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Name, age: Gord, 41
Annual income: $106,000 from work, $3,072 from Canada Child Benefit
Debt: $387,000 mortgage
Savings: $22,600 in savings account, $60,000 in registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), $15,000 in registered education savings plan (RESP), $45,000 in a locked-in retirement account
What he does: Professional fundraiser
Where he lives: London, Ont.
Top financial concern: How his mortgage will affect his retirement savings. “I am looking at having a mortgage until I am in my late 60s.”
Gord spent his 20s as a freelance tuba player in Toronto, after completing a master’s degree in classical music that left him with roughly $40,000 in student debt.
“It was a lot of fun and a good lifestyle,” he says, while acknowledging that “trying to be a classical musician probably wasn’t the best financial decision of my life.”
One fall, when music work was scarce, he fell into a couple of gigs doing arts fundraising. That eventually led to a job at a university, where he made close to three times his highest salary previously, which had been $35,000. That income allowed him to finally start tackling his debt.
He began by eliminating $10,000 in credit-card debt, then paid off his student debt. At his new salary, and with a cheap apartment in Toronto’s east end, he was debt-free in 18 months.
Even today, he marvels at the intense relief he felt once that debt was gone: “I thought it would be with me forever.”
When Gord and his partner had a baby daughter about four years ago, they started to pine for a roomier place and one they could own. A year later, Gord accepted a job at a new school and the family moved to London, Ont., and bought a house. After three years there, he was laid off this past spring.
He received severance payments, and then got a short-term contract somewhere else until November. All of that has meant more uncertainty but no real change to his income so far. He’s hoping to line up another job soon but is finding the job market in London challenging.
“Being further away from Toronto, there’s less jobs and less opportunities,” he says. “It’s been limiting career-wise and the salary levels haven’t caught up.”
Now, with his wife expecting a second baby any day, the family is bracing for new challenges. Gord had to drop plans of taking the paternity leave he’d dreamed of and will be working through the early days of having a baby at home.
“We’ve got a good emergency fund and don’t have any debt other than a mortgage, so I’m feeling okay that things will work out,” he said. “At the moment, I’m feeling okay that we can get through to January and the spring.
“Maybe ask me again at the end of November.”
His typical monthly expenses:
Investment and savings: $200
$0 to savings account. “We were able to build up an emergency fund before we bought a house but don’t actively contribute to it since, other than annual bonuses and tax returns.”
$0 to RRSP. “I was contributing $400 and it was matched at my former job.”
$200 to RESP. “Robo-adviser Wealthsimple managed growth portfolio.”
Servicing debt: $2,150
$0 to student debt. “I had $40,000 and paid it off five years ago.”
$2,150 to mortgage.
Household and transportation: $2,658
$92 on property insurance. “Just changed providers; down from $166.”
$349 on property tax.
$65 on utilities.
$1,000 on renovations. “Average maintenance/improvement over 12 months.”
$300 on gas.
$166 on car insurance.
$500 on car repairs. “Regular oil changes plus new brakes and struts this year.”
$26 on Uber or taxis.
$100 on cellphones. “Including my spouse.”
$60 on internet.
Food and drink: $1,750
$1,000 on groceries. “We talk about it all the time. ‘How can we cut this down?’ It seems like so much.”
$700 on restaurants. “Crabby Joe’s on a Sunday night when kids eat free, or takeout on days when we’re too tired to do meal planning.”
$50 on alcohol.
Miscellaneous: $3,173
$1,810 to income tax. “$27,328.18 deducted last year.”
$600 on children. “Diapers, activities, clothing, furniture.”
$200 on entertainment. “We’re both former musicians so we love going to concerts.”
$200 on hobbies, clothing and personal services.
$20 on Spotify. “Family account.”
$100 on vacations. “Average over 12 months.”
$70 on donations. “When our daughter was born, we cut back a bit, and when I lost my job we cut back on donations again.”
$173 on gifts. “Christmas, birthdays, weddings, birth of children.”
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.
