“I’m very paycheque to paycheque”: how much a sales director makes, and how she spends it

Who: Jessica Cimo, 32

What she does: Sales director at a fine-art promotion company.

What she makes: As a permanent contractor, she invoices for around $35,000 annually, before taxes.

Some of how she spends it: Rent on a one-bedroom unit near Queen and Roncesvalles, split evenly with her partner: $614.46 monthly. (“The kitchen is really tiny and quaint. There was no space for the olive oil, so I had to buy wall-mounted shelving.”) Continuing education courses, including a class on printing processes and another in performance art: $1540 this year. Internet: $39.49 monthly. (“Our arrangement as a couple is that he pays the Hydro and I pay the Internet.”) TTC tokens: $28 monthly. (“In the summer, I use TTC if it’s raining too hard. If it’s just light rain, I’ll still bike.”) Subscription to ESSE Arts + Opinions, a magazine: $60.20 annually. Cellphone: $68.37 monthly.

What she bought in one week: Yerba maté and a spinach-and-cheese empanada from El Almacen, on Queen West: $7. Vegetables and salad mix from Trinity Bellwoods Farmers Market: $27. Gladioli bouquet from Roncesvalles Fruit and Flower Market: $5. Flor de Cana Rum: $25.95. (“We were hosting a party, so we made cocktails with the mint and spearmint in our garden patch.”) Dry cleaning: $70.45. (“I procrastinated. I didn’t pick it up until I was afraid they’d send my clothes away, because I was afraid to see the bill.”) Porlex Japan ceramic hand coffee grinder: $70. (“It was very expensive, but I had been thinking about buying it for a year.”) Ontario sour cherries and galettes aux beurres from Cote de Boeuf, on Ossington: $9.32. Farcito classico, espresso, and biscotti from Sud Forno, on Queen West: $11.04. (“I’m very attached to eating Italian food. I have a lot of history there.”) Charitable donations: $100. (“I was able to be generous because this was a pay period that I didn’t have to pay rent. I’m very paycheque to paycheque.”) Small ice cream cone from Ed’s Real Scoop: $3.62.

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