{"id":1141,"date":"2025-05-16T11:00:28","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T11:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/?p=1141"},"modified":"2025-05-18T08:30:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T08:30:14","slug":"a-week-in-toronto-on-a-169000-household-income","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/16\/a-week-in-toronto-on-a-169000-household-income\/","title":{"rendered":"A Week In Toronto On A $169,000 Household Income"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to<\/em> <\/em>Money Diaries<\/a> where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We\u2019re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period \u2014 and we\u2019re tracking every last dollar.<\/p>\n

Today: a lead designer working who has a $169,000 household income and who spends some of her money this week on zucchini relish for her mother-in-law\u2019s birthday.<\/em> If you\u2019d like to submit your own Money Diary, you can do so via our <\/em>online form<\/em><\/a>. We pay $150 for each published diary. Apologies but we\u2019re not able to reply to every email.<\/em><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: <\/em><\/strong>All amounts are in Canadian dollars. <\/em><\/p>\n

Occupation: <\/strong>Lead designer
Industry: <\/strong>Architecture\/design
Age: <\/strong>36
Location: <\/strong>Toronto
Salary: <\/strong>$79,000.00
Household Income\/Finances Setup: <\/strong>$169,000.00 ($79,000 + $90,000). My partner M. and I aren\u2019t married (yet), but we share a house and have a two-year-old child together. We have a joint account which we both put money in to cover our fixed shared monthly expenses (mortgage, property taxes, utilities, daycare, etc.) but we both still have our own separate bank accounts as well. We\u2019re not very strict on who covers what for some of the things that fluctuate a bit more (groceries, household items, diapers, etc.) but I think in general it usually ends up being pretty even between us.
Assets:<\/strong> House: $510,000; joint savings: $3,000; personal savings: $6,600 (includes savings account, TFSA, and RRSP); personal investments: $2,300.
Debt: <\/strong>Personal debt: $9,700; mortgage: $470,000.
Paycheck Amount (per month):<\/strong> $4,800
Pronouns: <\/strong>She\/her<\/p>\n

Shared Monthly Expenses
<\/strong>
Housing Costs:<\/strong> $2,046 (mortgage payment; M. and I split this).
Property Taxes:<\/strong> $279.76
Electricity:<\/strong> $168
Water:<\/strong> $68 (we pay $204 quarterly).
Home Insurance:<\/strong> $131.35
Daycare:<\/strong> $440
RESP Contribution: <\/strong>$100<\/p>\n

Personal Monthly Expenses
<\/strong>
Life Insurance:<\/strong> $32.40
Car Insurance:<\/strong> $156.67
Gas:<\/strong> Averages around $100 (but ranges from $31 to $203 depending on the time of year).
Phone Bill:<\/strong> $70.48
RRSP contributions: <\/strong>$100
Debt Payments:<\/strong> $675 (I\u2019ve been paying down my personal line of credit as much as I can; this payment fluctuates slightly month to month, but this is around the average).<\/p>\n

Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it?<\/strong>
I always knew I wanted to go to university; I think from the time I was around 12 years old I decided I wanted to be an architect. I was incredibly fortunate that my parents covered the cost of my higher education \u2014 they paid for my undergrad tuition and living costs, as well as my graduate tuition. I took out a government loan for my master\u2019s degree so that I did not have to work while I was attending university. Between that money, my savings, and working over the summers I was able to cover my living expenses.<\/p>\n

Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent(s)\/guardian(s) educate you about finances?<\/strong>
My parents were fairly open about money; they both worked and had good paying jobs so we never really had to worry about anything money related growing up. We got a weekly allowance for doing our chores which started when we were quite young. My mom would write us each a check (I have two sisters) for $3 each week and would take us to the bank to deposit it. Beyond setting us up to \u201csave money\u201d, they let us learn about it on our own. We were aware of the cost of things, like going to the movies or buying new clothes, but they never hesitated to give us the things we wanted or asked for.<\/p>\n

What was your first job and why did you get it?<\/strong>
My first job was a line cook at Papa John\u2019s Pizza. I got it because my sister worked there and they were looking to hire. I was 14, so I was excited about earning my own money.

Did you worry about money growing up?<\/strong>
My dad was an engineer in the oil industry so his employment did depend on the boom and bust periods. I distinctly remember them having a conversation with me and my sisters one time when my dad was laid off from work: They sat us down and told us we\u2019d only be able to buy the essentials for a while. I\u2019m not sure if it was my age (I was maybe around 8 or 9?) but that gave me a lot of anxiety around money and I had this feeling of stress around spending too much money on things. Even after my dad found new work and things generally went back to normal, I had this fear that we were \u201cover spending\u201d, even though I don\u2019t think I had much of a reference point for what things cost versus what we could afford.<\/p>\n

Do you worry about money now?<\/strong>
I worry about the debt I\u2019m currently carrying: It\u2019s the first time in my life that I\u2019ve had personal debt that\u2019s not tied to an asset (like my car or the house). When I collected employment insurance while I was on maternity leave it wasn\u2019t quite enough to cover our expenses, so I ended up using some money from my line of credit to make ends meet. It\u2019s not an overwhelming amount, and I know I will get it paid off. In the end, I know we\u2019re very fortunate that both my partner R. and I have incredibly supportive families. If we were ever in serious financial trouble, we definitely have a safety net that would help us out in any way they could.

At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
<\/strong>I became fully financially responsible for myself at age 26 when I graduated from my master\u2019s program. M. and I are both fortunate to have families that would step in financially if we lost our housing or if either of us lost our source of income and we weren\u2019t able to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.<\/strong>
No.<\/p>\n

Day One: Sunday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

9 a.m. \u2014 My partner M. and I trade off getting up early with our son, F., on the weekends; today was my day to sleep in. I wake up, shower, and make a coffee to go with my bagel and cream cheese. I usually get to eat about half the breakfast I make; F. is two years old and always wants bites of whatever we\u2019re having (even though he already ate his own breakfast).<\/p>\n

10 a.m. \u2014 I only get to drink half my coffee before F. decides it\u2019s time for a walk. We head out while my husband gets some extra sleep after waking up at 5:30 a.m. We end up at our local coffee shop; since I didn\u2019t get to finish my first coffee, I stop to grab a chai latte and a scone for F. His favorite thing now is any kind of treat while we\u2019re out. $11.70<\/strong><\/p>\n

10:10 a.m. \u2014 There\u2019s a little market attached to the coffee shop so we talk a walk through there. I found someone selling zucchini relish. My mother-in-law has been searching high and low for it so I grab two jars because her birthday is coming up. $14.69<\/strong><\/p>\n

2:15 p.m. \u2014 I heat up some leftovers for lunch; M. made short ribs with mashed potatoes and carrots last night and they make excellent leftovers. He made the effort to go to the butcher for the meat instead of just the grocery store like we usually do, so I don\u2019t want any of it to go to waste.<\/p>\n

6:30 p.m. \u2014 It\u2019s Sunday and we did our \u201cfancy\u201d recipe last night, so for dinner we see what\u2019s in the pantry and the fridge and decide to make mac and cheese with hot dogs. My son is happy with any kind of noodles so we throw that together with some cherry tomatoes.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $26.39<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Two: Monday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

6:30 a.m. \u2014 M. leaves for work at 6:20 a.m.; since my work schedule is the more flexible one, I take care of getting F. up and off to daycare for the day. For the longest time he was waking up at 5:30 a.m.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0I\u2019m grateful for the extra hour of sleep he\u2019s giving me in the mornings lately. We get up; F. always has half a bagel and some of whatever fruit we have in the fridge. I make an egg sandwich for myself (or mostly for myself \u2014\u00a0F. will always have a few bites with ketchup). I\u2019ve been seeing a naturopath to try to get my energy levels back up and she suggested increasing my protein intake at breakfast (but part of me knows this is just my new life with a toddler and no amount of protein will help\u2026).<\/p>\n

7:20 a.m. \u2014 I usually manage to get F. dropped off at daycare between 7:15 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., depending on how long it takes us to get dressed and out of the house. It\u2019s only a 10-minute drive from our place, so I drop him off and head back to work from home for the day.<\/p>\n

12:30 p.m. \u2014 I heat up more of the short ribs and potatoes for lunch. M. is not a big fan of leftovers so I always feel like it\u2019s on me to use them up before they go bad. I don\u2019t mind though, when I\u2019m working from home I don\u2019t want to run out just to grab lunch.<\/p>\n

2:45 p.m. \u2014 I usually try to wrap up what I\u2019m doing by 3 p.m. so I can go pick F. up. I realize I\u2019m very low on gas so I make a note to stop on the way back home.<\/p>\n

3:05 p.m. \u2014 I need to commute for work in the morning so I can\u2019t put off getting gas any longer. I make sure to stop at the gas station where I get 3 cents off\/litre through a promo deal with my bank. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I do freelance work for a designer that\u2019s about 30 minutes away from my house. I know I\u2019m lucky I get to work from home most of the time, but I still don\u2019t enjoy the commute two days a week. $81.92<\/strong><\/p>\n

5 p.m. \u2014 I didn\u2019t stop at the grocery store, but I check the freezer and we have a tourti\u00e8re we can cook for dinner along with a bag of salad that we didn\u2019t eat over the weekend that won\u2019t last much longer anyway. I throw the tourti\u00e8re in the oven because it takes an hour to cook and F. will be hungry soon.<\/p>\n

6:15 p.m. \u2014 M. got a promotion in January and his work hours were adjusted so he can leave an hour before he used to. It\u2019s been nice being able to eat dinner together. When he was getting home later I would usually have to cook one dinner for F. and then M. and I would end up eating our dinner after he went to bed, but luckily now we all eat dinner and then F. gets to play for an hour before bedtime.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $81.92<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Three: Tuesday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

6:30 a.m. \u2014 We do our usual morning routine \u2014 breakfast, get dressed and packed for daycare, load everything and everyone into the car. We make it there for 7:15 a.m. today which is nice because I have a bit of extra work to catch up on before I head to my freelance job for the day.<\/p>\n

9:30 a.m. \u2014 I work part time for a development company and supplement that income with my freelance work, so I wrap up what I\u2019ve been doing and head to my second job\u00a0for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n

1:15 p.m. \u2014 Sometimes the lady I work for will put together a lunch for us. Today she brought down a plate of hummus, pita bread, peppers, olives and pickled turnips. It\u2019s all delicious and I\u2019m grateful not to be eating leftovers again for lunch.<\/p>\n

2:15 p.m. \u2014 I head out to pick up F. from daycare. I\u2019m a half an hour farther away than I would be if I was working from home so I have to end my work day a little earlier.<\/p>\n

3:15 p.m. \u2014 I always take F. with me when I go grocery shopping. He loves the store so it\u2019s like free entertainment (well, free except for the price of the groceries) that keeps him occupied for half an hour. We grab stuff to make tacos, a pasta dish with alfredo and salmon, asparagus, and some other staples that we\u2019re out of (mustard, coffee cream, bagels, and yogurt). F. talks me into getting a new flavor of bear paws for his afternoon snacks as well. $61.67<\/strong><\/p>\n

4 p.m. \u2014 F. and I get home and unpack the groceries. He decides he wants to go for a walk to the park so we bundle up and head out. He\u2019s walking further and not using the stroller as much, so we\u2019re gone for almost an hour and half.<\/p>\n

6 p.m. \u2014 We decide to make the tacos for dinner \u2014 they\u2019re always quicker to make than I think they will be. M. gets home and we all eat dinner together. After F. goes to bed we do our usual routine picking something to watch and scrolling through our phones. We\u2019re trying not to fall behind on all our shows, so we put on an episode of Severance<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $61.67<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Four: Wednesday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

6:15 a.m. \u2014 Even though I wake up at 6:15 a.m., F. decides to sleep in longer than usual and I don\u2019t get him out of his crib until 6:45 a.m. I try to rush through breakfast a little bit and we manage to get to daycare by 7:45 a.m.<\/p>\n

8 a.m. \u2014 It\u2019s another work from home day today. I do freelance work for a second designer as well, but her workload is fairly light right now so I haven\u2019t had to dedicate as many hours for her as I usually do. It\u2019s been a lot of work mentally to juggle schedules for essentially three jobs, but I\u2019ve felt the difference with the extra income so it\u2019s definitely been worth it in the end. Today is a bit of a slow day, but I\u2019ve learned to enjoy those whenever they come around.<\/p>\n

12 p.m. \u2014 I finish off the last of our short rib leftovers (I don\u2019t think they were going to be edible for much longer anyway). They\u2019re still delicious but I\u2019m glad they\u2019ll be gone after today.<\/p>\n

2:15 p.m. \u2014 Since I don\u2019t have an overwhelming amount of work to keep on top of at the moment, I end my work day a little earlier. I\u2019ve been watching The Newsroom<\/em>; it\u2019s one of the few shows M. and I aren\u2019t watching together so I can put on an episode without him and not feel guilty about it. I watch an episode and fold some laundry so I can still feel like I\u2019m accomplishing something. I always find it hard to just relax in the middle of a work day even when I don\u2019t have anything I need to get done.<\/p>\n

3:15 p.m. \u2014 I pick F. up from daycare and we entertain ourselves at home until it\u2019s time to cook dinner. We opt for the pasta dish with salmon for dinner; I mix in some frozen broccoli to round out the meal.<\/p>\n

8 p.m. \u2014 After getting F. to bed for the night we put on an episode of Reacher<\/em>. We know it\u2019s not the best television out there, but it\u2019s easy to watch and keeps us entertained.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Five: Thursday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

5:30 a.m. \u2014 F. wakes up early today \u2014 he must\u2019ve heard M. getting up for his shower. I manage to convince him to go back to sleep (with the help of his pacifier, even though we\u2019ve been trying to get rid of it completely), but there\u2019s no hope of me falling back asleep so I get up for the day. The pacifier keeps him asleep until his usual wake up around 6:30 a.m., we get organized for the day and make it to daycare at 7:15 a.m.<\/p>\n

7:30 a.m. \u2014 I get organized for the day and answer a few emails before I head out at 9:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

2:15 p.m. \u2014 We worked through lunch today, so I stop at Wendy\u2019s on my way to pick up F. from daycare. I try not to buy lunch too often but I love a fast food burger every once in a while \u2014 I get fries and a root beer to go with it. $12.63<\/strong><\/p>\n

2:30 p.m. \u2014 I\u2019m commuting\u00a0for a meeting with a client tomorrow, and I have to print out our proposal package because Staples won\u2019t be open when I head out in the morning. I print three copies and then go pick F. up from daycare. $7.66<\/strong><\/p>\n

6 p.m. \u2014 I ate lunch late so I\u2019m not hungry for dinner at all. I heat up leftover noodles and peas for F. and convince M. to order takeout for ourselves after he goes to bed.<\/p>\n

8 p.m. \u2014 After F. goes to bed, we order from a local pub through Uber Eats. We\u2019ve been trying to cut back on the amount of takeout we do, but we still usually end up ordering dinner at least once a week. I get a buffalo chicken wrap with a side salad; M. is allergic to chicken so whenever we do take out I usually get it, since it\u2019s not something I cook regularly just for myself. He gets a steak sandwich with fries (I had fries for lunch so I didn\u2019t want to have them again, but as soon as I see M.\u2019s fries I regret my decision). Luckily he lets me eat a few. $46.04<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daily Total: $66.33<\/p>\n

Day Six: Friday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

6:30 a.m. \u2014 After a few days slightly off schedule, F. is back to his regular wakeup time. We get up, eat breakfast, and get dressed. After I drop him off I\u2019ll just head straight to my meeting, so I pack up all my work stuff as well. I never know what traffic is going to be like so I like to leave extra time for the commute (it\u2019s usually just under two hours).<\/p>\n

10 a.m. \u2014 There\u2019s an accident on my route which slows me down, but I get there with lots of time to spare. We\u2019re meeting our client at a coffee shop so I grab a coffee when I get there. Since I\u2019m early, I get a piece of banana bread to eat before everyone else arrives. $13.13<\/strong><\/p>\n

1:30 p.m. \u2014 Our meeting goes well and I stay a little longer to review a few other things in person with my colleague. I end up leaving around 1:30 p.m.; I haven\u2019t eaten lunch yet but traffic on the way back isn\u2019t great either and I don\u2019t want to be too late picking up F. I also hate when I don\u2019t plan well enough and have to buy lunch two days in a row, so even though I know I\u2019ll be hungry, I skip getting anything for lunch.<\/p>\n

3:30 p.m. \u2014 I\u2019m a little late picking up F. from daycare, but at least it\u2019s Friday so we can just head home and relax for the weekend. He wants a snack when we get home (and I\u2019m starving), so we share some hummus with veggie straws.<\/p>\n

6 p.m. \u2014 F. has a bath and then we get dinner ready. I didn\u2019t grab anything fresh so we pull out a frozen lasagne and luckily we still have the asparagus from our grocery shopping earlier in the week. I immediately regret doing F.\u2019s bath before dinner when he ends up with lasagne from ear to ear. But we get him cleaned up and have time to relax for an hour before getting him off to bed.<\/p>\n

8:30 p.m. \u2014 Bedtime has been slowly taking longer and longer but F. finally falls asleep and we make it downstairs around 8:30 p.m. There\u2019s a hockey game on tonight that M. wants to watch, so we put that on and I mostly scroll through my phone until I feel like I\u2019ve stayed up late enough for an adult bedtime.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $13.13<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day Seven: Saturday<\/strong><\/h3>\n

6:30 a.m. \u2014 It\u2019s Saturday, and my weekend day to get up with F. After I\u2019m unsuccessful at convincing him to sleep a bit extra in our bed, I finally cave and we go downstairs for breakfast while my partner sleeps in.<\/p>\n

9 a.m. \u2014 F. and I hang out in the living room until M. wakes up around 9 a.m. Usually I would try to get a bit more sleep in, but I\u2019m meeting a friend for lunch so I forgo my usual morning nap so that I have enough time to get ready. M. and F. head out for a morning walk and I\u2019m grateful to have the house to myself while I get ready.<\/p>\n

12 p.m. \u2014 I meet my friend for lunch at a Mexican restaurant that\u2019s halfway between our houses. We both have toddlers so it feels like it takes us months to arrange any sort of get together. We have so much to catch up on that we\u2019re there for almost three hours. We share a bunch of appetizers and split the bill. $75.26<\/strong><\/p>\n

6 p.m. \u2014 I ate lunch late and M. said he was snacking all day, so neither of us was hungry for a big dinner. F. is happy with leftover lasagne and frozen peas so he eats, and decides he wants to do a bath again before bed.<\/p>\n

Daily Total: $75.26<\/p>\n

The Breakdown<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/figure>\n

Conclusion\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cFood and drink is generally our largest spending category on an average week, so looking over the figures, they\u2019re not surprising.\u00a0 We\u2019re lucky that we\u2019re able to walk through the grocery store and buy what we like without having to worry too much about the cost each week. I feel like the area we can cut back on right now would be the amount we eat out \u2014 and when we have food at home that we enjoy, it always makes that decision an easier one. I started tracking our monthly expenses about two years ago so that I could set up a realistic budget for myself. It\u2019s been a good way for me to feel more in control of our money and start to intentionally save for some of the things we want to do in the future without having to sacrifice the things we enjoy on a more day-to-day basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Money Diaries are meant to reflect an individual\u2019s experience and do not necessarily reflect Refinery29\u2019s point of view. Refinery29 in no way encourages illegal activity or harmful behavior.<\/p>\n

The first step to getting your financial life in order is tracking what you spend \u2014 to try on your own, check out our guide to managing your money every day<\/a>. For more Money Diaries, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Do you have a Money Diary you\u2019d like to share? Submit it with us here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Have questions about how to submit or our publishing process? Read our Money Diaries FAQ doc here<\/a> or email us here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Week In Toronto On A $335,000 Household Income<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Money Diaries where we are tackling the ever-present taboo that is money. We\u2019re asking real people how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period \u2014 and we\u2019re tracking every last dollar. Today: a lead designer working who has a $169,000 household income and who spends some of her money this week Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fashion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1141"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1144,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141\/revisions\/1144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.habitaliaimobiliaria.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}