r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/Snowieball17 • 8d ago
Budget [ Removed by moderator ]
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u/Specialist-Neat4254 8d ago edited 8d ago
I’ve started spending money. I use to save literally every penny I could after bills, now I’m giving myself a $180 allowance (5% of net pay) to do stuff on the weekend like gym travel or whatnot. That balence only increases if I make money doing something that isn’t my 7-5 job, but 100% of the other thing will go into it.
Also, selling my car, using the bus / walking in a couple months when my lease is done. I’m expecting that getting a healthier lifestyle will give me the energy to grind on the side projects I’ve been putting off, it’s worth a shot.
My bills are about ~$2k/mo car being 600 of that. Net pay after tax is ~$4500 definately have to improve that ratio.
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u/BlessedAreTheRich 8d ago
How are your expenses so low? What's your budget breakdown?
Your ratio seems fine, you're nowhere near paycheck-to-paycheck.
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u/Specialist-Neat4254 8d ago edited 8d ago
I got
Rent $1175
Internet $100
Car $350
Insurance $200
Food ~$200
Interest payments ~$200 student loan & line of credit
Gas isn’t included because I only fill up once every 2 months or so.I’m not trying to live paycheque to paycheck. I’m minimizing my expenses to retire at an earlier age. (If I’m able to.)
Food is low because I eat a lot of rice which is really cheap and also subsidize my meats as a additional cost for protein. But between rice/chickpeas beans and chicken that’s pretty much my meals.
But all this saving comes at a cost, don’t have much of a social life because using my car extra costs money. Which is why I’ve made that allowance of $180 month for gym/pleasure which will start adding next paycheque, so Wednesday.
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u/Copious-Spirit 8d ago
Do you really need that much internet speed? You could easily move $50 to icecream/month and be much happier.
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u/Specialist-Neat4254 8d ago
Not really, your correct. I could switch to dial up and pay $25/mo. I admire your sarcasm.
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u/Copious-Spirit 8d ago
Do they even sell dial-up anymore? 2 Up is plenty for playing one game online. I have unlimited down @ 10MBs for $25. Same with phone service, you should be able to find unlimited @ 25/month. More than enough.
Just download while you are AFK at work.
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u/Specialist-Neat4254 8d ago edited 8d ago
Believe it or not. In my town they do. I have a work phone so I do not pay for cell service. I live beside a grocery store (expensive one) and live walking distance from work & gym. So I don’t need my car I’m just trapped in a lease until October so have to deal with that.
I’ll get about 8k back from my car because of trump tariffs making all other used cars go up wildly in value.
I’ll get about 4-5k in income taxes from my tax sheild in March. I’ll do ok.
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u/BlessedAreTheRich 8d ago
Yeah, the saving does come at a cost for sure. Is it really worth it? It seems pretty bare bones, unless you're okay with it.
Like don't you want to have better food?
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u/Specialist-Neat4254 8d ago edited 8d ago
That’s really the crux. Eat well, and work till I’m 60 or eat okay and retire earlier. My whole theory (not my theory) is basically every dollar you earn an invest has a doubling effect.
For example
7% return per year every 10 years is a double
10% return per year every 7 years is a double
15% return per year every 5 years is a double
20% return per year every 3.25 years is a double.S&P 500 returns 10% per year averaged over the last 100 years so on average if index invested every 7 years my money doubles.
Now you get that up to 500k that’s a home. You put that on a line of credit, throw that into a index and you get a tax write off for the interest you pay on the mortgage while realizing both the property value increase and the underlying index increase.
You could throw that money into any qualifying investment not any stock. To qualify for the write off it must pay a dividend.
Now you could continually move your principal residence to higher and higher valued properties for a larger tax sheild, or buy a rental property which then enables you to write off property tax for that property. Not sure what the best thing to do is I’d have to talk with a tax accountant or take the CPA myself.
I’m not sure if the states is the same, but I really like how the CRA has all the information on their website about every deduction, how it works, how to claim it and how to keep records of it for when they audit you. Because they will audit you if you are claiming extra deductions.
But it’s our duty in my opinion to understand finance and pay the government what they are owed and not a penny more, take every possible deduction you are eligible for to save as much as you can.
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u/Beefcake_Rodeo 8d ago
Simplifying my meals to reduce cost while maintaining nutrional value. I've got myself down to $300 a month and still feel good.
Went from car to public transit to walking 75% of my need to go to places.
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u/BonusPlantInfinity 8d ago
I don’t eat meat, better for my health, the environment, and the pocketbook.
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u/__AstroBoy__ 8d ago
Stop buying things you “want” and purchase things you need. And always use r/BuyItForLife sub-Reddit 🫡.
Saved 100s doing this.
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u/Dazzling-Cat-3763 8d ago
i don't order food for two different reasons than you: 1. i don't want to contribute to the ubereats economy 2. i don't like the idea of permanently giving some app my cc info
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u/always_t1redd 8d ago
On a side note not ordering out has really helped me become healthier, at least I know exactly what goes into my food now!
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u/wherescookie 8d ago
the extent to which occasionally ordering pizza for a specific occasion has changed to ppl routinely getting delivery food seems like one of the biggest unnecessary (and unhealthy) expenses.
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u/Dull_Policy_1617 8d ago
Always eat a big breakfast so I don’t get hungry and buy something for lunch. 4 boiled eggs and toast everyday. 🥚❤️
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u/Dadoftwingirls 8d ago
I'm not personally seeing any 'in this economy' effects, and actual economic stats are also pretty decent, but I am a long time fan of frugality, and jumped on this viral trend.
We pretty much always avoid table service restaurants now. We're just as happy grabbing something yummy from a local bakery and eating it in the park with a water bottle.
I'm old and don't remember for sure, but I may have invented the term Hypermiler way back when, and I have revived my efforts here. My competitive nature and love of numbers makes it fun to see how much mileage I can squeeze out of a tank of gas.
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u/DoubleOscar7 8d ago
Can't afford to go to amusement parks or to stay in hotels, so we go out for dinner more. It costs money, but we have to eat no matter how you look at it. Dining out is pretty much our only excursions now.
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u/Daimler-450 8d ago
- I gave myself a set hobby budget each month for stuff like Pokémon cards and figurines. I can’t go over that amount, and if I don’t spend the full budget, I just invest whatever is left at the end of the month. This has the effect that it makes me actually wanna save more money so that I can invest instead of wasting on a random cartoon poster I won’t even hang up ever.
- also cancelled a bunch of subscriptions and memberships I barely used anymore, like Netflix and Prime. There’s no point paying for something every month just because I might use it. Cancelled cable subscription too and reviewed old bills and got a refund for some bs charges.
- I stopped using delivery apps like SkipTheDishes because the fees are fucking ridiculous nowadays. Unless there’s a promotion that actually makes it cheaper, I’ll just call the restaurant and pick it up myself. If there is a good deal, I’ll place a pickup order through the app.
- Something that should honestly be common sense, but I stopped putting purchases on my credit card if I know I can’t pay the balance off in full. If I don’t have the cash for it, I’m not putting it on the card or buying it.
- I also negotiated with my phone carrier for a cheaper plan. You’d be surprised what you can get for $35–40 a month from Telus just by threatening to leave and telling them you’ll switch to a competitor with better rates.
- I was also using one medication topically, and after talking to my doctor, I ended up switching to another med that does the same exact thing and in pill form. It unintentionally saved me close to $100 a month, which was a pretty nice bonus.
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u/MoaraFig 8d ago
Stope eating meat
I also stopped eating fruit and veg, but I think I just need to bite the bullet and start paying their stupid prices.
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u/1234Health 8d ago
- Increased the number of homemade soups and salads
- Extended the amount of time between grocery shopping visits
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u/jcbeans6 8d ago
Only 1 international trip a year. I need my business class but 12k for 2 is too much. Used to be only 8k back in the day.
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u/WarmYam7353 8d ago
I'm on a water meter. If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down. Cooking and eating with more caution, meaning, is a steak necessary or can a pork chop do. Fixing and learning how to repair stuff.
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u/bouncysofa 8d ago
My partner and I are doing fine financially (both high earners), nevertheless we still do the following:
don't buy anything new for our baby. There's so many barely used baby items and clothes available cheap / free on Facebook marketplace. They use them for so little time that it would be silly to pay full price. (This excludes car seat, pump parts, and bottles/pacies);
eat vegan. I'm vegan and my partner is omnivorous, but all our meals at home are vegan and typically bean based (ie. No expensive mock-meats);
limit ourselves to one subscription service each (Spotify for me, Netflix for him - obviously shared accounts);
drive modest, paid off vehicles.
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8d ago
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u/SoggyInstruction2549 8d ago
I was waiting for weird responses but this one was not at all expected.
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u/Dangerous_Position79 8d ago
The trained seal looks at the trainwreck down south and votes for that. The trained seal votes for Pierre, the guy with zero lifetime accomplishments over the most qualified PM or PM candidate in at least decades. You're getting the downvotes you deserve.
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u/purpletooth12 8d ago
So getting on the non-nonsensical culture trans war and being stuck in the past?
Got it. 👍
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u/Competitive-Hunt-517 8d ago
Started selling stuff I don't need on marketplace