Uplands of swan lake . The girl earns $48000 a year and is in a hurry to buy a house! Elizabeth lives in Halifax City, Northwestern Province, and rents a 2-bedroom Condo for C $650 a month.
Such rents are much lower than the average in the Greater Toronto area. She works as a government research coordinator with an annual salary of C $48500 and low daily expenses.
“I like cooking, so I usually eat at home,” she said. When I go to work, I always bring lunch. ” She lives close to her place of work and saves a lot of commuting expenses. “I commute on foot, so the cost of transportation is very low. Last year, I bought out my car with my savings. Now, I can save more money and prepare a down payment on the house. “
During the blockade of the epidemic, she occasionally ate and drank with her friends, but not as often as she used to.
“apart from small road trips to beaches and holiday homes with friends, I didn’t do much on weekends,” Elizabeth said. I’m used to having friends over for drinks instead of going to bars. “
At present, she has accelerated her goal of buying a house with her partner. “We are eager to save a 20 per cent down payment for a C $30 to C $350000 house. I don’t want to spend all my savings on down payments, especially with the rising housing market in Noh province. “
“the housing market here has broken out since the outbreak began, so we are doing our best to save money until the market stabilizes,” Elizabeth said.
In addition, she will have a generous pension when she works for the government. Now she has accumulated C $20, 000 in her TFSA and RRSP accounts.
“I want to set up an emergency fund and maybe invest it, and it will grow over time,” she said. Next year, I have a lot of weddings to attend, which may cost a lot of money, so I want to set aside some money for it. “
Every month, she saves about C $525 from her salary and expects a salary increase of C $3000 in October. Because of her frugal lifestyle, she sometimes worries about not rewarding herself.
“I mainly cut back on shopping and beauty expenses,” Elizabeth said. I do feel stressed sometimes because I don’t have much money to squander after paying my bills and saving money. “
The following is a list of her expenses for two weeks in a row. Although she doesn’t spend a lot of money, she can have a good time.
In this regard, financial expert Jason Heath gave her the following suggestions and opinions.
Young people across Canada have similar concerns-rising house prices and declining affordability. Prices in Halifax are much lower than in other cities, but the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reports that the number of detached houses in Halifax-Dartmouth increased by more than 28% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2021.
2 Elizabeth and her partner aim for a 20% down payment, or a budget of C $60, 000 to C $70, 000, to buy a C $30-C $350000 house. In fact, they only need a down payment of 5%. Assuming that her partner earns about the same as her, and earns $48000 a year, they are likely to get a 95% mortgage.
According to Elizabeth’s savings rate, she can save 10 per cent of the down payment in about two years. If her partner can do the same, then their financial development track is very good.
Her savings rate is really good, accounting for about 13% of her total income. To do this, she had to take lunch, walk to work, drive a fully paid car, and have a drink at home with friends. And she spends 80% of her food spending on groceries and rarely eats out.
She has saved money for several weddings to attend next year. There is no doubt that many weddings have been postponed because of the epidemic. But such extra spending highlights the importance of realistic budgets. Look at your actual spending over the past year to make a reasonable budget for the future. This is life.
6 if Elizabeth gets a raise in October, then I think she should save extra cash flow users. As her income increases, she is advised to set aside some of her savings, which can prevent lifestyle changes and lead to an increase in expenses. If you save too much and spend too little, it is easier to change the way you save than to change your lifestyle. As the saying goes, it is easier to move from frugality to extravagance than from extravagance to frugality.