“Paying rent is tight, but it’s manageable”: how a 31-year-old in HR spends her money

Who: Jessica Lin, 31

What she does: Human resources at a home decor and design company

What she makes: $58,000 a year

Where she lives: A 500-square-foot studio apartment at College Park

Regular expenses: $1,400 a month for rent. “Paying rent is tight, but it’s manageable. I’m always monitoring what I spend.” Internet and cellphone: $85 a month. $200 a month for groceries. “My mom visits every weekend and gives me good Asian groceries from T&T, like Taiwanese cabbage, fish and ingredients for sushi.” Car: $300 a month, to pay off a 2017 Toyota Yaris that she bought to commute to a previous job before moving downtown. “Now it’s parked in my mom’s garage in Mississauga, because I don’t want to pay for parking downtown, insurance and gas.” Dining out and bars: $200 a month. “I’m close to Kinka Izakaya, so I go there a lot.” Dog food: $50 a month, for Bento, a shiba inu puppy.

Savings: $550 a month. “I’ve been putting money into my RRSP and a TFSA for the last five years.”

Recent splurges: $2,000, for a trip to Cancun for a friend’s wedding. Dog: $2,700, to buy and neuter Bento. Staub cast iron pot: $300. “I host dinner parties where I spend the day cooking multi-course meals for my friends.” Leather Mackage purse: $600. “Bags are the only apparel that I splurge on—they’re kind of an obsession. But it’s not like this one was Louis Vuitton or Chanel prices.” Satellite antenna: $60. “I pick up about 20 channels in HD, which is awesome.” Concerts: $400. “In the past year, I went to WayHome, Osheaga and Lana Del Rey.”

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