This Annex couple makes a combined $97,000 a year. How do they spend it?

Who: Ciprian Eduard Bangu, 23, and Murphy Kate McDermott, 22 What they do: He’s an account assistant at an insurance brokerage; she’s a surgical coordinator and manager at an ophthalmologist’s office What they make: $97,000 combined Where they live: A one-bedroom apartment in the Annex

Regular Expenses

Rent: $1,600 a month, utilities and laundry included.

Cell: $75 a month with Telus for Murphy’s phone, $56 a month with Bell for Ciprian’s.

Internet: $135 a month with Bell.

Car-related expenses: $78 a month for insurance and $150 a month for gas.

Groceries: $317 a month. “We stopped eating,” Murphy jokes. She and Ciprian try to be frugal by shopping at FreshCo, No Frills and Walmart. “We pretty much only shop for things on sale,” she says.

Gym memberships: $55 a month each for memberships at Vive Fitness, near Bathurst and Dupont.

Student loans: $13,000 for Murphy. She pays off $100 every month.

Education: $400 for Murphy’s Teaching English as a Foreign Language course.

Nightlife: $500 a month for going out to bars and restaurants. This is the couple’s biggest indulgence, and the drinks do add up. “You go out with your friends and have maybe three drinks, and then you end up buying a round for everyone,” Murphy says.

Tech: $54.96 a month for Ciprian’s iPhone payments and $2,654 for his iMac desktop.

Short-Term Savings

Eight-month trip to Europe: $20,000. With more than $9,000 already saved, the couple is aiming to hit their target by January. To supplement the savings, Murphy hopes to work part time as an English instructor while Ciprian, an EU citizen, plans to find a side gig before starting a master’s degree in the fall.

Interested in sharing your cost of living? We’d like to hear from you, especially if you’re a family. Send a breakdown of your monthly expenses to costofliving@torontolife.com