What are your monthly fixed expenses like?

[Ficbot]

I've been working on some budget stuff and was just curious how my expenses compare to everyone elses. Fwiw I am single, live in a big expensive city and don't have a car These are my monthly fixed (i.e. non-negotiable) expenses:

Rent $700 (1 bdrm apartmemt, includes all utils, cable and internet)
Telecom $50 (cell phone; I don't have a landline)
Bus Pass $100 (I do not have a car, so the transit pass is an essential)
Student loan $150 (this can fluctuate sometimes, but this is the average)

I have some other non-optional expenses, but they don't come up every month. These four things, plus food/entertainment, make up my budget. I got VERY lucky with my apartment: it's a basement, but it's BIG and literally includes everything. I know people who live in worse places than me and pay more, or they live in slightly better places, pay the same but then have to pay for power, water, cable, internet etc. and it adds up. Mine includes the works.

I don't make a ton of money, but I am doing okay because of my comparitively low apartment costs. My cousin lives in a total dump, with two roommates and pays $200 less than me but she does have to pay for amenities too, so I am not sure she saves much over me, plus she has to put up with the roommates

I do tend to spend a lot on food, but part of that is because I have a lot of food allergies and have to buy specialty products for certain items. However, my tax refund will be enough to pay off the last of my credit card (I am responsible with it, but went overseas for awhile and had some expenses related to coming back) and I am upgrading my credentials over the summer to hopefully get a better job. So I am feeling okay about things, overall

[Boo Radley]

Welcome to SmartCanucks Ficbot. Nice to have you on here

Here are my approximate monthly expenses:

Rent: $550 (Half the cost of a 2 bdrm very clean apartmemt, includes utils)
Home phone (Bell): $28
Internet (symaptico): $30
Cell phone (rogers): $35
Cable (cogeco): $55
Bus pass: $0 (included with Queen's tuition fees)

Queen's tuition fees: ~$5000/year

Other major expenses:
Food/Drink
Entertainment
Travel

Main income:
Queen's graduate school awards/scholarship + TAing = $26,000/year (normally it's a total of $19,000 but this year I got an Ontario graduate scholarship)

[Ficbot]

I went to Queen's for my undergrad! I loved it. I had a really good experience there. Right now, I am teaching part-time and I also run my own part-time child care business (babysitting, but I have regular clients who give me set hours). I am hoping to take the French credential over the summer. Still waiting to hear if I got in, but I should know this week. If I don't get in, I'll have to network a little harder, but come September, I am really aiming for a full-time teaching job.

[Kate]

Here are my approx. monthly expenses:

Rent: $575 (1 bdrm apartment, includes heat and water, share with boyfriend, my half is $287.50)
Hydro: $45
Home phone (Bell): $30
Long Distance (Yak): $10
Internet (Sympatico): $50 (need to call and get it changed)
Cell phone (Rogers): $60 (that's 2 cellphones)
Cable (Rogers): $90 (tonnes of channels we don't need, plus super sports pack)
Bus pass: $45

[momg]

rent 575 2bed room my girls share a room very nice neighborhood includes heat
cable/phone/internet-200 i bundle(only source of entertainment we don't go out)
power-100-150 every 2 months
364-loan for car
60 for insurance
110 minimal for cell phones (are essential my husband travels for work and it is cheaper for cells than to pay long distance free 500 long distance min)
150 loan

[Gilly]

Ok, our family is Me (I'm 24) my husband, (he's 24) and our daughter Sky (she's 5), and a cat. I don't work, and housing in our area is fairly cheap (for example the exact same house at our last base in North Bay, Ontario was $650/month. THE SAME house!)

Rent- $395/month (3 bedroom 1200 sqft house, (not including the basement, which is also completely finished (and SUPER handy as a HUGE playroom.. neighborhood kids pratically live at my house.. I have swings and bars, and hammocks and slides in the basement)

Power- 144/month (we are on an equal billing plan, so it costs less in the winter, and you make up for it in the summer)

Phone- $60

Expressvu/tv-$50

Insurance- (We don't pay monthly, it was only $130 a year!)

Line of credit- $400/month (which is technically our car loan.. but cheaper interest, and a few other consolidated items.


I think that's pretty much everything we pay.... my husband went to college (Avionics engineering), but joined the military a couple months in, and they covered the cost of that... so, we didn't have school fees, anymore...

The only other cost I can think of is my daughters school. In Quebec, you have to pay for "childcare" during school hours, So, at lunch time, everyday, you technically pay for a supervisor to watch your kid (her school is a 45 minute bus ride away.. (an english immersion school), and the school fees were around $380 for the year, EVERY year. Ack. I miss Ontario!

We also spend about.. $250/month on groceries... AND we NEVER go out.... so, no "entertainment" expenses.. and I don't "shop".

So, there's MY list!

[2girlsmom]

I must be doing something wrong because my expenses are much higher than any of yours.

Mortgage $493 every two weeks
Hydro $120@month
Gas $100@month
bell $30@month
Cell(bell) $25@month
Internet(bell) $30@month
House insurnace $55@month
Car insurance $128@month two cars
life insurance $89@month
RESP $30@month
Food is around $100@week
No credit cards
Entertaiment and extras $100@week, we all bowl on different bowling leagues.

I make around $1100@month and so does my DH, so we still have money in the bank at the end of the month.

[Gilly]

2girlsmom--I found a BIG money saver was moving here, and our insurance going down! For example... YOUR monthly insurance is my YEARLY cost. Then, your mortgage payment is more than TWICE my payment for my Q, You spend twice the amount I do on groceries, and spend money on extras, and entertainment... and I don't... and for gas... well, we only have one car, and my husband only walks 1 minute to work! (we live on base So, a tank of gas in our little car (toyota echo) usually lasts us all month, and is about... 35 dollars to fill. Lol, how sad, we NEVER go out!

However, BOTH you and your husband work, whereas, I sit on my butt on the computer all day


Plus, we are CHEAP.
When we first moved out on our own, we were 18, and made under 15,000/year, and lived on our own in an apartment in Halifax. We had to be SUPER thrifty, (i mean, SUPER!) and we simply can't grow out of it, even though we make 3 times that amount now, we still live the same way as always...

My mother always jokes, that if I won HUGE at the lottery, I would still shop at "frenchies", and value village, and buy marked down meat (And, i would too!

Oops. Babbling.

[frugiedh]

Ya so this was a depressing post for me. Gosh, I wish I had some of these monthy expenses!! I just recently wrote all mine down (and NOT including FOOD, GAS which fluctuates every week) it is around $2600. Groceries and gas will probably add another $700 or so per month...then there's the kids activity fees and entertainment costs and blah blah blah...

[dawnikus]

I went to Queen's for my undergrad! I loved it. I had a really good experience there. Right now, I am teaching part-time and I also run my own part-time child care business (babysitting, but I have regular clients who give me set hours). I am hoping to take the French credential over the summer. Still waiting to hear if I got in, but I should know this week. If I don't get in, I'll have to network a little harder, but come September, I am really aiming for a full-time teaching job.

My husband belongs to a networking community called - LinkedIn.com

Maybe that might help you to network with others in your community? I was surprised when he signed up how many of his friends were already members.

PS welcome to SC

[dawnikus]

Your GDR - Gross Debt Ratio shouldn't be more than 32% if it is more than that you should sit down and do a budget and possibly see where cut backs can be made. Easier said than done right? I hear ya, Im just spewing out what I learned in class recently and figured Id share it with you all.

In regards to the topic - We came from a 3bedroom townhouse where rent was 682/mth, hydro was 175/mth in the winter and about 120 in the summer. Water was incl in our rent so we didnt have to worry about that and groceries were about 300/mth. My bus pass was about 72/mth and my daughters daycare was 100+- a month depending on the month.

NOW - We are looking at rent in around 1500 for a 3 bedroom house relatively close to his work and college for myself. busing is hella confusing but passes are cheaper. We dont have my daughter in daycare yet because I dont start school til sept. We will be paying for water, hydro, gas, garbage disposal service and whatever else they spring on us. The only discount we will get is for our cellular phone service.

Everywhere we drive in Seattle, all we see are houses for sale, not cheap either I might add. Houses that are about 80K in Winnipeg are around 300K here, its ridiculous! People here are living way beyond their means and I just think geeze what did we get ourselves into? *sigh* I saw a family living in their van a few days ago. I made my husband take me to the local supermarket so I could get a Gift Card and I had him drive me back to their van so I could give it to them. The husband said he doesn't accept charity and I told him I found the GC on the ground and I thought it was theirs (grin), his wife told me thank you and I left.

[bcteagirl]

Rent- 650 (comes with cable)
Phone and internet- 60
Hydro and heat- 40-70 depending
Groceries- varies a lot, depends if I stock up on something on sale

[momg]

wow bcteagirl you got a good deal I wish i got away without paying cable,phone and internet i would save a bundle!

[bcteagirl]

No, I pay for phone and internet..60$ a month! I dont pay for cable.... and could not get the place any cheaper without it lol.

[CanadaLovesFree]

Rez: $5,500 for 8 months (then they kick you out!)--includes basic landline and internet, heat..all that good stuff (really expensive though per month!!!!)
Phone: $10 approx--have to put $$ on a phone card to dial out
Transit: say...$15 a month??? I get tickets or tokens for TTC, and GO train home to my parents
Food: spend about $80 every 3rd week (I already have stocked up stuff, that is for fresh and things I've ran out of)
Tuition: $5,500 year + additional fees + supplies

I'm not a spender...but my basic costs of rez and tuition put me at $11,000 .... oh well, have to become ed-ju-ma-cated!!!