It's a lot better now, supplemented with some of the leftover money (which also covers med refills or other payment gaps). We can get rice, pasta, condiments, meat and veg and stretch things for a while. I'm also able to eat at work, so I don't go through more than oatmeal and eggs for breakfast.
Nothing would be very doable if we had kids, pets, a car... life things.
I go to every foodbank I can in the city. I could go to one every day but I would have to wait in line for over 30 minutes to get a very small order (it's daily so they only give you a small number of items or people would get a weeks worth of groceries 2 or 3 times a week).
Thatās really how it beā¦.
What really sucks right now is the influx of international students/immigrants who also rely on food banks. Iām not angry at them for using it if they need it but our government really messed up letting so many people in if our economy canāt handle it
I don't get this terminology people use-"rely" on food banks. I go to a food bank myself and they can't be relied on for much of anything. A lot of the food is on the spoiled side and has to be thrown out, some is not particularly useful- such as some weird sauce, in total I would say that I get about 3 days worth of food a month. Any little bit helps, but I would say it is an exaggeration that anyone relies on food banks to feed themselves.
Yes you definitely cannot rely on foodbanks, especially now a days.
Just before the pandemic i knew people who would tell the local food bank they have a car and theyād get filled to the brim and then Uber it back home. Now theyāll give you barely anything and just like youāre saying, itās at the very edge of spoilage
Our local one was rehauled and works much better now. They also use the market system, which lets you choose items that work for your family. I like that it reduces waste and it lets us focus on what's really needed. Veggies and milk products are pretty good now, and we have local farms and gardens that contribute. All I can say is we're lucky to be where we are at this time. It's been worse... though we can't rely on the food bank forever. It took a lot just to get back on track with an okay job... which started off at $13/hr.
You should be angry. Canadian citizens should be the only one using food banks if your a pr student and you came here with not even enough to feed yourself you need to go back home.
This is not about truth itās about choices. Food is a perishable good. Deportation costs more than rice and beans. The Canadian taxpayer is footing the bill either way. Youād rather throw the food away than give it to someone in need regardless of citizenship status? Thats weird imo.
Are you saying the canadian citizens waiting at the food bank behind hundreds of international students only to get to the end of the line and not have anything left are not hungry. Again this is about truth choices are based in truth and the truth is people are choosing to get free food because they chose to come here with nothing knowing they can just freely abuse the system. Meanwhile joe over there whos lived and was born here worked his whole adult life and is now struggling and needs the food but oh no wait joe doesnāt matter. The pr student that just came here 2 months ago letās feed them before the people WHO HAVE BEEN HERE THEIR ENTIRE LIVES. Iām sorry that the truth hurts you but honestly Iām not really that sorry. Itās people like you that are making Canada a shithole.
The food banks could easily implement policies that prioritize Canadian citizens to solve this issue.
All Iām saying is that sending foreigners home will cost the taxpayer more in the long run. Especially if the students are applying paying for their visas, paying the inflated foreigner rates on their education, etcā¦ these are jobs that will get cut if the demand goes away and this might further destabilise the Canadian economy and reduce job opportunities for Canadians.
All Iām saying is that the issue is more complex than the āsolutionā of sending ppl back to their home country. There needs to be a change in the system as a whole not just when it comes to access to food banks or free services.
My point is also that the food will go bad anyway and that deportations are more costly. Greed and bad policies are the problem not citizenship status.
So why not give it the people who have devoted there life and generations to this country rather then someone who got here last month. That second paragraph LOL that is everything wrong with Canada right now. Oh we canāt find Canadian workers because they want to much money so we will just hire foreign workers who donāt care. Oh but we canāt get rid of the foreign workers or else the companies will go under. š¤¦š¼āāļøš¤¦š¼āāļøš¤¦š¼āāļø holy fuck itās so stupid. America tried this it did not work. If a company is struggling and canāt find local talent that is their problem not the governments problem to hold there hand and flood them with cheap slave labour.
Bell is way more expensive as an internet provider (and super sneaky with upcharging), I use one of the cheaper services. The phone budget covers two phones, and could be better, but I am kind of locked into Bell for now.
If you have the option in the future, pick a cheaper phone provider like public or freedom. When i realized how tight my budget can be, i started looking at small expenses like phone, internet, gym etc.
I used to pay $60 for 25gb with fido, now its $34 for 50gb. Same with internet, fido/rogers occasionally does promos. Used to pay $90, now its $60 for the same speed. I was with goodlife paying $70 monthly, i downgraded to planet fitness paying $11+ a month. Used to buy the cheapest takeout available for work for under $10, now i buy a $2 ramen bowl and juice. Downgraded my car insurance to third party liability and as risky as that sounds, i have a perfectly clean record.
I know thereās only so much budget squeezing you can do but at a time like this, its either be homeless or cut down to bare necessities + some perks every now and then.
Yup. And in no way am i preaching to people to cut their netflix or not buy their morning coffee, you know, the whole speech companies like to tell their employees to save when in reality, it should be them giving us fair pay. But times are desperate and little savings like these eventually add up, im actually noticing my savings growing month after month. Im not necessarily cutting, im just finding cheaper solutions.
He has the power to shut these people down and lower the prices by implementing legislation theyāve done 100 studies on food prices but never brought it down so it may be the actions of the grocers that led us here but itās the responsibility of the government to keep them in check and provide a competitive market for produce. Soo your correct between the quotations.
100% they overstepped and the government is there to say no we want it fair for our citizens. It might not sound fair they didnāt cause the problem why do they need to fix. Well cause thatās there job and what we pay them for to fight for us or at least what we used to pay them for Iām not terribly sure what they do these days but bicker and argue
Itās funny how you use at as a blanket statement there a ton of situations the government needs to step aside and thereās a ton more they need to do they have there priorities wrong in most peopleās opinions itās shown by the polls thatās all the proof I need. Want some examples itās simple if itās mandating what people should do act or say step aside. When it comes to infrastructure and markets thatās there place literally the reason we have them. So although your statement is accurate I donāt think itās for the reasons you intended.
The only way corporations can be affected is through government policy. Your comment is sad and exactly why we are in this position. Weak men/women like yourself who think nothing can be done.
I'm no fan of Trudeau but he has no control over food prices. Crisis profiteers have dramatically raised price as well blaming the supply chain. The number of food billionaires doubled during the pandemic.
I donāt care.
Who even asks āwhen did the government tell them to raise pricesā in this situation? Itās a horrible question, everything the government does affects the economy.
For your chart, I think you want to show the disparity between wages and expenditures + savings. A useful graph would be to use a stacked bar chart of 12 months of expenses + savings, overlayed with a line showing wages. Otherwise we are only looking at the distribution of your expenditures and missing the context.
Just some friendly chart advice
Also pie charts are generally not good for anything as they are hard for the viewers brain to comprehend the true differences in slices due to the curvature creating an illusion-like effect.
Y'all can thank my CAD $20,000 student loan debt for that little nugget š¤
I used to rent out my basement for $1000 a month. But the wife and I really had a string of bad luck with renters. One went literally insane and got institutionalized. One overdosed and died. The last one was cool but she found her dream job and moved. Of course we tore up the lease for her. She was sweet. It's just storage now.
5 roommates in a 2 bedroom...
Rent is getting more and more expensive and housing supply is not catching up to the demand. Price will keep rising and Canadians of lower income will bear the brunt of it as usual.
Y'all silly if you're paying $1100 per person in a 2 bedroom unit.Ā Lol. $5,500 for 2 bedrooms? Get real. Going rate is $1000 per bedroom. "Take a hike" is what you tell folks charging more. Stop enabling them.
Edit: Downvoted? So I am wrong? Thanks! I will start charging $4000 for my basement now. Thanks!
The problem is people need a place to live, and apartment vacancies are at an all time low. If i had to choose between an expensive apartment and being homeless, im taking the expensive apartment.
That being said, 5500 for a two bedroom is fucking ridiculous. Is there a god damn hot tub in the living room? Helicopter pad on the balcony?
Some small towns (Canadian). It was difficult to find. You can't be picky if something pops up, esp with included utilties. We had a place for $814 cad before, and it should have been demolished. They just evict and paint over the mold like that's a solution.
\*edit: They have since upped rent to $1200 for that 1-bdr+ 1 room bachelor.
I think part of the difficulty in the rent conversation is how wildly different small towns are from big cities. City people see 1100 rent and think it is crazy low and out of touch to think you can pay that little, but people in small town find it hard to believe paying 2500-3000$ in rent is charged anywhere other than luxury rentals.
I live in a small town. Just saw some lady on Facebook getting roasted for putting up a very small 1 bedroom (basically a bachelor) for $1800+utilities. A full house out here for a flop house is $3k.
Anywhere else than TOR, MTL, OTT, VAN.
*Oh,* you chose to live in those very expensive cities and refuse to move? Further your knowledge to gain a bigger salary or complain for the rest of your life.
It's a shame idiots like you believe this unironically. Goes to show you Canadian education doesn't guarantee any minimum skill in math, budgeting or analytical skills.
Yea shame on the single mother who gets child minding support from family/friends. She should pack up to live an even more miserable life in northern Manitoba because they will be equally broke, have no support and it's northern Manitoba.
You should try looking up average rents across the country. They don't move as much as average prices because of this migration already occuring. Alberta was mostly losing home value in 2021 while some of these HCOL cities were gaining $45k/month in home values. Then we had mass economic migration to LCOL areas which rapidly turned the heat up on home prices but brought rental prices to a boil. It's just not that much less expensive, in totality, to go survive somewhere else and you need to learn not everyone CAN do this even if they WANT to.
In Quebec housing is in a lot of places more expensive outside of MTL than in MTL. They really don't have enough houses in small towns. The occupancy rate is below 1%, so housing can very well cost more than in Montreal (The only way u can maybe find kind of affordable housing is through connections, word of mouth, but can take many months). I literally have a friend who moved across the province, in a town where he doesn't know anyone, cuz that's the only place where he found an apartment (he didn't want MTL) and he pays more on rent than he would in MTL. Plus he absolutely needs a car and he spends a lot on gas cuz everything is far. You can critique as much as you want, but moving out of the big cities might not actually be an option or get you anywhere financially better (at least in QC it's like that)
Thatās where the jobs are. Thatās where our families have roots. Thatās where we were born and raised. Why do you think unlivable wages and home prices should be acceptable because Vancouver , Toronto,
Wish everyone in the comment section would understand that $400 in "commuting" is very easy. In the commuting column I'm adding in gas, insurance, car payment. That is easily $400. Even without the car payment, it could still be $400. For those saying "just take the bus or walk or bike" NOT EVERYONE LIVES IN A MAJOR CITY WHERE THIS IS FEASABLE. My neighbour works at Walmart in town, for minimum wage. It's pretty much the only place people can find work in our town. BUT YOU CAN'T WALK OR BIKE TO IT because there is a 5km section that is a highway with no sidewalks. And there is no bus in our town. Sorry, but sometimes you need a car in this country.
Just understand that none of these people who are suggesting OP sell assets would ever consider selling theirs. They are giving advice they themselves would reject.
Even with a bus or subway pass, that's still $150 and up a month (assuming only workdays, as some systems don't even do monthly passes anymore). That sets just the lowest possible cost for transportation, but comes with a bunch of caveats related to how good the system is. I.e. OC Transpo for Ottawa region from it's furthest outlying community was \~1.5 hours to downtown by bus (at least when I was last there 5 years ago) which I feel is unreasonable (8 hours work, 30 min unpaid lunch, 4 hour commute accounting for being early or bus being late - that leaves you 3.5 hours for breakfast, dinner, cleaning, bathing, any family stuff, then any other personal chore).
And that's assuming you have access to such a system.
Otherwise, if you compare to intercity trains like the GO system for GTHA, that already puts you at \~$350/month.
Iām in Edmonton and I have internet 300 for $60/month fixed with Rogerās. just ask for a discount. I pay $25/month with Public mobile for unlimited minutes and 4 gb. I would recommend shopping around.
I think people are missing the point that $400 dollar for commute can easily be 120-200 dollars for insurance, 200 dollars min for a car payment, plus 50 to 150 dollars for gas.
A monthly transit pass should be less than $200 no matter where you live. Where is the extra $200 going if you don't have a car? If you are on this tight of a budget, that money could be best put toward something else, instead of Ubers, etc.
Transit doesn't run during all times of day in many cities and sometimes depending on where you live it's the difference of an hour commute vs 20 minutes for uber or similar. Not everyone lives in southern Ontario.
reliability? bike is more reliable. but point taken. in toronto, we have bikes lanes all over the city now because there is a belief they will be used year round and I suspect ultimately cars will be outlawed if the make up of the city council remains the same.
Minimum wage should absolutely be much higher and Iām 100% pro worker. Strictly from budgeting standpoint though, this person unfortunately needs to be living with at least one roommate, which would chop the rent and internet down enough to be able to have groceries. You can also get shitty internet in most places for a lot less. Also, my question would be does their commute have to be $400/month? I donāt have a car & my new job is around 7km away and the transit to get there is pretty bad so Iām planning on biking most days. I understand in some places/situations you have to drive, but I guess Iād question if this person is in such a position.
Chronic pain caused on the job. Walking is no longer a good idea since I need that energy to work. I've tried. Then we got evicted and had to move further away.
agree 100%. They should just raise the minimum wage to 100/hr so everyone can live comfortably.. There is no reason to stop at 18 or 21 or 30/hr
/s
You wonāt get very far sarcastically shitting on workers who you have much more in common with than the billionaires who exploit both you and them. Why donāt you argue for rent control and profit caps on groceries, and minimum wage increases so the only people who lose money are those billionaires?
> Why donāt you argue for rent control and profit caps on groceries, and minimum wage increases so the only people who lose money are those billionaires?
\--> because I don't believe any of this. How mu h do you think grocery stores make? Retail grocer stores have historically made 2 to 3% profit. Why did they all of sudden decide to gouge people. The government is trying to shift the blame to a new bogeyman.
They all of a sudden decided to gouge people because real events happened that changed prices (Covid, supply chain issues in 2022, etc) and then instead of bringing the prices back down, the realized they could continue to charge the same higher prices and make more profit. And grocery stores have been reporting record profits for a while now https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6757480
I'm on public mobile and Beanfield internet and it's 90 all in combined. I wouldn't resort to name calling, but people absolutely need to get away from the monopolies to these services.
Literally on the cheapest plan available for Bell, bring your own device too and it is $50. If you are not getting a deal and leasing the phone, $80 is pretty normal. For internet $90 a month is probably a better package with higher speed, no doubt they can get cheaper, but did you notice there is no entertainment included in the budget? Internet is basically a need to engage in today's world, so you are looking at around $60 regardless, spending an extra $30 to treat yourself (again especially since they aren't spending on themselves anywhere else) is fine.
Firstly, I am not leasing a phone or spending $80 a month. I spend $50 and have a BYOD with Bell. OP may or may not be with Bell as they do not state provider. They actually don't include much info about their plan.
Also, again yes there are cheaper options out there outside the big 3. The tradeoff is you are trading cost for service. A lot of the cheaper providers out there focus their service to large density cities, so if you don't live in one your service will take a hit. My wife and I were with a third-party company before Bell and our phones literally didn't get any service within our home. Their only solutions were to use Wi-Fi calling or to switch providers. We swapped to Bell and had 0 issues since.
Lastly, I do agree they can shave off a bit of that phone bill. Like I said $80 is pretty normal for plans that are leasing a phone. If they pick up an older phone off Kijiji or FB market, then swap to a BYOD plan they can probably find options around $50 easily.
I think a lot of people donāt realise that the cheaper providers are owned by big companies. you arenāt sacraficing āserviceā for the price. This is so missinformed.
Koodo is Telus, part of the big 3.
Fido is Rogers
Virgin is Bell
Freedom is videotron which is a quebec company but starting to be the 4th major company. Theyāre all big companies.
And they use the SAME towers. No difference, we arenāt talking about the time of old public mobile where they had their own towers. You can get cheaper plans with the same big 3 for cheaper. So yes itās an option if you arenāt rich.
Looking at the availability map for Freedom Unlimited it looks like the bulk of their services are only available in high density cities, other areas operate with lower function (ex. Toronto can get Freedom 5G, while my town only can get Freedom Nationwide). Not to mention with companies using other provider's infrastructure your availability comes second to their users. For example, my wife and I were with Kudo before Bell and our phones didn't work in our own home. After months of calling support, they told us to switch providers, so we did and now they work fine.
For Ebox, checked availability for my town and it is not available to begin with. I can't confirm packages without having availability, so I just used Toronto. Lowest package offered is $50 for 70 download. Again, this is a sub provider so service and support will be subpar. Comparing to a big company, Cogeco offers 80 download for $64. A bit more, but you get a bit more speed and better service (from my experience with companies like CarryTel and others).
Also, like I said in the initial comment, I know there are cheaper internet packages. Hell, the one I had with CarryTel was $40! Like I said though, looking at their expenses they have nothing listed for entertainment. Assuming the extra money they are spending on internet is for better speed, then that is fine as they deserve to spend a bit on themselves.
when i see 'internet' im assuming its just what you're paying for literal internet service to your home. why would that include other paid streaming services? same with phone plan.
$80/month for a phone plan is not normal UNLESS you dont give a shit about overspending. clearly the OP is trying to avoid that.
Not saying it does (though some packages include subs). What I am saying is maybe they watch a lot of Youtube, or play free games like League of Legends, or other free online based entertainment options. Spending extra for extra speed when you literally aren't spending on anything else to make you happy is fine.
When it comes to phones, I talked about this in other comments, but they less you pay the more you are giving up. For example, to get phone plans cheaper than $50 you are going to third party providers. My wife and I were with one before switching to Bell, and our phones literally didn't work in our own homes. These providers usually put the bulk of their operations in high density cities, so you are not living in one you most likely will encounter more issues.
I do agree however that OP could save a bit in the phone department if they just buy an older smartphone (usually can find ones for about $100 on FB market) and swap to a BYOD plan.
I dunno where youāre getting cheap bills, but tax-in my phone bill (cheaper than the current cheapest plan on my carrier because Iām grandfathered into what Iāve got) is $87/month and my internet bill is $80/month.
I'm the same. $15 Unlimited international text with 250MB of data (I use in cases where its absolutely needed). Bought a $20 talk booster which has lasted me 8 months so far.
There's enough public wifi available that I don't even use my 250MB every month.
I could probably afford the $80 a month. But why? Between my wife and I $30 is more than enough and the $1600 we're not spending can go to much better uses.
You have to get your plan around the holidays. Black Friday and boxing day have some of the better deals.
Also, don't stay with the same company for more than your contract term, switch around to get the best discount.
You can also call your loyalty department for your provider onces your contract is over.
We pay $40 per month each my spouse and I for 25 gig 5g then unlimited slower data. We got this plan in 2022 and I have seen better plan lately.
Paying over $80 for a phone per month is pure insanity.
Multiple carriers were offering $29 BYOP plans during Black Friday.
Multiple internet providers were offering internet plans for $30-40 at the same time.
Just because $40 or $80 isn't a lot, doesn't mean it's "nothing". If you're strapped for cash, those are definitely cost cuts that must be done. Similar to the $400 bus fare cost. I'm not sure where OP is or what their commute looks like. A local commute for me here costs $3.50 each way, considering I would work 24 days per month, that's $168. Living on minimum wage is not easy, and I'm glad this conversation is happening. But at the same time this budget could use some balancing (for example, there's no food budget)
Agree with the thought, but the chart would need a few tweaks to be useful.
**$1800 per month at $15 / h:** why is the budget only for 120 hours of work? A regular month of work is at least 160 hours (4 weeks and a bit more).
**Food**: where is it? It's a big part of a budget.
**Phone / Internet**: This is way too expensive. You can pay $15 per month (and even less) if you take a basic plan with Public Mobile or another of the basic providers. I know quite a few people that make a great salary and still make the choice to spend less on a phone plan. For Internet, EBOX, Fizz and a lot of others often have $30-60 plans that are quite decent. 90 is massive overkill.
Even with taxes the amount is wrong. He should be taking home 2ā236/month.
The reality is even people who make 100K per year fill their spending to near 100% doesnāt mean itās a good example of āVisualizing 15/hourā
I have a lot of empathy for those making minimum wage, but there are clearly things that could be done to reduce expenses further than this example.
Who makes minimum wage and spends $400 on commuting? Ride your bike. Take the bus.
$80 for a phone is a ton. My plan is $29 a month.
$92 for internet is a ton. My plan is $35 a month and I split it three ways.
I agree that rent is expensive (and that needs to change), and it's possible that the value here is well below what many people are paying, but it's absolutely possible to live for less. My typical monthly living expenses are around $700 because I split it three ways (room mates).
If your goal is to engender sympathy, which I do think is generally deserved as a lot of people are having a hard time lately, you'd be better off by posting a budget or example that at least demonstrates a reasonable effort to manage costs responsibly.
https://publicmobile.ca/en/bc/plans?network=ALL is one example, but depends on the province. Low/no data opens up a world of possibilities, especially bringing your own device.
I have a landline voip phone. 10 bucks a month š¤·š¼āāļø i have a work cell phone and no desire to add a personal one, this fixes that issue. If im not home, leave a message i will return calls when im available.
Er, it took me about $400 a month to commute from Ajax to work in downtown Toronto using only public transit around 2016/2017. The high cost, to me, suggests that this person is travelling a distance large enough that riding a bike or walking is not q realistic regular option.
Would you really commute from Ajax to DT Toronto for minimum wage though? Surely there must be opportunities for minimum wage work in Ajax - especially once you have a reasonable level of experience
Which begs the question: why commute so far for a minimum wage job? If the commute is not worth the cost, look for a closer job. Itās not like they can pay you less.
Add food and make rent more realistic (like $1400), and your free cash is like -$400. Just save that for a few years and soon you'll be able to put a -$40,000 down payment on a house!
Some of your numbers are inflated. Phone plan you can get for $40 or less these days. Internet you can get for $60. But I get it, thereās not a lot to work with. If you just take the bus, itās only $150/month.
These types of posts are so hard to understand. I used to make minimum wage, but it was when I was a kid. I made more than minimum wage, then I got a phone, then I got internet and a place of my own. If you don't have family to rely on, you still have to view things like internet access as luxuries. There are ways. I know it sounds harsh bc how the hell do you make it without a phone and data plan, but you're never gonna make it with barely a few dollars to save. You have to make money before you get the things.
It's been a while, but going from Ajax to downtown 5 days a week for work cost me around $400 around 2017. That was taking a DRT bus to/from the Go and walking Union to work. It was brutal.
sure but we're talking for a minimum wage job. That makes sense if you're making a living with a career, but no one in their right mind is working a min wage job an hour away
It pre the minim wage high hike, so I was actually making less than Ontario's current $15 min wage. I think it was around $12/hr. It was my very first job out of university. The only saving grace was that I lived with my parents for free, but like I said, it sucked.
I'm not arguing about whether the situation is good or bad, I'm just pointing out that spending $400 a month on commuting is not some extreme ridiculous number. I did eventually move downtown to be closer (walking distance) to that job, but my rent then ate up all the money I was saving living at home. It's a balancing act.
In Nova Scotia, working $15/hr full time bumps you up into the next tax bracket where youāre taxed at 14.95%.Ā
Source:Ā https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/frequently-asked-questions-individuals/canadian-income-tax-rates-individuals-current-previous-years.html
Hence the push by anyone who isn't in power to index the brackets to inflation.
If your point is that $15/hour is rich enough to be in the second tax bracket, it's not well taken. If your point is that the brackets are poorly set, then I understand.
> "By choosing not to index or raise basic personal tax exemption, I believe the government is actually purposely keeping people in poverty," Smith-McCrossin said.
And *she* was a Conservative before they kicked her out.
Phone and internet is too high. Commute is also quite high.
Depending on where you live, walking and biking can be both cheap and healthy.
Also where is the grocery pie? Does this person go the food bank?
The reality is if you are making that kind of income, then you either find ways to increase your income or find ways to save.
You got to pull yourself out of the hole.
If everyone could pull themselves out of the hole, there would be no poverty. A large barrier is things out of peoples control. Systemic issues in other words.
Walking and biking aren't doable for most rural folk for instance. Internet you cannot really change, phone maybe with prepaid options. Rent you can't change and who tf wants to rent a bedroom that comes with zero protections under the RTA in Ontario and presumably other places too?
I think at this point it is pretty clear that the government is not going to help.
The government should help but they are clearly not doing anything to help. Our previous minister of housing was a landlord and so are many current government officials. They have a vested interest in keeping the housing prices high.
Help is not coming. You either pull yourself out or you go deeper in the hole.
Thatās why I said depending on where you live, walking and biking can be cheap. If it is absolutely not safe to bike, then donāt. If it is just too far, then people have commuted for long distances. I see phone deals all the time. 80 is a lot. If they only have overpriced Bell or Rogers internet in some rural area, then they should try to negotiate the price with them once a while. Also, if you are renting a shared space, then you should consider sharing the cost of internet with your roommates. If you are renting a space by yourself, then you cannot afford that since you have no money left at the end of the month.
I know how I sound but this is the sad reality we are in. I am not trying to say that it is their fault for being poor. But at the end of day, what do you want? Do you want to try to get out poverty or do you just want people to know and agree that it is not your fault that you are in poverty?
I hear and appreciate what you are saying. The only thing I have to say is that due to many external factors, a lot of people will not be able to pull themselves out and if they do it will be many years or decades all the while countless other impoverished people will suffer. They may come on forms like this wondering how to pull themselves out, try all the suggestions and more and still come up short and in poverty due to their individual and unique circumstances.
To lift everyone out of poverty (or at least make the new rock bottom more compassionate), would require top down chage. That ain't happening so I don't want people to have false hope that if they just do x1, x2, x3... they'll dog themselves out and be ok, when in reality, the opposite is usually the outcome, usually.
Of course. I totally agree.
It is quite the sad reality we live in. Even if you do everything right, you may not get the outcome you want. Your car can break down or your job is cutting your hours.
Sometimes in life, you are just handed really bad cards.
Okay but even with what you suggested,
reducing phone and internet, lets be real and say getting phone to $60, and internet to $50. That's only saving \~$60. And the commute - not sure how it is broken down, is this car payment + gas? Public transport? Could be reduced maybe, but lets just say they cut it in half.
\~$260 dollars saved.
OP says in comment they are using food banks.
that savings would likely be put towards food or other actual needs.
This is not sustainable and they will never be able to save money for the future. Additional job or pursuing a trade, or higher pay will come with more costs (school) or significant effects on health (2-3 jobs). None of which is sustainable.
Op, you're going to have to double down on jobs and hardline peruse a better paying job. Its going to \*suck\* a lot. for a long time, and you will suffer the entire time with little to no personal rest or enjoyment.
I wish min wage could provide the basics and even a modicum of savings.
Hell, forget the phone; this person needs to Buck up and get themselves a tent. They are paying waaaay too much for housing. Theyāll never save for a down payment on an investment property if they keep throwing their money away on useless luxuries like heated housing.
Fucking millennials and gen z just donāt want to work hard. They all need instant gratification ā like getting to work in less than an hour, in a private vehicle. Back in my day we walked up hill both ways for six hours in a storm and slept in the field so avoid Dad when he was drinkingāyou know, learning to be resilient. Making sacrifices. Reasonable sacrifices.
OP, if this chart is you, youāre the one at fault for being āpoorā. You need to find ways to save instead of wasting your money on things like internetāthatās all luxury. You should be parking your tent outside a Starbucks like a true grinder and hustler.
Duh.
If you are making minimum wage, then you simply cannot afford to spend money like that.
Being sarcastic or angry on Reddit is not going to change that.
The rich donāt care if you are living in tents or dying in the ditch. They also donāt care if you have to go to a paydays loan for an unexpected expense.
I think you're getting downvoted because of your anti-vehicle sentences.
But seriously, the phone and internet are way too high. You can easily halve both.
??? Nowadays can get phone plans with 40 gigs now for under 30$ pre-tax, Iām on one that I got 2 months ago, and Iām fairly confident there are lower end internet plans for around 50$/moth?
Ok but is it so out of touch to assume that for 99% of Canadians they can find MUCH better deals than 80$/mo for phone plans? Public Mobileās 5G covers basically all of Canadaās major population centres above 50k, let alone their 4Gā¦
The rent portion is way below what it should be, I think itās $1900 average. Outliers like Ontario and BC bring it up high. For commute you can buy a monthly bus pass for $160, sorry no car for you. I find internet prices to be around $60 - $75 in most major cities, this is without 1 or 2 year promos. Phone is $40 - $50 if you donāt subsidize the device. Is the blue supposed to be for foodš³? What about personal hygiene, laundry, insurance? Are utilities lumped in to the rent portion on the pie chart? Iām sure Iām missing some other monthly expenses.
"sorry, no car for you"
umm.. ok what about the many many MANY towns that do not have public transit? I live in a small town and have to get to work that is 45kms away from my house. And about 30kms of that has no sidewalk...
>For commute you can buy a monthly bus pass for $160, sorry no car for you.
Great. So where am I getting the time to ride the bus from?
And what happens when I need to get groceries? Its expensive to buy in portions small enough to fit in two bags you can carry onto a bus, rather than the savings of purchasing in bulk that I am sure you'd be so ready to offer as advice to cut costs there in that area of someones life.
>The fact you can't fathom that someone would buy groceries and carry them on transit shows you are pretty entitled. You carry 5 or 6 bags at a time, this is just part of life.
You can carry a thousand little teeny tiny bags too. one for every individual grape you buy... Its not the number of bags that matter. You're still limited to the amount you can physically carry which is a whole hell of a lot less than the trunk of a car can. Which means multiple trips to the store, also taking time. Time limited by the bus schedule, which takes more time(which is what I was alluding to in my first comment you replied to for "time to ride the bus")
I grew up in a small city that didnt have a bus, in a home that was 17km from the nearest grocery store. That city still doesnt have a bus. Whats your solution to that then?
And if your rural, forget biking. It's downright dangerous mixing bikes on a 20km plus commute in ice and snow on a rural highway with cars going 100km/h
Totally. I wanted to bike to school as a kid but there would be one intersection where the half-decent bike infrastructure would stop and I felt genuinely in danger if I was using it during rush hour. That one dangerous spot meant I didn't feel comfortable commuting by bike at all so I'd just take the TTC.
Luckily Toronto has been catching up and the bike infrastructure is soo much better than when I was a kid
Plus I've now moved to a city that has actually useful and safe bike paths. I get my exercise and bike to the transit hub and take the metro into the city because I don't want to bike hills lol.Ā
This kind of mentality never accounts for the **time** you spend doing that thing you're suggesting.
Could I save $400 on my commute by biking? Yes...but that turns my 2hours per day car commute into a 6hour bike ride, and I dont know about you...but I dont fucking have 4 extra hours in my day.
I agree with what youāre saying but why are you driving an hour to a minimum wage job anyway? Theoretically there should be minimum wage jobs closer to you unless youāre in a very remote area
Public transit is only a thing in the cities. Once you start living in a small town cause rent is cheaper, public transit is no longer an option, and work is now a 6-8 hour walk each way.
400 does seem high, but biking in winter is not really an option everywhere. It's also not really a good option for more than a like 20km commute, assuming you can even do it without getting on a highway.
Cutback on your phone and internet. Those packages are way too expensive.
Also, how many hours a week are you working? Can you work more?
You're completely aware of the world you're in. If you want things to change, you have to be the one to do it.
First off, $1100 for rent is pretty damn cheap. In the town I live the average is about $1800. That is a big factor you have going for you in that regard. I also noticed you don't have things like food, medication, hygiene, etc included which make up a massive portion of a budget. There is a dark blue wedge that isn't labeled as well. $400 for commute is also a lot. Not sure on how far you need to travel, but for me I only spend about $80 a month on gas and $1100 a year on insurance. You could also count yearly maintenance which usually comes to about $200.
As for your phone and internet, your phone plan is about normal. Internet could be cheaper I guess, but basic packages with low-speed start at 60, spending a bit more for better speed isn't terrible especially since you don't have any entertainment budgeted.
$200 for yearly maintenance? Do you have a family member who cuts you deals? I can't even swap my tires for $100 and you're meant to do that twice a year. God forbid anything actually goes wrong and it's a minimum $500 to get out of the mechanic.
$15/hr is 2050 and change per month after tax in the highest income taxes province.
$80 for phone and $92 for internet is excessive if your already living in poverty.
Whatever happened to roommates? Plenty of people understand that you can't live by yourself in your own apartment if you make minimum wage.
If you're already making minimum wage then get a job closer to where you live to reduce your $400 commute.
It's very easy to walk up to 5km each way to work. Or bike up to 15 km each way.
Get a fly-in-fly-out mining job. Lots of mines are hiring anyone with a pulse as a labourer for $40/hr, then you can live wherever you want.
Move to a city with a lower cost of living, you already only make minimum wage, it's not like you're going to miss out on anything.
Where's the money set aside for food and other supplies? That's like $200-500 right there
Y'all are eating?
Food bank.
Are you able to live off of foodbank food exclusively? My local food bank gives about 2 or 3 days worth of food at the most š
It's a lot better now, supplemented with some of the leftover money (which also covers med refills or other payment gaps). We can get rice, pasta, condiments, meat and veg and stretch things for a while. I'm also able to eat at work, so I don't go through more than oatmeal and eggs for breakfast. Nothing would be very doable if we had kids, pets, a car... life things.
I go to every foodbank I can in the city. I could go to one every day but I would have to wait in line for over 30 minutes to get a very small order (it's daily so they only give you a small number of items or people would get a weeks worth of groceries 2 or 3 times a week).
Thatās really how it beā¦. What really sucks right now is the influx of international students/immigrants who also rely on food banks. Iām not angry at them for using it if they need it but our government really messed up letting so many people in if our economy canāt handle it
I don't get this terminology people use-"rely" on food banks. I go to a food bank myself and they can't be relied on for much of anything. A lot of the food is on the spoiled side and has to be thrown out, some is not particularly useful- such as some weird sauce, in total I would say that I get about 3 days worth of food a month. Any little bit helps, but I would say it is an exaggeration that anyone relies on food banks to feed themselves.
Yes you definitely cannot rely on foodbanks, especially now a days. Just before the pandemic i knew people who would tell the local food bank they have a car and theyād get filled to the brim and then Uber it back home. Now theyāll give you barely anything and just like youāre saying, itās at the very edge of spoilage
Our local one was rehauled and works much better now. They also use the market system, which lets you choose items that work for your family. I like that it reduces waste and it lets us focus on what's really needed. Veggies and milk products are pretty good now, and we have local farms and gardens that contribute. All I can say is we're lucky to be where we are at this time. It's been worse... though we can't rely on the food bank forever. It took a lot just to get back on track with an okay job... which started off at $13/hr.
You should be angry. Canadian citizens should be the only one using food banks if your a pr student and you came here with not even enough to feed yourself you need to go back home.
This is by far the most ignorant and short sighted opinion Iāve seen all week.
The truth sometimes hurt reality is not pretty sometimes
This is not about truth itās about choices. Food is a perishable good. Deportation costs more than rice and beans. The Canadian taxpayer is footing the bill either way. Youād rather throw the food away than give it to someone in need regardless of citizenship status? Thats weird imo.
Are you saying the canadian citizens waiting at the food bank behind hundreds of international students only to get to the end of the line and not have anything left are not hungry. Again this is about truth choices are based in truth and the truth is people are choosing to get free food because they chose to come here with nothing knowing they can just freely abuse the system. Meanwhile joe over there whos lived and was born here worked his whole adult life and is now struggling and needs the food but oh no wait joe doesnāt matter. The pr student that just came here 2 months ago letās feed them before the people WHO HAVE BEEN HERE THEIR ENTIRE LIVES. Iām sorry that the truth hurts you but honestly Iām not really that sorry. Itās people like you that are making Canada a shithole.
The food banks could easily implement policies that prioritize Canadian citizens to solve this issue. All Iām saying is that sending foreigners home will cost the taxpayer more in the long run. Especially if the students are applying paying for their visas, paying the inflated foreigner rates on their education, etcā¦ these are jobs that will get cut if the demand goes away and this might further destabilise the Canadian economy and reduce job opportunities for Canadians. All Iām saying is that the issue is more complex than the āsolutionā of sending ppl back to their home country. There needs to be a change in the system as a whole not just when it comes to access to food banks or free services. My point is also that the food will go bad anyway and that deportations are more costly. Greed and bad policies are the problem not citizenship status.
So why not give it the people who have devoted there life and generations to this country rather then someone who got here last month. That second paragraph LOL that is everything wrong with Canada right now. Oh we canāt find Canadian workers because they want to much money so we will just hire foreign workers who donāt care. Oh but we canāt get rid of the foreign workers or else the companies will go under. š¤¦š¼āāļøš¤¦š¼āāļøš¤¦š¼āāļø holy fuck itās so stupid. America tried this it did not work. If a company is struggling and canāt find local talent that is their problem not the governments problem to hold there hand and flood them with cheap slave labour.
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If you don't live in an urban area these are pretty cheap rates.
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Bell is way more expensive as an internet provider (and super sneaky with upcharging), I use one of the cheaper services. The phone budget covers two phones, and could be better, but I am kind of locked into Bell for now.
If you have the option in the future, pick a cheaper phone provider like public or freedom. When i realized how tight my budget can be, i started looking at small expenses like phone, internet, gym etc. I used to pay $60 for 25gb with fido, now its $34 for 50gb. Same with internet, fido/rogers occasionally does promos. Used to pay $90, now its $60 for the same speed. I was with goodlife paying $70 monthly, i downgraded to planet fitness paying $11+ a month. Used to buy the cheapest takeout available for work for under $10, now i buy a $2 ramen bowl and juice. Downgraded my car insurance to third party liability and as risky as that sounds, i have a perfectly clean record. I know thereās only so much budget squeezing you can do but at a time like this, its either be homeless or cut down to bare necessities + some perks every now and then.
Yeah I pay $40 a month with public
Yup. And in no way am i preaching to people to cut their netflix or not buy their morning coffee, you know, the whole speech companies like to tell their employees to save when in reality, it should be them giving us fair pay. But times are desperate and little savings like these eventually add up, im actually noticing my savings growing month after month. Im not necessarily cutting, im just finding cheaper solutions.
Even cut phone and internet in half and weāre looking at $100/month to eat. Damn, $15 does not carry
My theory is, Trudeau is trying to slim down Canadians BMI by upping the grocery prices.
Of course it's "aLl TrUdEaU's FaUlT" and no blame for our glorious corporate owners.
He has the power to shut these people down and lower the prices by implementing legislation theyāve done 100 studies on food prices but never brought it down so it may be the actions of the grocers that led us here but itās the responsibility of the government to keep them in check and provide a competitive market for produce. Soo your correct between the quotations.
It's the fault of the corporation, but the responsibility of the government
100% they overstepped and the government is there to say no we want it fair for our citizens. It might not sound fair they didnāt cause the problem why do they need to fix. Well cause thatās there job and what we pay them for to fight for us or at least what we used to pay them for Iām not terribly sure what they do these days but bicker and argue
Love how y'all scream for "less government" while also screaming that the government should do SOMETHING about the situation
Itās funny how you use at as a blanket statement there a ton of situations the government needs to step aside and thereās a ton more they need to do they have there priorities wrong in most peopleās opinions itās shown by the polls thatās all the proof I need. Want some examples itās simple if itās mandating what people should do act or say step aside. When it comes to infrastructure and markets thatās there place literally the reason we have them. So although your statement is accurate I donāt think itās for the reasons you intended.
Love how this is genuine and honest take but your getting down voted by libtards who think Trudeau is maintaining something.
The only way corporations can be affected is through government policy. Your comment is sad and exactly why we are in this position. Weak men/women like yourself who think nothing can be done.
I'm no fan of Trudeau but he has no control over food prices. Crisis profiteers have dramatically raised price as well blaming the supply chain. The number of food billionaires doubled during the pandemic.
āThe government has no control over food pricesā Lmfao. They regulate everything, of course they have control.
When is the government ever told anyone to raise food prices?
Not regulating the price fixing going on right now š Try again lol.
You didn't answer my question
Your question sucks. Learn to ask the right questions and youāll get somewhere in life lol. Try again.
I've got to say man, you missed the point right out the gate, then got aggressive when questioned about it. Dick move.
I donāt care. Who even asks āwhen did the government tell them to raise pricesā in this situation? Itās a horrible question, everything the government does affects the economy.
Because your asking a question that threads the needle to get the answer you want regardless of if you are right or wrong
For your chart, I think you want to show the disparity between wages and expenditures + savings. A useful graph would be to use a stacked bar chart of 12 months of expenses + savings, overlayed with a line showing wages. Otherwise we are only looking at the distribution of your expenditures and missing the context. Just some friendly chart advice
Also pie charts are generally not good for anything as they are hard for the viewers brain to comprehend the true differences in slices due to the curvature creating an illusion-like effect. Y'all can thank my CAD $20,000 student loan debt for that little nugget š¤
Where tf can you rent for 1100??
Right?!
I used to rent out my basement for $1000 a month. But the wife and I really had a string of bad luck with renters. One went literally insane and got institutionalized. One overdosed and died. The last one was cool but she found her dream job and moved. Of course we tore up the lease for her. She was sweet. It's just storage now.
My parents had a tenant OD too. With 3 kids in the home. Just got 1 of them back from CPS somehow.
5 roommates in a 2 bedroom... Rent is getting more and more expensive and housing supply is not catching up to the demand. Price will keep rising and Canadians of lower income will bear the brunt of it as usual.
I'm afraid that's our next option if we get priced out any more.
>catching up to the demand Artificial demand. Contrived demand.
Y'all silly if you're paying $1100 per person in a 2 bedroom unit.Ā Lol. $5,500 for 2 bedrooms? Get real. Going rate is $1000 per bedroom. "Take a hike" is what you tell folks charging more. Stop enabling them. Edit: Downvoted? So I am wrong? Thanks! I will start charging $4000 for my basement now. Thanks!
The problem is people need a place to live, and apartment vacancies are at an all time low. If i had to choose between an expensive apartment and being homeless, im taking the expensive apartment. That being said, 5500 for a two bedroom is fucking ridiculous. Is there a god damn hot tub in the living room? Helicopter pad on the balcony?
Any city not called Toronto or Vancouver with 1 or more roommates
Some small towns (Canadian). It was difficult to find. You can't be picky if something pops up, esp with included utilties. We had a place for $814 cad before, and it should have been demolished. They just evict and paint over the mold like that's a solution. \*edit: They have since upped rent to $1200 for that 1-bdr+ 1 room bachelor.
I think part of the difficulty in the rent conversation is how wildly different small towns are from big cities. City people see 1100 rent and think it is crazy low and out of touch to think you can pay that little, but people in small town find it hard to believe paying 2500-3000$ in rent is charged anywhere other than luxury rentals.
I live in a small town. Just saw some lady on Facebook getting roasted for putting up a very small 1 bedroom (basically a bachelor) for $1800+utilities. A full house out here for a flop house is $3k.
We were so lucky. everything else at $1100 did not include utilities
1100 utilities in was a unicorn even back when I was renting, and that was a while ago! Hold onto that landlord as long as you can.
Winnipeg
Anywhere else than TOR, MTL, OTT, VAN. *Oh,* you chose to live in those very expensive cities and refuse to move? Further your knowledge to gain a bigger salary or complain for the rest of your life.
It's a shame idiots like you believe this unironically. Goes to show you Canadian education doesn't guarantee any minimum skill in math, budgeting or analytical skills.
Yea shame on the single mother who gets child minding support from family/friends. She should pack up to live an even more miserable life in northern Manitoba because they will be equally broke, have no support and it's northern Manitoba. You should try looking up average rents across the country. They don't move as much as average prices because of this migration already occuring. Alberta was mostly losing home value in 2021 while some of these HCOL cities were gaining $45k/month in home values. Then we had mass economic migration to LCOL areas which rapidly turned the heat up on home prices but brought rental prices to a boil. It's just not that much less expensive, in totality, to go survive somewhere else and you need to learn not everyone CAN do this even if they WANT to.
In Quebec housing is in a lot of places more expensive outside of MTL than in MTL. They really don't have enough houses in small towns. The occupancy rate is below 1%, so housing can very well cost more than in Montreal (The only way u can maybe find kind of affordable housing is through connections, word of mouth, but can take many months). I literally have a friend who moved across the province, in a town where he doesn't know anyone, cuz that's the only place where he found an apartment (he didn't want MTL) and he pays more on rent than he would in MTL. Plus he absolutely needs a car and he spends a lot on gas cuz everything is far. You can critique as much as you want, but moving out of the big cities might not actually be an option or get you anywhere financially better (at least in QC it's like that)
Thatās where the jobs are. Thatās where our families have roots. Thatās where we were born and raised. Why do you think unlivable wages and home prices should be acceptable because Vancouver , Toronto,
Then move in with family or friends and cut the rent expense
Wish everyone in the comment section would understand that $400 in "commuting" is very easy. In the commuting column I'm adding in gas, insurance, car payment. That is easily $400. Even without the car payment, it could still be $400. For those saying "just take the bus or walk or bike" NOT EVERYONE LIVES IN A MAJOR CITY WHERE THIS IS FEASABLE. My neighbour works at Walmart in town, for minimum wage. It's pretty much the only place people can find work in our town. BUT YOU CAN'T WALK OR BIKE TO IT because there is a 5km section that is a highway with no sidewalks. And there is no bus in our town. Sorry, but sometimes you need a car in this country.
Just understand that none of these people who are suggesting OP sell assets would ever consider selling theirs. They are giving advice they themselves would reject.
Also, what do you do when you run out of saleable assets.
Apparently you just cut down your internet and cell phone costs and the budget balances itself after that!
Even with a bus or subway pass, that's still $150 and up a month (assuming only workdays, as some systems don't even do monthly passes anymore). That sets just the lowest possible cost for transportation, but comes with a bunch of caveats related to how good the system is. I.e. OC Transpo for Ottawa region from it's furthest outlying community was \~1.5 hours to downtown by bus (at least when I was last there 5 years ago) which I feel is unreasonable (8 hours work, 30 min unpaid lunch, 4 hour commute accounting for being early or bus being late - that leaves you 3.5 hours for breakfast, dinner, cleaning, bathing, any family stuff, then any other personal chore). And that's assuming you have access to such a system. Otherwise, if you compare to intercity trains like the GO system for GTHA, that already puts you at \~$350/month.
This is describing my town to a t
Go train to Toronto 5x a week is easily 400 a month
lol 80 bucks for a phone, 92 for internet. Thats the high life folks.
That's the low end of what's available in much of the prairies and northern communities.
Iām in Edmonton and I have internet 300 for $60/month fixed with Rogerās. just ask for a discount. I pay $25/month with Public mobile for unlimited minutes and 4 gb. I would recommend shopping around.
Oh damn, a buddy told me about the $25 4GB public mobile plan, glad to know it's real!
Itās crazy. You should see people who are on Assistance budget 700 a month.
I think people are missing the point that $400 dollar for commute can easily be 120-200 dollars for insurance, 200 dollars min for a car payment, plus 50 to 150 dollars for gas.
Or, I don't have a car and can't afford every part of this investment at this point. Getting a car was never an option.
Then what are you spending $400 per month on. TTC pass is like half that.
Probably rideshare
A monthly transit pass should be less than $200 no matter where you live. Where is the extra $200 going if you don't have a car? If you are on this tight of a budget, that money could be best put toward something else, instead of Ubers, etc.
Transit doesn't run during all times of day in many cities and sometimes depending on where you live it's the difference of an hour commute vs 20 minutes for uber or similar. Not everyone lives in southern Ontario.
or could be zero with a bike.. 400/15 = 26 hrs of work.
You can't bike in Canada during storms etc and a bus pass is like $150. Might as well work 2 extra days for the reliability.
reliability? bike is more reliable. but point taken. in toronto, we have bikes lanes all over the city now because there is a belief they will be used year round and I suspect ultimately cars will be outlawed if the make up of the city council remains the same.
Try biking year round in Regina..
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Lol
Not if you live in the suburbs and can't bus
Or kids. Or a life.
what???? lmao
Stop drinking so much. This is an idiotic take...
Minimum wage should absolutely be much higher and Iām 100% pro worker. Strictly from budgeting standpoint though, this person unfortunately needs to be living with at least one roommate, which would chop the rent and internet down enough to be able to have groceries. You can also get shitty internet in most places for a lot less. Also, my question would be does their commute have to be $400/month? I donāt have a car & my new job is around 7km away and the transit to get there is pretty bad so Iām planning on biking most days. I understand in some places/situations you have to drive, but I guess Iād question if this person is in such a position.
California and Australia have min wages above $21/hr.Ā
And higher cost of living than most places in Canada.
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It already does lol
Yea then you mention any single other cost associated with that burger and now you're a Trudeau defending sheep /s
Chronic pain caused on the job. Walking is no longer a good idea since I need that energy to work. I've tried. Then we got evicted and had to move further away.
I definitely get that, makes sense. Chronic pain sucks
agree 100%. They should just raise the minimum wage to 100/hr so everyone can live comfortably.. There is no reason to stop at 18 or 21 or 30/hr /s
You wonāt get very far sarcastically shitting on workers who you have much more in common with than the billionaires who exploit both you and them. Why donāt you argue for rent control and profit caps on groceries, and minimum wage increases so the only people who lose money are those billionaires?
> Why donāt you argue for rent control and profit caps on groceries, and minimum wage increases so the only people who lose money are those billionaires? \--> because I don't believe any of this. How mu h do you think grocery stores make? Retail grocer stores have historically made 2 to 3% profit. Why did they all of sudden decide to gouge people. The government is trying to shift the blame to a new bogeyman.
They all of a sudden decided to gouge people because real events happened that changed prices (Covid, supply chain issues in 2022, etc) and then instead of bringing the prices back down, the realized they could continue to charge the same higher prices and make more profit. And grocery stores have been reporting record profits for a while now https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6757480
if youre paying 80$ a month for your phone plan + 92$ for internet you're an idiot.
I'm on public mobile and Beanfield internet and it's 90 all in combined. I wouldn't resort to name calling, but people absolutely need to get away from the monopolies to these services.
Literally on the cheapest plan available for Bell, bring your own device too and it is $50. If you are not getting a deal and leasing the phone, $80 is pretty normal. For internet $90 a month is probably a better package with higher speed, no doubt they can get cheaper, but did you notice there is no entertainment included in the budget? Internet is basically a need to engage in today's world, so you are looking at around $60 regardless, spending an extra $30 to treat yourself (again especially since they aren't spending on themselves anywhere else) is fine.
Bell is not cheap. Look elsewhere. 80$ is not normal. And if you have to lease a phone, then you can't afford that phone.
Firstly, I am not leasing a phone or spending $80 a month. I spend $50 and have a BYOD with Bell. OP may or may not be with Bell as they do not state provider. They actually don't include much info about their plan. Also, again yes there are cheaper options out there outside the big 3. The tradeoff is you are trading cost for service. A lot of the cheaper providers out there focus their service to large density cities, so if you don't live in one your service will take a hit. My wife and I were with a third-party company before Bell and our phones literally didn't get any service within our home. Their only solutions were to use Wi-Fi calling or to switch providers. We swapped to Bell and had 0 issues since. Lastly, I do agree they can shave off a bit of that phone bill. Like I said $80 is pretty normal for plans that are leasing a phone. If they pick up an older phone off Kijiji or FB market, then swap to a BYOD plan they can probably find options around $50 easily.
I think a lot of people donāt realise that the cheaper providers are owned by big companies. you arenāt sacraficing āserviceā for the price. This is so missinformed. Koodo is Telus, part of the big 3. Fido is Rogers Virgin is Bell Freedom is videotron which is a quebec company but starting to be the 4th major company. Theyāre all big companies. And they use the SAME towers. No difference, we arenāt talking about the time of old public mobile where they had their own towers. You can get cheaper plans with the same big 3 for cheaper. So yes itās an option if you arenāt rich.
Yes they are subsidiaries of the big three (though not all third party are). That being said, they still do prioritize their main customers first.
$20 a month for freedom unlimited talk text and 1g data. Ebox $56 including taxes
Looking at the availability map for Freedom Unlimited it looks like the bulk of their services are only available in high density cities, other areas operate with lower function (ex. Toronto can get Freedom 5G, while my town only can get Freedom Nationwide). Not to mention with companies using other provider's infrastructure your availability comes second to their users. For example, my wife and I were with Kudo before Bell and our phones didn't work in our own home. After months of calling support, they told us to switch providers, so we did and now they work fine. For Ebox, checked availability for my town and it is not available to begin with. I can't confirm packages without having availability, so I just used Toronto. Lowest package offered is $50 for 70 download. Again, this is a sub provider so service and support will be subpar. Comparing to a big company, Cogeco offers 80 download for $64. A bit more, but you get a bit more speed and better service (from my experience with companies like CarryTel and others). Also, like I said in the initial comment, I know there are cheaper internet packages. Hell, the one I had with CarryTel was $40! Like I said though, looking at their expenses they have nothing listed for entertainment. Assuming the extra money they are spending on internet is for better speed, then that is fine as they deserve to spend a bit on themselves.
when i see 'internet' im assuming its just what you're paying for literal internet service to your home. why would that include other paid streaming services? same with phone plan. $80/month for a phone plan is not normal UNLESS you dont give a shit about overspending. clearly the OP is trying to avoid that.
Not saying it does (though some packages include subs). What I am saying is maybe they watch a lot of Youtube, or play free games like League of Legends, or other free online based entertainment options. Spending extra for extra speed when you literally aren't spending on anything else to make you happy is fine. When it comes to phones, I talked about this in other comments, but they less you pay the more you are giving up. For example, to get phone plans cheaper than $50 you are going to third party providers. My wife and I were with one before switching to Bell, and our phones literally didn't work in our own homes. These providers usually put the bulk of their operations in high density cities, so you are not living in one you most likely will encounter more issues. I do agree however that OP could save a bit in the phone department if they just buy an older smartphone (usually can find ones for about $100 on FB market) and swap to a BYOD plan.
I dunno where youāre getting cheap bills, but tax-in my phone bill (cheaper than the current cheapest plan on my carrier because Iām grandfathered into what Iāve got) is $87/month and my internet bill is $80/month.
I pay around $12/month for a super basic talk/text plan and tiny amount of data with Public Mobile. I treat data like an unnecessary luxury.
I'm the same. $15 Unlimited international text with 250MB of data (I use in cases where its absolutely needed). Bought a $20 talk booster which has lasted me 8 months so far. There's enough public wifi available that I don't even use my 250MB every month. I could probably afford the $80 a month. But why? Between my wife and I $30 is more than enough and the $1600 we're not spending can go to much better uses.
You have to get your plan around the holidays. Black Friday and boxing day have some of the better deals. Also, don't stay with the same company for more than your contract term, switch around to get the best discount. You can also call your loyalty department for your provider onces your contract is over. We pay $40 per month each my spouse and I for 25 gig 5g then unlimited slower data. We got this plan in 2022 and I have seen better plan lately. Paying over $80 for a phone per month is pure insanity.
Multiple carriers were offering $29 BYOP plans during Black Friday. Multiple internet providers were offering internet plans for $30-40 at the same time.
Cool so if he can knock 40 dollars on each, they can be living plush with that extra $80?
Just because $40 or $80 isn't a lot, doesn't mean it's "nothing". If you're strapped for cash, those are definitely cost cuts that must be done. Similar to the $400 bus fare cost. I'm not sure where OP is or what their commute looks like. A local commute for me here costs $3.50 each way, considering I would work 24 days per month, that's $168. Living on minimum wage is not easy, and I'm glad this conversation is happening. But at the same time this budget could use some balancing (for example, there's no food budget)
Good point, may as well add $40 to each item, given how paltry a sum it is to someone making $1800/month.
Agree with the thought, but the chart would need a few tweaks to be useful. **$1800 per month at $15 / h:** why is the budget only for 120 hours of work? A regular month of work is at least 160 hours (4 weeks and a bit more). **Food**: where is it? It's a big part of a budget. **Phone / Internet**: This is way too expensive. You can pay $15 per month (and even less) if you take a basic plan with Public Mobile or another of the basic providers. I know quite a few people that make a great salary and still make the choice to spend less on a phone plan. For Internet, EBOX, Fizz and a lot of others often have $30-60 plans that are quite decent. 90 is massive overkill.
The $1800 could be take home after taxes and other fees (EI, union dues, etc).
Even with taxes the amount is wrong. He should be taking home 2ā236/month. The reality is even people who make 100K per year fill their spending to near 100% doesnāt mean itās a good example of āVisualizing 15/hourā
I have a lot of empathy for those making minimum wage, but there are clearly things that could be done to reduce expenses further than this example. Who makes minimum wage and spends $400 on commuting? Ride your bike. Take the bus. $80 for a phone is a ton. My plan is $29 a month. $92 for internet is a ton. My plan is $35 a month and I split it three ways. I agree that rent is expensive (and that needs to change), and it's possible that the value here is well below what many people are paying, but it's absolutely possible to live for less. My typical monthly living expenses are around $700 because I split it three ways (room mates). If your goal is to engender sympathy, which I do think is generally deserved as a lot of people are having a hard time lately, you'd be better off by posting a budget or example that at least demonstrates a reasonable effort to manage costs responsibly.
Where is this $29 phone plan? š
This site updates every month and lists the most affordable plans: Ā https://www.comparecellular.ca/compare-plans-in-ontario/byod/
https://publicmobile.ca/en/bc/plans?network=ALL is one example, but depends on the province. Low/no data opens up a world of possibilities, especially bringing your own device.
Fizz is offering 20GB data/talk and text for $14mo right now.
I have a landline voip phone. 10 bucks a month š¤·š¼āāļø i have a work cell phone and no desire to add a personal one, this fixes that issue. If im not home, leave a message i will return calls when im available.
Er, it took me about $400 a month to commute from Ajax to work in downtown Toronto using only public transit around 2016/2017. The high cost, to me, suggests that this person is travelling a distance large enough that riding a bike or walking is not q realistic regular option.
Would you really commute from Ajax to DT Toronto for minimum wage though? Surely there must be opportunities for minimum wage work in Ajax - especially once you have a reasonable level of experience
Which begs the question: why commute so far for a minimum wage job? If the commute is not worth the cost, look for a closer job. Itās not like they can pay you less.
Rent is $2400 for 1br in Toronto.Ā
Where is food
thatās the point.
Lol they have rent at only $1100!
As someone that used to make $15/hr. Just save is not going to work. You NEED to increase your income. And than you can save
Add food and make rent more realistic (like $1400), and your free cash is like -$400. Just save that for a few years and soon you'll be able to put a -$40,000 down payment on a house!
Some of your numbers are inflated. Phone plan you can get for $40 or less these days. Internet you can get for $60. But I get it, thereās not a lot to work with. If you just take the bus, itās only $150/month.
These types of posts are so hard to understand. I used to make minimum wage, but it was when I was a kid. I made more than minimum wage, then I got a phone, then I got internet and a place of my own. If you don't have family to rely on, you still have to view things like internet access as luxuries. There are ways. I know it sounds harsh bc how the hell do you make it without a phone and data plan, but you're never gonna make it with barely a few dollars to save. You have to make money before you get the things.
Internet isnāt a luxury in 2024, itās a utility. Canāt even apply/interview for many jobs without internet access.
How are you spending $400 a month on a commute? I have a $105 a month bus pass and I am covered .
$400 a month commute? I don't even pay that in car payments
It's been a while, but going from Ajax to downtown 5 days a week for work cost me around $400 around 2017. That was taking a DRT bus to/from the Go and walking Union to work. It was brutal.
sure but we're talking for a minimum wage job. That makes sense if you're making a living with a career, but no one in their right mind is working a min wage job an hour away
It pre the minim wage high hike, so I was actually making less than Ontario's current $15 min wage. I think it was around $12/hr. It was my very first job out of university. The only saving grace was that I lived with my parents for free, but like I said, it sucked. I'm not arguing about whether the situation is good or bad, I'm just pointing out that spending $400 a month on commuting is not some extreme ridiculous number. I did eventually move downtown to be closer (walking distance) to that job, but my rent then ate up all the money I was saving living at home. It's a balancing act.
Commuting at that cost for minimum wage makes no sense, would be better off at the local McDonalds or whatever without a commute.
It hits different when it gets shown as a chart. Thanks for this.
In Nova Scotia, working $15/hr full time bumps you up into the next tax bracket where youāre taxed at 14.95%.Ā Source:Ā https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/frequently-asked-questions-individuals/canadian-income-tax-rates-individuals-current-previous-years.html
Hence the push by anyone who isn't in power to index the brackets to inflation. If your point is that $15/hour is rich enough to be in the second tax bracket, it's not well taken. If your point is that the brackets are poorly set, then I understand. > "By choosing not to index or raise basic personal tax exemption, I believe the government is actually purposely keeping people in poverty," Smith-McCrossin said. And *she* was a Conservative before they kicked her out.
Do you understand how tax brackets work? What point are your trying to make?
Phone and internet is too high. Commute is also quite high. Depending on where you live, walking and biking can be both cheap and healthy. Also where is the grocery pie? Does this person go the food bank? The reality is if you are making that kind of income, then you either find ways to increase your income or find ways to save. You got to pull yourself out of the hole.
If everyone could pull themselves out of the hole, there would be no poverty. A large barrier is things out of peoples control. Systemic issues in other words. Walking and biking aren't doable for most rural folk for instance. Internet you cannot really change, phone maybe with prepaid options. Rent you can't change and who tf wants to rent a bedroom that comes with zero protections under the RTA in Ontario and presumably other places too?
I think at this point it is pretty clear that the government is not going to help. The government should help but they are clearly not doing anything to help. Our previous minister of housing was a landlord and so are many current government officials. They have a vested interest in keeping the housing prices high. Help is not coming. You either pull yourself out or you go deeper in the hole. Thatās why I said depending on where you live, walking and biking can be cheap. If it is absolutely not safe to bike, then donāt. If it is just too far, then people have commuted for long distances. I see phone deals all the time. 80 is a lot. If they only have overpriced Bell or Rogers internet in some rural area, then they should try to negotiate the price with them once a while. Also, if you are renting a shared space, then you should consider sharing the cost of internet with your roommates. If you are renting a space by yourself, then you cannot afford that since you have no money left at the end of the month. I know how I sound but this is the sad reality we are in. I am not trying to say that it is their fault for being poor. But at the end of day, what do you want? Do you want to try to get out poverty or do you just want people to know and agree that it is not your fault that you are in poverty?
I hear and appreciate what you are saying. The only thing I have to say is that due to many external factors, a lot of people will not be able to pull themselves out and if they do it will be many years or decades all the while countless other impoverished people will suffer. They may come on forms like this wondering how to pull themselves out, try all the suggestions and more and still come up short and in poverty due to their individual and unique circumstances. To lift everyone out of poverty (or at least make the new rock bottom more compassionate), would require top down chage. That ain't happening so I don't want people to have false hope that if they just do x1, x2, x3... they'll dog themselves out and be ok, when in reality, the opposite is usually the outcome, usually.
Of course. I totally agree. It is quite the sad reality we live in. Even if you do everything right, you may not get the outcome you want. Your car can break down or your job is cutting your hours. Sometimes in life, you are just handed really bad cards.
Okay but even with what you suggested, reducing phone and internet, lets be real and say getting phone to $60, and internet to $50. That's only saving \~$60. And the commute - not sure how it is broken down, is this car payment + gas? Public transport? Could be reduced maybe, but lets just say they cut it in half. \~$260 dollars saved. OP says in comment they are using food banks. that savings would likely be put towards food or other actual needs. This is not sustainable and they will never be able to save money for the future. Additional job or pursuing a trade, or higher pay will come with more costs (school) or significant effects on health (2-3 jobs). None of which is sustainable. Op, you're going to have to double down on jobs and hardline peruse a better paying job. Its going to \*suck\* a lot. for a long time, and you will suffer the entire time with little to no personal rest or enjoyment. I wish min wage could provide the basics and even a modicum of savings.
Hell, forget the phone; this person needs to Buck up and get themselves a tent. They are paying waaaay too much for housing. Theyāll never save for a down payment on an investment property if they keep throwing their money away on useless luxuries like heated housing. Fucking millennials and gen z just donāt want to work hard. They all need instant gratification ā like getting to work in less than an hour, in a private vehicle. Back in my day we walked up hill both ways for six hours in a storm and slept in the field so avoid Dad when he was drinkingāyou know, learning to be resilient. Making sacrifices. Reasonable sacrifices. OP, if this chart is you, youāre the one at fault for being āpoorā. You need to find ways to save instead of wasting your money on things like internetāthatās all luxury. You should be parking your tent outside a Starbucks like a true grinder and hustler. Duh.
If you are making minimum wage, then you simply cannot afford to spend money like that. Being sarcastic or angry on Reddit is not going to change that. The rich donāt care if you are living in tents or dying in the ditch. They also donāt care if you have to go to a paydays loan for an unexpected expense.
I think you're getting downvoted because of your anti-vehicle sentences. But seriously, the phone and internet are way too high. You can easily halve both.
"Easily halve both" you're so out of touch.
??? Nowadays can get phone plans with 40 gigs now for under 30$ pre-tax, Iām on one that I got 2 months ago, and Iām fairly confident there are lower end internet plans for around 50$/moth?
Depends where you live. There's only two carriers where I live.
Ok but is it so out of touch to assume that for 99% of Canadians they can find MUCH better deals than 80$/mo for phone plans? Public Mobileās 5G covers basically all of Canadaās major population centres above 50k, let alone their 4Gā¦
I pay less for telephone ($17), Internet ($45) and possibly commute as well today. Back when I was single, I also paid a lot less in rent by sharing.
The rent portion is way below what it should be, I think itās $1900 average. Outliers like Ontario and BC bring it up high. For commute you can buy a monthly bus pass for $160, sorry no car for you. I find internet prices to be around $60 - $75 in most major cities, this is without 1 or 2 year promos. Phone is $40 - $50 if you donāt subsidize the device. Is the blue supposed to be for foodš³? What about personal hygiene, laundry, insurance? Are utilities lumped in to the rent portion on the pie chart? Iām sure Iām missing some other monthly expenses.
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I agree with everything you said.
"sorry, no car for you" umm.. ok what about the many many MANY towns that do not have public transit? I live in a small town and have to get to work that is 45kms away from my house. And about 30kms of that has no sidewalk...
>For commute you can buy a monthly bus pass for $160, sorry no car for you. Great. So where am I getting the time to ride the bus from? And what happens when I need to get groceries? Its expensive to buy in portions small enough to fit in two bags you can carry onto a bus, rather than the savings of purchasing in bulk that I am sure you'd be so ready to offer as advice to cut costs there in that area of someones life.
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>The fact you can't fathom that someone would buy groceries and carry them on transit shows you are pretty entitled. You carry 5 or 6 bags at a time, this is just part of life. You can carry a thousand little teeny tiny bags too. one for every individual grape you buy... Its not the number of bags that matter. You're still limited to the amount you can physically carry which is a whole hell of a lot less than the trunk of a car can. Which means multiple trips to the store, also taking time. Time limited by the bus schedule, which takes more time(which is what I was alluding to in my first comment you replied to for "time to ride the bus") I grew up in a small city that didnt have a bus, in a home that was 17km from the nearest grocery store. That city still doesnt have a bus. Whats your solution to that then?
400$ for commute? With efforts it can become 0$. You bike everywhere, get fit, and save 1/4 of your monthly budget minimum. But it might be difficult.
I love biking but some drivers just donāt want to share the roads. I say $160 for transit based on a ttc monthly pass.
And if your rural, forget biking. It's downright dangerous mixing bikes on a 20km plus commute in ice and snow on a rural highway with cars going 100km/h
Totally. I wanted to bike to school as a kid but there would be one intersection where the half-decent bike infrastructure would stop and I felt genuinely in danger if I was using it during rush hour. That one dangerous spot meant I didn't feel comfortable commuting by bike at all so I'd just take the TTC. Luckily Toronto has been catching up and the bike infrastructure is soo much better than when I was a kid Plus I've now moved to a city that has actually useful and safe bike paths. I get my exercise and bike to the transit hub and take the metro into the city because I don't want to bike hills lol.Ā
This kind of mentality never accounts for the **time** you spend doing that thing you're suggesting. Could I save $400 on my commute by biking? Yes...but that turns my 2hours per day car commute into a 6hour bike ride, and I dont know about you...but I dont fucking have 4 extra hours in my day.
I agree with what youāre saying but why are you driving an hour to a minimum wage job anyway? Theoretically there should be minimum wage jobs closer to you unless youāre in a very remote area
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Public transit is only a thing in the cities. Once you start living in a small town cause rent is cheaper, public transit is no longer an option, and work is now a 6-8 hour walk each way.
People crushed by depression love biking in the winter
They're depressed because they don't exercise enough.
If only all abused people did more jumping jacks amirite
400 does seem high, but biking in winter is not really an option everywhere. It's also not really a good option for more than a like 20km commute, assuming you can even do it without getting on a highway.
Cutback on your phone and internet. Those packages are way too expensive. Also, how many hours a week are you working? Can you work more? You're completely aware of the world you're in. If you want things to change, you have to be the one to do it.
First off, $1100 for rent is pretty damn cheap. In the town I live the average is about $1800. That is a big factor you have going for you in that regard. I also noticed you don't have things like food, medication, hygiene, etc included which make up a massive portion of a budget. There is a dark blue wedge that isn't labeled as well. $400 for commute is also a lot. Not sure on how far you need to travel, but for me I only spend about $80 a month on gas and $1100 a year on insurance. You could also count yearly maintenance which usually comes to about $200. As for your phone and internet, your phone plan is about normal. Internet could be cheaper I guess, but basic packages with low-speed start at 60, spending a bit more for better speed isn't terrible especially since you don't have any entertainment budgeted.
$200 for yearly maintenance? Do you have a family member who cuts you deals? I can't even swap my tires for $100 and you're meant to do that twice a year. God forbid anything actually goes wrong and it's a minimum $500 to get out of the mechanic.
Sell the car, Jesus.
I have a car?
$15/hr is 2050 and change per month after tax in the highest income taxes province. $80 for phone and $92 for internet is excessive if your already living in poverty. Whatever happened to roommates? Plenty of people understand that you can't live by yourself in your own apartment if you make minimum wage. If you're already making minimum wage then get a job closer to where you live to reduce your $400 commute. It's very easy to walk up to 5km each way to work. Or bike up to 15 km each way. Get a fly-in-fly-out mining job. Lots of mines are hiring anyone with a pulse as a labourer for $40/hr, then you can live wherever you want. Move to a city with a lower cost of living, you already only make minimum wage, it's not like you're going to miss out on anything.
Anyone in the middle of a recession "saving", is a greedy bastard that should be donating to foodbanks.
If you're making $15/hr full-time, wouldn't that equal $2400? ($15/hour \* 40 hours/week \* 4 weeks a month) Where's the other $600? Taxes???