This Willowdale couple makes $163,000 a year. How do they spend it?
“We’ll have grey hair by the time we pay off our mortgage”
Who: Andrew Cosentino, 30, and Felicia Nacini, 29 What they do: He’s a distribution supervisor for a beverage company; she’s a senior paralegal for a non-profit What they make: $163,000 combined Where they live: A two-bedroom condo in Willowdale
Regular Expenses
Mortgage: $1,800 a month. “We’re hoping to someday trade our condo for a house,” says Andrew. The size of the mortgage gives Felicia pause: “We’ll probably have grey hair by the time we pay it off, but that’s okay.”
Property tax: $2,500 a year.
Groceries: $800 to $900 a month. “We live close to a Loblaws and a Longo’s—convenient but expensive,” says Felicia. “We’d save more if we trekked to Food Basics.”
Alcohol: $150 to $200 a month. “We really like the craft breweries in Toronto, so we usually go to bottle shops like Bellwoods Brewery,” Felicia says.
Car: $2,900 a year. “That includes gas, maintenance and insurance,” says Felicia. “It’s a lot,” Andrew admits, “but I work in Brampton, and the TTC doesn’t go that far.”
Phone and internet: $280 a month. “We’re thinking of switching our phone plans soon,” Andrew says, “maybe to my company plan, which has a bunch of perks.”
Subscriptions: $50 a month. “We have Prime, Netflix and Spotify,” says Felicia. “I also like borrowing DVDs from the library. I just took out Yellowstone—for free!”
Entertainment: $400 a month. “For a date, we’ll visit a part of town we’ve never been to, walk around, grab a drink and check out a restaurant,” Andrew says.
Clothing: About $700 a year. “I have a Lululemon addiction,” says Andrew.
Home expenses: $1,000 to $1,500 a year. “We spent quite a bit furnishing this house when we moved in,” Andrew says. “When you own, there are also unexpected expenses. For example, we just had to spend $880 because our dishwasher broke.”
Savings: $10,000 to $12,000 a year. “I put away $400 a month,” says Felicia. “Andrew, meanwhile, will drop a big chunk of money into his TFSA every so often.”
Recent Splurges
Wedding: $60,000. “We got married in May at the Steam Whistle brewery, which was a dream venue for us,” Felicia says. “I got my dress on discount at a trunk show for $699.” But they had to shell out big for other things. “Italians love wine, and alcohol for more than 130 people is pretty pricey,” says Andrew.
Travel: $12,000. “Our honeymoon was in Hawaii—expensive, but we really wanted to go,” Andrew says. “Usually we rent a car and take road trips instead of going overseas. But we have one of our close friends’ wedding in Scotland in 2024, so now we’re saving for that.”
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