{"id":508225,"date":"2026-03-01T22:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T22:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/508225\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T22:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T22:33:15","slug":"winnipeg-aviation-worker-made-315000-last-year-but-often-works-12-hour-shifts-eight-days-in-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/508225\/","title":{"rendered":"Winnipeg aviation worker made $315,000 last year, but often works 12-hour shifts, eight days in row"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo Illustration\/iStockPhoto \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Name, age: Jacob, 31 <\/p>\n

Annual income: $315,000<\/p>\n

Debt: $493,000 on house mortgage, $110,000 on cottage mortgage<\/p>\n

Savings: $74,000 in tax-free savings account, $213,000 in registered retirement savings plan <\/p>\n

What he does: Aviation professional<\/p>\n

Where he lives: Winnipeg<\/p>\n

Top financial concern: \u201cAvoiding that lifestyle creep and paying myself first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winnipeg resident Jacob, 31, earned more than $315,000 last year in the aviation industry. But he works hard for that money. <\/p>\n

With a base salary of $215,000, he takes on as much overtime as he can, often working up to 12-hour shifts, eight days in a row.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very short-staffed,\u201d Jacob says of his workplace.<\/p>\n

To relax, he bought a cottage. His getaway spot is close enough that he can go there even when he only has one day off \u2013 which is often, especially in the summer.<\/p>\n

His main residence is a four-bedroom home in a quiet Winnipeg neighbourhood that he shares with his wife and dog. Their plan is to have a family, so they bought a big house they can stay in for the long-term. <\/p>\n

Jacob\u2019s wife quit her job last year. \u201cWe can afford it,\u201d he says, noting that they hope to have their first child in the next year. \u201cWe\u2019re both ready and we\u2019ve thought a lot about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacob\u2019s income carries the couple\u2019s expenses, which include numerous extras he says he will likely cut when they have kids.<\/p>\n

Rural Saskatchewan dad, 37, says it was an affordable place to live \u2018but that is changing\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Digital artist, 35, feels the \u2018guilt of having quietly saved\u2019 more than $1-million with his partner<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I spend a lot of money unnecessarily,\u201d says Jacob. \u201cGoing out, concerts and that sort of thing can easily be axed from our budget. <\/p>\n

He adds, \u201cAs soon as we have a family, I will definitely start contributing to an RESP,\u201d referring to a Registered Education Savings Plan. He also has a pension through his job, which will pay him 33 per cent of the average of his five best income years.<\/p>\n

As it is now, Jacob puts $2,000 toward savings each month, between his TFSA and RRSP, which are both invested in mutual funds with the help of a financial adviser.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to max out my TFSA in the next year or two, then start contributing to an additional investment account,\u201d said Jacob, whose wife has roughly $250,000 in an investment account that was gifted to her by family. <\/p>\n

\u201cI also plan on increasing my payments on both mortgages to help pay them off faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

His typical monthly expenses:<\/p>\n

Investment and savings: $2,000<\/p>\n

$500 to TFSA. \u201cI also do a lump sum deposit once or twice a year after a long stretch of work, or tax refund.\u201d<\/p>\n

$1,500 to RRSP.<\/p>\n

Servicing debt: $2,945<\/p>\n

$2,270 to mortgage. \u201cHouse is worth approximately $730,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

$675 to cottage mortgage. \u201cCottage worth about $140,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

Household and transportation: $6,620<\/p>\n

$268 to property insurance. \u201cFor both properties.\u201d<\/p>\n

$635 to property tax for house<\/p>\n

$92 to property tax for cottage<\/p>\n

$260 to electricity and gas for house<\/p>\n

$167 to water for house<\/p>\n

$20 to electricity for cottage<\/p>\n

$3,333 to backyard upgrade. \u201cPrior to the winter, we spent $40,000.\u201d<\/p>\n

$300 to gasoline. \u201cTwo cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

$313 to car insurance<\/p>\n

$817 to car payment. \u201cRoughly $26,000 owing. Wife\u2019s car is paid for.\u201d<\/p>\n

$67 to car maintenance.<\/p>\n

$50 on Uber<\/p>\n

$150 for cellphones<\/p>\n

$88 for home internet<\/p>\n

$60 for cottage internet<\/p>\n

Food and drink: $1,225<\/p>\n

$400 at grocery store<\/p>\n

$300 at Costco.<\/p>\n

$75 at coffee shops<\/p>\n

$300 at restaurants. \u201cAbout once a week we\u2019ll go out for dinner\/order takeout.\u201d<\/p>\n

$150 on alcohol. \u201cMore in the summer.\u201d <\/p>\n

Miscellaneous: $14,501<\/p>\n

$6,167 to federal income tax<\/p>\n

$3,883 to provincial income tax<\/p>\n

$336 to Canada Pension Plan<\/p>\n

$33 to additional CPP contributions (for high earners)<\/p>\n

$90 to Employment Insurance<\/p>\n

$456 to union dues<\/p>\n

$300 on going out. \u201cConcerts every few months, and will meet friends for drinks 2-3 times a month.\u201d<\/p>\n

$100 on cannabis. \u201cWife uses.\u201d<\/p>\n

$24 for Netflix<\/p>\n

$18 for Disney Plus<\/p>\n

$17 for Kindle Unlimited<\/p>\n

$11 for Amazon Prime<\/p>\n

$15 for Apple Care<\/p>\n

$19 for Apple Music<\/p>\n

$14 for iCloud Plus<\/p>\n

$13 for Sirius XM<\/p>\n

$34 for Xbox Game Pass<\/p>\n

$275 on clothing. \u201cI buy a lot of my clothes from Old Navy or Costco in bulk.\u201d<\/p>\n

$120 on Pilates. \u201cWife goes regularly.\u201d<\/p>\n

$70 on pet food<\/p>\n

$63 on vet bills<\/p>\n

$167 on golf<\/p>\n

$250 on hobby. \u201cTrading card collection.\u201d<\/p>\n

$47 on haircuts<\/p>\n

$100 on cosmetics<\/p>\n

$115 on personal services. \u201cMy wife gets her nails done, massages, acupuncture.\u201d<\/p>\n

$33 on dentist. \u201c90 per cent coverage through my insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n

$8 on glasses. \u201cOne pair every two years, mostly covered by benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

$40 on prescription<\/p>\n

$1,042 on vacations. <\/p>\n

$63 on donations. \u201cWe try to support local organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

$83 on gifts. <\/p>\n

$250 on life insurance. \u201cIncludes $500,000 of coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

$233 on sports tickets<\/p>\n

$12 on Visa annual fee<\/p>\n

Some details may be changed to protect the privacy of the person profiled. We want to thank them for sharing their story. <\/p>\n

Participate in the Paycheque Project<\/p>\n

\nWelcome to Paycheque Project, a regular series in The Globe and Mail that looks at how much young Canadians are earning \u2013 and where that money is going. We’d like to hear from young adults from a diverse range of backgrounds, geographic locations, and earnings ranges.<\/p>\n

If you’re a millennial or Gen Z and would like to participate, fill out the form below or send an email to Roma Luciw at rluciw@globeandmail.com. Please include your name, age, where you live, occupation, your biggest financial concern and your email. And remember, Paycheque Project is a judgement-free zone.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Photo Illustration\/iStockPhoto \/ Getty Images Name, age: Jacob, 31 Annual income: $315,000 Debt:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[1397,49,48,2922,10526,22073],"class_list":["post-508225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-appwebview","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-noastack","tag-paychequeproject","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}