This globetrotting couple earns a combined $287,000 a year. How do they spend it?
“Groceries are our biggest monthly expense after rent”
Kinza Shahwaar, a 33-year-old program manager for Thomson Reuters, and Zohair Shahid, a 37-year-old CPA, live in a one-bedroom-plus-den in Liberty Village, which they rent for $1,980 a month. She earns $150,000 a year, and he makes $137,000. The couple met online in 2020 and quickly fell in love. Their only hurdle: Kinza was living in Toronto, and Zohair was working in Dublin. The distance was a challenge, but they were determined to make it work. In April of 2021, they travelled home to Pakistan to tie the knot. For the next two years, they met up in a different country—the States, France, Turkey—every three months. Then, in 2023, they decided to settle down in one place, and Ireland’s housing crisis, says Zohair, is “worse than Canada’s,” so they opted for Toronto. Here’s how the couple spends their money.
Regular Expenses
Rent: $1,980 a month. “Our apartment is rent-controlled,” says Kinza. “There’s nothing not to like about this building. We’ve got a golf simulator, we’ve got a theatre, we’ve got a pool—we’ve got everything.”
Phone: $160 a month. “I’m with Koodo, and Kinza is with Rogers,” says Zohair.
Groceries: $600 a month. “This is our biggest monthly expense after rent,” Kinza says.
Dining out: $450 a month. “We go out every weekend,” says Zohair. “Our favourites are the Lunch Lady of Saigon, Pizzeria Badiali and Impact Kitchen.”
Cat: $150 a month. “His name is Mannu and he’s our little world,” Kinza says. “His litter and food are all subscription-based, so they don’t cost a lot.”
Raves: $300 a month. “We prefer hard techno,” Zohair says.
Books: $50 a month. “I love popping into Type Books on Queen West,” says Kinza. “Every time I finish a book, I’ll share it with a colleague or give it to a friend as a gift.”
Hobbies: $200 a month. “I collect figurines and play Nintendo,” says Zohair.
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Recent Splurges
Veld Music Festival: $700. “We just got our tickets for this summer, and we’re so excited,” Zohair says.
Microneedling: $600. “I get this done at least twice a year at Pure and Simple on King West,” says Kinza. “It rejuvenates the skin.”
Trip to Montreal: $2,000. “It was a gift for Kinza’s younger sister, Reeba, who we brought with us,” says Zohair.
Lookalike Mario Bellini sofa: $3,000. “I’m not too thrilled about it,” Kinza says. “We could have spent the same amount on a different sofa that better fit our apartment.”
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Teagan Sliz covers Ontario real estate for Toronto Life and Storeys. She also writes for Cottage Life and has reported on everything from hidden-gem restaurants to Canadian wildlife and forest fires. She graduated from Queen’s University with a bachelor’s in history and art history and from Centennial College, where she studied Canadian publishing.
