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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”

By Daniel Reale-Chin| Photography by Sarah Bodri
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Andrew and Felicia in the kitchen of their Willowdale apartment

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.”

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This Corktown couple makes $140,000 a year. How do they spend it?
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This Corktown couple makes $140,000 a year. How do they spend it?

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.

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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.

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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.”

Andrew and Felicia's bookshelf in their Willowdale apartment
Andrew and Felicia's living room in their Willowdale condo
Andrew and Felicia's kitchen in their Willowdale condo
Andrew and Felicia's bedroom in their Willowdale condo
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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