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This creative director makes $60,000 a year. How is she spending during the pandemic?

By Roxy Kirshenbaum| Photography by Erin Leydon
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This creative director makes $60,000 a year. How is she spending during the pandemic?

Who Tirza Yassa, 22 Where she lives A one-bed, one-bath condo near Yonge and Wellesley What she does Freelance graphic designer, creative director and marketing consultant What she makes Approximately $60,000 a year

Regular Expenses

Rent $1,400 a month, including utilities.

Internet $0. “My landlord is the best—he gives me free Wi-Fi.”

Phone $110 a month, for an iPhone 11 with unlimited talk and text.

Groceries $250 a month.

Takeout $300 a month. “I like to order sushi from Fushimi on Church Street.”

Health Care $470 a month, for a therapist and a naturopath. “I’m super anxious about my mental and physical health, so I’m always getting checked out.”

This creative director makes $60,000 a year. How is she spending during the pandemic?

Uber $200 a month. “When I’m doing production-type work on sets I’ll take an Uber.”

Juice $100 a month, from Greenhouse Juice Co. “My favourite flavour is Gatsby, which has cucumber, kale and ginger.”

Fitness $40 a month, for Fitsqr, an online workout program. “It’s got a bunch of short on-demand routines, either 15 or 30 minutes, which I can do at home any time.”

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Recent Splurges

Residency Application $2,500. “In 2015, I came here from Qatar. Since then, I’ve been working to make Toronto my permanent home.”

Mattress $850, for a queen-sized pillow-top, from Endy. “My mom told me to always invest in two things: your bed and your shoes. That’s what you spend the most time in.”

Perfume $440, for a 70-mL bottle of Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540, from Holt Renfrew. “It smells like wood and amber, with a hint of jasmine.”


Interested in sharing your cost of living? Send a breakdown of your expenses to costofliving@torontolife.com

Roxy Kirshenbaum is a freelance journalist based in Toronto. After graduating from Columbia University’s journalism program, she worked as a copy editor at InStyle magazine in New York and then as an editor at Surface magazine. When she returned to Toronto, she worked at Blue Ant Media and Cottage Life, and she has been a contributing writer and photographer at Toronto Life for many years.

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