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Name, age: Claudia, 36
Annual income: $78,500
Debt: $0
Savings: $3,002 in savings account, $35,586 in registered retirement savings plan
What she does: Consultant for the provincial government
Where she lives: Regina
Top financial concern: “The cost of living keeps getting higher.”
Claudia grew up in Regina but moved to the Kootenays region of British Columbia in 2015, when she was in her twenties. She had a good job in the trades, and at the time, the real estate market there was still affordable.
“I wanted to live there for the rest of my life,” she says.
Her outlook changed as she watched home prices escalate over the next decade. In 2024, she sold her house, which she’d purchased at $182,000, for $480,000.
“I did put probably $80,000 into it,” says Claudia.
She then moved back to Regina, where “housing had stagnated, if not gone down a little bit,” she says. She had about $316,000 cash from her home sale, and bought “a modest home on a tiny lot” in a downtown area for $285,000, using the money left over to make some upgrades.
“I have always wanted to live in a walkable, urban neighbourhood,” says Claudia, describing nearby amenities such as a large park, a creek with a walking trail, cafés, restaurants and grocery stores. “I am in a really nice part of town and my quality of life is really good.”
Claudia says that being mortgage-free has given her a sense of security she didn’t realize she had been craving.
“I am the least stressed-out I ever have been in my life,” she says. “I didn’t realize how much of my stress was financial.”
Now, she avoids debt altogether, saving up for major purchases and paying the full balance of her credit card every month. But even without a mortgage, she says inflation and the cost of living are starting to encroach on her relative comfort.
“The City of Regina just said they’re looking at a 15-per-cent property tax increase next year,” she says. “They just did a big increase last year.”
“I did all this to get ahead financially and it feels like all that room I created is just getting eaten up because wages don’t go up,” adds Claudia, who now works as a consultant for the government. She says she made a higher hourly wage in the trades before she left Saskatchewan than when she came back a decade later. “Wages have stagnated.”
Claudia loves home decor, nice clothes and good food. She has a gluten-free diet, which can be more expensive to maintain. “I eat a lot of pork because pork is cheap,” she says.
Her typical monthly expenses:
Investment and savings: up to $1,788
$588 to pension. “Defined contribution.”
$200 to RRSP. “Stock portfolio of banks, tech, oil and food, mostly.”
Up to $1,000 to savings, depending on the month. “All my extra income.”
Servicing debt: $0
Household and transportation: $1,491
$193 to property insurance
$371 to property tax. “For a modest home on a tiny lot.”
$287 to utilities
$150 on home repairs. “I anticipate spending more next year because I plan to renovate the bathroom and build a new doorstep.”
$30 on gasoline. “I usually walk to work and for groceries.”
$95 to car insurance
$190 on car maintenance. “My car is 13.5 years old.”
$28 on cellphone
$72 on internet. “A rip-off.”
$75 on housewares and decor. “Kitchen items, house plants.”
Food and drink: $550
$410 on groceries. “I’m gluten-free. My brother picks up items at Costco for me when he goes. My parents give me leftovers on Sundays.”
$10 at coffee shops. “Mostly drink coffee at home because I have a very nice, expensive espresso machine.”
$100 at restaurants. “Lunch or dinner with my brother and/or boyfriend.”
$30 on alcohol. “I always have ingredients for negronis and daiquiris.”
Miscellaneous: $2,462
$1,602 to income tax, Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance
$117 to union dues
$98 to long-term disability insurance. “Deducted from paycheque.”
$14 on subscriptions. “The Globe and Mail on a promotional price, YouTube Music.”
$33 on electronics. “I bought a cheap-ish set of speakers this year.”
$200 on clothing. “I love buying clothes.”
$38 on snowboarding. “Membership to local hill.”
$50 on pets. “Two cats.”
$30 on hobbies. “Gardening, a little bit of drawing, painting and macramé.”
$25 on haircuts
$20 on cosmetics. “Wear mascara and moisturizer daily.”
$167 on travel. “This year, my travel was minimal.”
$29 on gifts
$29 to life insurance
$10 on clothing alterations
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