This Etobicoke couple makes $157,000 a year. How do they spend it?
“His income goes to savings, mine to everyday spending”
Who: Marion Rana, 31, and Jarelle Gabison, 34 What he does: Apprentice electrician What she does: Marketing manager at a tech company What they make: $157,000 combined Where they live: A one-bedroom condo near Bloor and Islington
Regular Expenses
Rent: $2,200 a month. “We recently moved from Mississauga to shorten our commutes,” says Marion. “Jarelle’s office is now a 10-minute bus ride away, and we’re close to the Gardiner and the 427, so for me, getting to work is a breeze.”
Internet: $54 a month. “We were paying over $100, but we recently got a deal with Fido,” Marion says.
More Toronto Budgets
Phone: $124 a month, combined. “Jarelle’s phone is mostly covered by her work, so the majority of the bill is my plan,” Marion says.
Groceries: $550 a month. “Cooking every day comes naturally to us,” says Jarelle. “We try to combat inflation by shopping in bulk at Costco and freezing things.”
RRSP and TFSA: $2,500 a month. “I’m currently earning more than Marion,” Jarelle says. “To be equitable, we assign most of his monthly income to investments and savings while mine goes to everyday spending, bills and debt. I provide for the present, and he provides for the future.”
Emergency fund: $310 a month. “This allows us a safety net for unexpected costs.”
Recent Splurges
Kitchen island: $300 from Wayfair. “Our new place has a galley kitchen, essentially a hallway,” Marion says. “Having a dining table would be too much, but the island adds counter space and gives us a place to eat.”
Counter stools: $420 from EQ3. “We happened upon them at The Bay, and they matched the kitchen island perfectly,” says Jarelle. “I couldn’t get them out of my head—they were so beautiful.”
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.
