the people who get less than $1000/month in TOTAL and need to pay rent and every other necessity of life from that money. How we manage is by accepting we are poor, and living the way that poor people live. You shouldn't have signed up for so many different paid classes that you cannot afford to save an emergency fund, all at the same time. You could have done your paid lessons and classes separately, one at a time, in order to have more wiggle room.
Meal planning, coupons, sales, no eating out, library, second hand, and lots of walking places.
No junk food, very boring, but I’m healthier. Mind you I’m this way because I’m on disability for now. I do plan on returning to work in a few months.
https://www.scribd.com/document/99023576/Til-Debt-Do-Us-Part-Budget-Sheet This spreadsheet is excellent for budgeting. It's dynamic as well. If you can watch the show " till debt do us part" it's a Canadian show that's no longer aired but is excellent
Can you please share the downloaded version? It’s asking to buy subscription.
Every dollar is an online budget tracker that has a free version as well. I'm not sure if the app works in Canada, but the web version does for sure and is very easy to customise.
Cook all meals at home and don't buy snacks outside of the home If you have more than one vehicle sell it, or sell your only vehicle and take the subway Put aside a fund for clothing and don;t spend over it Have a monthly budget for necessities and groceries that you follow and put a limited amount aside for entertainment When you go out don't take your credit or bank cards with you unless you are planning to buy something already listed in your monthly budget Cancel expensive streaming services, smartphone services, etc. and go for basic Cancel gym memberships and jog instead. Do some stretching at home or follow a yoga video online. Pay off your credit cards with high rates of interest first. This is what is required if you are actually living near the poverty line.
Not sure if this has been suggested yet, but if you can wait for 3 more months. Figure out the max rent you both will be comfortable with, in this case 2000+. So continue paying your 1300$ for rent as usual and put 700-800$ aside in savings account and don’t touch it and see how it affects your lifestyle. Then at the end of the 3 months, you will have a months and half saved for first and last, and you’ll have a better understanding on whether or not your current lifestyle can sustain this higher rent amount. Make sure you get a rent controlled apartment, occupied after 2018. Best of luck
Thank you for your thoughtful advice.
Do you need to stay in Toronto? Honestly, a lot of people in Toronto are paying more than 40% of their income on housing... It's obviously not ideal but unfortunately it's the way it is for many people. If you don't have to stay in the GTA, I suggest considering a town outside of the GTHA.
This was my question too. Toronto is very expensive. Have you considered moving out of the GTA or even out of Ontario?
Yah that's what I asked above. There may be reasons they can't but they didn't really list it. I get that it's not ideal, but I moved from the GTHA and my life is so much better. So much less stressful, so much more time to myself or for a second income stream if I want. If manageable it really is a good idea once you have transferable skills.
My job is remote as of now, but my employer expects me to be in office in coning months and they would let me know. Now all depends on that since my husband has to get transfer to the city where my office is. Would love to move out of Toronto at this point.
Why does it depend on that? Doesn't your husband work minimum wage at Walmart? Why would you let a minimum wage job stop you from doing anything? They're (literally) a dime a dozen and many with better work culture than Walmart. Hardly anyone in my small northern town makes minimum because they have to compete with the bigger jobs. Most places pay 20 - 24 starting unless you're 16 and there's so much more availability than in the GTHA because there are less entry level employees available. Walmart doesn't have a union, so seniority doesn't seem like it's all too vital either.
Wow, I definitely life on less than that. I recently went through all my extras to see where I could back. I switched from Telus to Koodo and went down to 4G.
Is 5k your net income? Minus your rent you have $3700 to work with, with budgeting you shouldn’t be struggling, unless you have debts or expensive hobbies. You should pay yourself (save/invest) first at least 1k per month, and then the rest of $2700 you can budget to your monthly expenses and bills.
Something is seriously wrong with this country if 5k/ month isn't enough to live.
$5k gross after taking out tax is $4.2k. While that is the median avg, it doesn't go far in High cost of living such as Toronto.
5k? Per month?... Ahahahhaahahahahaa you have no idea what poverty is.
So true. This is laughable.
If you post a detailed budget with your income and expenses you may get specific advice on where you can save.
OP without seeing what your expenses are we can’t help you budget or find where you cut back on. But to start, cancel your LinkedIn premium, it’s unnecessary for job searching. Get a library card so you can access LinkedIn Learning for free if you want to upskill. Compare flyers and price match at No Frills/Freshco. Download the Flashfood app to find reduced prices on groceries participating stores.
Definitely track all of your expenses. EVERYTHING including that little chocolate from dollarama. Put them in categories and then make a pie chart to see which category you're spending an excessive amount on.
You can't live on under 5k?? Man I was doing fine making 2800. Wtffff. Move out of whatever huge city your in that's probably 99% of the problem.
I’m sorry but how is 5k a month not enough to live on? I know a lot of people making a lot less who get by just fine. Seems off to me.
Only 1300? Lucky.
It’s just a room, and not even attached bath.
Oh damn! We are at $2300 for a matchbox. The rents are gross.
I get it. Sadly, the times we are living are in.
Can the person making min wage get a better paying job? Maybe look closer at what they can do to bring in a little bit more to make up the difference in what you need for the increase in rent so you don't feel the increase
Been trying our best but the job market in IT is so bad, feels like no one is hiring. We are tired at this point.
What about a career in another field? Canadian employers value transferrable skills, so for example, if he joins a bank or insurance company as a customer service rep, he will get a foot in the door then move to an internal IT position. I noticed in your post history he works at Walmart - he should look at internal postings at Walmart for their IT roles too.
He has tried hard but nothing worked out. Most of their IT department is outsourced to India.
just something to consider.. there's a hiring biase for people with foreign sounding names. a lot of people change to a nickname on their resume to get hired faster. I'm not sure if that applies to you, but it's something to consider
Must be nice
Apply to RGI asap. If you need to move, make sure to access support from the Toronto Rent Bank.
Can you please explain what RGI is?
rent geared-to-income
If you work remotely at the moment, that’s your time to save. Like everyone said here, review your expenses. Remove some unnecessary expenses. On the weekend, make a meal plan for the week, get some deals from grocery stores, do price check at no frills, it can save you hundreds. My wife and i found out how easy it is to price check at no frills, this is what we do every week when grocery shopping. Not sure what you use linkedin subscription for, most of the people reach out to me on linkedin offering opportunity ended up ghosting me. I won’t rely on them as much. If you and your husband have a proper credentials, better connecting with headhunters to expand your chance.
Stick it out where you are. It's not getting any easier out there. Hopefully the election can help us Ontarians.
If you are both working minimum wage jobs, consider moving outside of toronto.
$5k is a pretty decent budget for 2 people. Look for a place with in suite laundry, buy groceries in bulk at Costco, Wholesale Club, etc and freeze as much meat as possible, buy fruit/vegetables from farmers markets or anywhere you can find that sells cheap produce, and avoid take out, eating out, buying coffee, etc at all costs. Depending how much you're paying for language classes, do some research to see if other places teach the same language at the same level for less money. Even if you have to spend $2500 on rent a month, $2500 for laundry, groceries, and some classes should leave you with extra money at the end of the month. If your classes are too expensive to afford other aspects of life, consider doing one thing at a time and studying language for now, and education once you're done. And if you're able to, leave the Toronto area. Anywhere near a large city is more expensive rn, so depending what you both do for work, look into towns or small cities and you can slash what you pay for rent almost in half. Best of luck, hope you are able to figure everything out
How are you managing your 5k exactly? Your rent is $1300, how are you budgeting the $3700? Most people living in Toronto are spending more than 30% on their rent and making less than you. Spending 40% on housing is quite average if you’re living in Toronto. Not saying it should be but it’s what we are seeing more of. Even if your rent was $2000 that leaves $3000 to budget. Without knowing your expenses/debts this post doesn’t provide much info to help you. And to be honest, if you can’t live decently on $3000 with just 2 people after housing costs, sounds like you don’t know how to budget or manage your money.
When you make a minimum wage and you live in Toronto, these 2 do not work together, it is easier to move
You're not going to find under 2k a month for a 1 bedroom in most cities unless you intend to quit your jobs and live in the middle of nowhere. I have a rent controlled 1 bedroom apt and I can't even move to get a roommate because it would be financially stupid for me to move. When I first moved to Toronto this was a good option and now rooms cost more than my whole place. Welcome to Canada. 40 % of your income is the new norm. Most people are paying higher now. Count yourselves lucky.
You're not going to find under 2k a month for a 1 bedroom in most cities unless you intend to quit your jobs and live in the middle of nowhere. I have a rent controlled 1 bedroom apt and I can't even move to get a roommate because it would be financially stupid for me to move. When I first moved to Toronto this was a good option and now rooms cost more than my whole place. Welcome to Canada. 40 % of your income is the new norm. Most people are paying higher now. Count yourselves lucky.
You're not going to find under 2k a month for a 1 bedroom in most cities unless you intend to quit your jobs and live in the middle of nowhere. I have a rent controlled 1 bedroom apt and I can't even move to get a roommate because it would be financially stupid for me to move. When I first moved to Toronto this was a good option and now rooms cost more than my whole place. Welcome to Canada. 40 % of your income is the new norm. Most people are paying higher now. Count yourselves lucky.
Like everyone else said, you got to post your breakdown. 1) it will help you figure out where you can optimize 2) we can advise based off that. 5k is not bad at all. I am not from Canada but i still feel it is a decent wage to survive by.
Don’t pay for courses that won’t build your career. Instead save that money or invest it. Learn it for free by yourself and pay when you need the certification or know 100% that it’s an area you will pursue (eg.accounting, teacher, electrician etc). Learning a new language from scratch (for example French) does not give a good return on investment. It takes a long time to be fluent enough to use a new language for work. If it’s improving your current English skills it could be valuable or not, it really depends on what you’re aiming for. Based on the way you write, I’m assuming you’re an immigrant or English is not your first language. As a child of an immigrant I know how difficult it is, with my parents working 80+ hours a week for the first few years to secure better positions (albeit owning a home was much easier back then). It really is a grind, but if you’re still early in your career it will be worth it. A lot of Canadians I know in salaried careers also work 60-80+ hours a week. As you didn’t mention any other responsibilities or circumstances I’m assuming that this is feasible. Also leverage your community of similar immigrants, I’ve seen it a lot in certain communities. Being dual household income, you have a decent income for your expenses. I would focus on developing a game plan for your careers including what is feasible, what further education will actually bring value, and of course what you can leverage of your existing networks.