“I don’t think homeownership is something I can realize”: How a midwife lives on $65,000 a year
Who: Courtney Graham, 32
What she does: A midwife.
What she makes: She hasn’t yet worked a full year as a midwife, but expects to make between $65,000 and $75,000 before tax.
Some of how she spends it: Rent on a one-bedroom apartment at College and Lansdowne, with backyard access and parking: $1,200. (“I’ve had to adjust my expectations. I don’t think homeownership is something I can realize in Toronto at this time.”) Professional dues: $4,220 a year. ($1,900 for membership in the College of Midwives of Ontario, and another $2,320 to be part of the Association of Ontario Midwives, which provides liability insurance and other benefits.) Student debt payments: $675 a month. (“It’s impossible to work while in midwifery school, so I took out some student loans.”) Lease payments on a 2012 Honda Civic: $383 a month. Gas and other transportation costs: approximately $150 a month. Parking: $100 a month. (“I’m on call 50 per cent of my time, so if I’m going to a movie and I have to leave, I prefer to have my car.) Insurance: $297 a month. (“Because my car is used for work, I have to be appropriately insured.”)
What she bought in one week: Groceries: $120. Three restaurant meals: $76. (“I would say I typically eat out once a week.”) Coffee: $16. Fitness classes: $42. (“I find that being active helps me deal with the stress of what I do, but it’s also social to me. It’s become more of a priority.”) New clothes from Loft and Old Navy: $180. Canning supplies and key cutting at Canadian Tire: $92. Wine: $15.
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![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/life/courtney-graham-midwife-cost-of-living/&title=“I don’t think homeownership is something I can realize”: How a midwife lives on $65,000 a year&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/courtney-graham-cost-of-living-2000x1333.jpg&description=Who: Courtney Graham, 32
What she does: A midwife.
What she makes: She hasn't yet worked a full year as a midwife, but expects to make between $65,000 and $75,000 before tax.
Some of how she spends it: Rent on a one-bedroom apartment at College and Lansdowne, with backyard access and parking: $1,200. ("I've had to adjust my expectations. I don't think homeownership is something I can realize in Toronto at this time.") Professional dues: $4,220 a year. ($1,900 for membership in the College of Midwives of Ontario, and another $2,320 to be part of the Association of Ontario Midwives, which provides liability insurance and other benefits.) Student debt payments: $675 a month. ("It's impossible to work while in midwifery school, so I took out some student loans.") Lease payments on a 2012 Honda Civic: $383 a month. Gas and other transportation costs: approximately $150 a month. Parking: $100 a month. ("I'm on call 50 per cent of my time, so if I'm going to a movie and I have to leave, I prefer to have my car.) Insurance: $297 a month. ("Because my car is used for work, I have to be appropriately insured.")
What she bought in one week: Groceries: $120. Three restaurant meals: $76. ("I would say I typically eat out once a week.") Coffee: $16. Fitness classes: $42. ("I find that being active helps me deal with the stress of what I do, but it's also social to me. It's become more of a priority.") New clothes from Loft and Old Navy: $180. Canning supplies and key cutting at Canadian Tire: $92. Wine: $15.
Want to tell us about your Cost of Living? Email us at costofliving@torontolife.com.){kind=link}
If saving/house is a priority, then why spend:
Over $900/mo on a car (she doesn’t even own) that she drives to the movies (movies?!? Never heard of kickasstorrants? Toronto public library??)? A TTC pass is about $140. The car is a significant expense, I’d be after a job that doesn’t require one, or maybe look into the taxi/uber thing on the times TTC wouldn’t work. I’d have to think it would be a savings (don’t know about hauling equipment, but generally, where there’s a will, a way exists)
$480/month on GROCERIES?? What? She shops at Whole Foods?
$25 restaurant meals X 3/wk or 4/mo? She’s doing odd math on that one. I’d think with all the groceries and canning, a restaurant would be the last place to go! Maybe it’s social, but that’s what the fitness club fulfills….
$180 X 4 (X4 for monthly) for clothes?!? Even $180/mo?!? Ever hear of Value Village?
$16 X 4 for coffee?? A gi-normous tin of acceptable coffee is $10 (No-Name 925 grams: https://shop.loblaws.ca/Food/Drinks/Coffee/Ground-Coffee/No-Name-Dark-Roast/p/20790633?isPDPFlow=Y ) and would last months.
She spent $90 on canning her groceries?? Then the above expense isn’t accurate…. odd accounting (as in she’s not consuming all that food). Or is she gardening? Then why so much spent on groceries?? She doesn’t look like someone that has been eating that much food!
BTW- that’s a nice (big) kitchen for one person. Every apartment I had came with a closet-sized kitchen and ate fine.
I love that she probably drives it to her FITNESS class!
Lastly, I’d rethink a career that I’d have to go into debt for that ‘requires’ a car costing almost what housing does.
I don’t mean to be mean, but there’s clearly room for economizing if that’s a goal.
BTW- before thinking I don’t walk the talk, I was a first-time home buyer in TO, no mortgage, no job (at the time), and had been travelling abroad for the last several years (homeless). The home purchase was from savings alone during a 15-year career, DINK.
Before you lose it over the car, she does explain why she needs parking everywhere she goes. Babies wait for no one, and if a patient goes into labour, that baby may not wait until the end of “Jurassic World” or a fitness class and then a TTC ride. She has to get around the city, fast. (When I went into labour with my second, my son was born 45 after the midwife got to my house). Midwives accept patients from across the city.
cut out the car and coffee…ar 900 a month, you’re better off getting zip car/car to go and cabbing
I feel like that is a lot of money to be making a year…. With some simple budgeting and planning home ownership could definitely be a possibility! I know Toronto is expensive but $1200 a month? Why not get a roommate? I know it sucks to be 32 and have a roomie but which is more important? Living alone now, or owning a house? Also, I do understand that a social life and shopping is something everyone does…. And sometimes you really NEED new clothes… But some of that spending does not equal home ownership. I’m sure your friends would understand you wanting to eat in…. Use those groceries you bought and host a potluck diner party!
The big question here is why are midwives paid so little in comparison with OBs? 65000 is a decent wage but it’s pennies compared to what doctors make and midwives spend WAY more time with their patients on average.
Can’t cut out the car when you are on call and have to get to your patients in a moment’s notice.
After you’ve been up all night supporting a birth, cutting out the coffee is not so appealing either.
RG, I don’t mean to be mean, but you’ve gotta be single (and bitter much?)
When a birth with a mid-wife has trouble, who do they call?
You obviously don’t know much about what Midwives do, do you?
Wow, I checked, and you can rent a car for a month for less than she pays for lease and insurance. A car is a complete waste of money for an asset that sits in a driveway for 22 hours a day.
Even try Car2Go, Autoshare, or UberX for a month
Bonus: No car repair costs. Dealership costs start $120/hour these days.
Instead of getting a personal driver/uber? If anything, it would be an improvement to have a personal driver take her home, without worrying about parking,etc.
It’s not the removal of the car that I’m implying, but the ownership model. The cost of cabbing/ubering around for work will be cheaper than her 900 dollar monthly bill.
Coffee can be home brewed (1/12 of price), an uber/cab ride will be cheaper than car ownership. Getting a personal driver is cheaper than owning a car. I think it’s the change in ownership model I’m suggesting.
Very few people I know are able to buy a home on their own – even 20 years ago. It’s interesting how non homeowners mix ideal lifestyle with home ownership. No matter what decade you’re in, unless there is a large inheritance or a lots of money coming in, homeownership usually requires sacrifice and lifestyle is likely first on the list.
Again, I don’t think you grasp the work of a midwife. A personal driver is only a practical option if that driver is available on a moment’s notice 24 hours a day (which is essentially what a midwife would need in order to properly serve her clients). If that were the case, I highly doubt that hiring person would be cheaper than owning a car.
In other words, for practical purposes, having full-time unrestricted access to a car is a practical necessity for her job, meaning zipcars and autoshare are also impractical, and I highly doubt you’ll find many single women eager to get into a cab or Uber at 3 am alone nowadays.
So if you start from the position that she NEEDs a car, then you can look at ways to reduce that expense (cheaper car, lease vs own, claim it as a business expense to reduce taxes), but to suggest that ditching the car altogether is the means for her to miraculously afford a house inn Toronto on a $65k salary, shows a lack of understanding of the realities of her job, which is the long form version of the point I was making in my initial comment.
Ghostbusters!
When I went into premature labour at 3am I would have lost my mind if my midwife’s arrival at the hospital was delayed because she was trying to find an Autoshare. They need cars. Also, they are sorely underpaid for the work they do.
And it can ONLY be done by two people, unlike in generations past where dad was the only one to typically hold down a job. That’s just not possible today, unless, as you note, there’s a massive inheritance involved or you’re fortunate enough to have been given (again usually by parents) a shot at a top-flight education that puts you in the best paying professions.
Unfortunately, nearly every couple they’ve ever shown in this column, as well as probably the majority of those in the GTA would LOSE THEIR HOMES and end up renting if they separated or one of them became permanently incapacitated. I’ve seen it personally countless times and it makes me more than happy to rent. This girl should be happy with what she’s got, AND what she makes, and simply start investing her money in an RRSP or whatever once she pays off the student debt. Compared to a LOT of the hipsters profiled in this column, her lifestyle hardly seems to be an issue; it seems like she lives rather simply, which is certainly rare for girls her age in this town. I mean, three resto meals for $76 is on the NORMAL end of the spectrum usually presented in these features. Nice to see a “struggling” young person represented here that actually reasonably austerely and doesn’t come of as a whiny hipster.
Considering what she does for a living — which apparently you didn’t read — owning/leasing HER OWN vehicle is an absolute necessity. She can’t be screwing around looking for a friggin’ RENTAL CAR when a client is in need. Some things don’t wait, bud.
Roommates, ugh! You do realize that some people PREFER to live in their own space rather than with STRANGERS, or even friends who may grow tiresome over time. A boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife scenario are the only exceptions for a lot of us, and until that comes along (IF we even want it) sharing ANY space with people we don’t truly know is a nightmare waiting to happen, and just to save half on the rent? Forget it.
By the way, compare her monthly grocery, clothing and social life expenditures to previous subjects in this feature, and you realize pretty quick that she’s on the LOW end of the spectrum. I’d say this girl is pretty reasonable with her money, but she should ignore ANYONE telling her in these comments that she just absolutely HAS to have her own overpriced home or she’s somehow incomplete as a human being.
It’s beyond OK to rent in this town if you do so wisely, and $1200 a month, like many of her other expenses, is a very reasonable rent for the space she’s getting (and at least it’s not someone else’s jacked-up condo rent). Once her student debt is paid off, she be wiser — assuming she’s still single at that point — investing that money, wisely, in an RRSP and continuing to live a simpler lifestyle that affords her the all-hours availability her career will ALWAYS require rather than anchoring her to a house that could constantly throw wrenches into those requirements.
Yes, assuming the uber driver — which could be a different person every time she calls the service — doesn’t sexually assault her on the way to her job or charge her up the wazoo because she requires him/her to take her further than they usually go. Or assuming she can even FIND an uber driver every single time she needs a ride with little time to spare. Assuming she could find a personal driver who she could TRUST to be on call 24/7/365 like she has to be. Owning/leasing her own car is INFINITELY preferable to any other option, and I’m sure her many clients wouldn’t have it any other way. If it was, she’d be out of work in no time. Uber, yeah right. And cabbing? That’s just insane in this line of work. Midwives need to be in complete control of both their careers and many just-in-time situations, and Uber, cabs and personal drivers DO NOT allow for that with any kind of consistency.
And further more, owning/leasing your own vehicle means you can get the fuck OUT of Toronto any time you like without having to be reliant upon other people to take you away and bring you back, and you can change your mind on where you want to go or what you want to do OUT THERE without having a meter running and an “employee” effectively waiting on you. People without cars are more trapped in this city than they actually realize. It’s all about personal freedom and choice that comes with having a vehicle at your own disposal. As much as I love this city, I couldn’t imagine not having the ability to get outside of it on a whim.
I will agree on the coffee, but seriously, EVERYONE could cut that out of their diets and they’d be doing themselves a favour.
Good to see others are pointing out the folly of Joshua’s model here. It’s amazing the risky situations he’s willing to put her in just to own a home that she’s clearly not desperate to have anyway. :)
Her car doesn’t cost anywhere NEAR what housing does, unless, like so many other folks who try to mislead in examples like this, you’re comparing her TOTAL car costs to ONLY the monthly mortgage payment on a home, which naturally leaves out ALL THE OTHER EXPENSES that make home ownership a dangerous proposition to single people who just want to live simple lives, be available 24/7/365 to careers that in her case just so happen to require it, and not have the ANCHOR of a home (with untold and unexpected additional costs) around their neck that could potentially ruin their career.
Compared to most of the people profiled in this feature month after month, this is the ONLY ONE who actually lives a reasonably modest lifestyle by Toronto standards. More power to her.
As many other people have already noted, she’s on call ALL THE TIME. If someone goes into labour during her FITNESS class (as you said), she needs to leave right away and get to the birth. When you’re a midwife, you are constantly chained to your job. My sister is a midwife in another city, and she can rarely come to Toronto to visit me, as she needs to stay close to her client’s homes all the time. Your life is based around your job. TTC is not an option to get to a birth. Period. Neither is Uber/cab, as there may be a waiting period until the cab/uber arrives, and you must get to the birth immediately. You say, “Where there is a will, a way exists.” Ummmm….. not when you’re dealing with something as unpredictable as birth!!! Part of the job is GET TO THE BIRTH RIGHT AWAY.
Owning a house is not the be-all and end-all to living in a city. Why sacrifice so much that you’re not enjoying your life RIGHT NOW, just to end up maybe paying off a home by the time you are 60? This is a personal choice and one that I am sure she has considered.
It’s amazing how many people are thinking she’s over spending because she has a car (which she uses for work and way too many people seem to have missed that part of the article), goes to the movies and some fitness classes (oh no! She’s spending a little money on herself! God forbid!), spent $120 on groceries (which she spent in one week and doesn’t necessarily reflect 4 weeks of the month), $180 on clothes (again, doesn’t reflect 4 weeks a month and seriously? Value Village? I guess no one is allowed to buy something nice for themselves and Old Navy doesn’t even exactly expensive), etc etc etc
She would need to carry all of her home birth supplies (which is equivocal to a level 1 hospital, including 2 oxygen tanks, suction, birth instruments and IV supplies, PLUS MEDICATIONS) with her wherever she went if she didn’t keep them in her car.
If you’re thinking of solutions, do your research