This online publisher makes $130,000 a year. How does he spend it?
“In 2021, I bought $800 worth of groceries on PC points alone.”
Who: Andrew John Virtue Dobson What he does: Runs Dobbernationloves, his own food and travel publication What he makes: $130,000 Where he lives: A one-bedroom condo in Regent Park
Regular Expenses
Rent: $1,720 a month. “In June 2021, I moved here after living in a shoebox for 10 years. The community pool across the street is free, so I no longer have a gym bill.”
More Toronto Budgets
Phone: $50 a month. “Koodo had an amazing deal, so I made the switch from a major carrier to save.”
Internet: $45 a month. “I get high-speed unlimited internet with CanNet. I don’t understand why people pay more than $50 a month for internet in Toronto.”
Hydro: $50 a month.
Groceries: $500 a month. “I try to stick to No Frills. In 2021, I bought $800 worth of groceries on PC points alone.”
Big-Ticket Expenses
Bike repair: $200. “I had my bike wheel stolen in Yorkville recently and had to fork over for a new wheel and a tune-up. In the warm months, I get around the city on my bike. During the winter, I take the TTC.”
Travel insurance: $180. “I spoke at a conference in Thailand for travel industry creatives, which was covered by the tourism board. My only expense was the insurance, paid for with my TD Visa credit card.”
Dental: $549. “Small business owners must spend a minimum amount to claim medical expenses on their taxes. In 2022, my income bounced back from the pandemic slump, so I splurged on checkups, cleaning and X-rays.”
Hearing aids: $8,200. “I’m late deafened, and people with disabilities often can’t indulge in vacations or fancy cars because of our added expenses. OHIP covers $500 per ear, so I’m out of pocket $7,200.”
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.
