{"id":797864,"date":"2026-07-12T22:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T22:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/797864\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T22:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T22:02:10","slug":"health-care-worker-earning-143000-cant-imagine-26-more-years-in-such-a-stressful-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/797864\/","title":{"rendered":"Health care worker earning $143,000 can\u2019t imagine 26 more years in such a stressful field"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

photo illustration by the globe and mail\/iStockPhoto \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Name, age: Michelle, 39<\/p>\n

Annual income: $143,000 <\/p>\n

Debt: $232,000 in mortgage<\/p>\n

Savings: $4,500 in savings account, $60,000 in tax-free savings account (TFSA), $135,000 in registered retirement savings plan (RRSP)<\/p>\n

What she does: Director in health care<\/p>\n

Where she lives: Kamloops, B.C.<\/p>\n

Top financial concern: \u201cI would like a house with one more bedroom and better outdoor space but I don\u2019t want to be house poor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle lives alone in a two-bedroom home she owns in British Columbia, and was recently promoted to a director-level position at a health care organization.<\/p>\n

At 39, she\u2019s doing well financially and careerwise compared to many people her age and says it can give her imposter syndrome.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I wonder, \u2018How the hell did I pull this off?\u2019\u201d Michelle says. She started her career at a community health care not-for-profit organization in Ontario before climbing the ladder and moving out West. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to live in a city with a ton of traffic and commuting issues. Where I was in the GTA, that\u2019s all it had to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oakville couple earning more than $400,000 makes mortgage payments of $8,000 each month<\/a><\/p>\n

She is thankful for her high income \u2013 above $140,000 \u2013 but says she works hard for it. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in health care is really hard,\u201d she adds. \u201cIt can be really stressful and there\u2019s a lot of pressure to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle has changed jobs every three years or so, something she says has fuelled her rapid advancement. She says the stress of being a leader in such a vital but often \u201cseverely\u201d underfunded sector makes it hard to imagine staying in the industry until she retires. Her current job has a prized defined-benefit pension, but she only gets the full amount if she stays to age 65. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnother 26 years doesn\u2019t seem doable,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

Living in B.C. has given Michelle easy access to an active lifestyle, which is where much of her discretionary income goes. She enjoys many outdoor sports and activities and also does CrossFit, all of which she describes as an investment in her health.<\/p>\n

An administrative assistant\u2019s $18,000 wedding will have a sit-down dinner, but she\u2019ll do her own hair and makeup<\/a><\/p>\n

Michelle describes herself as financially conservative, saying that being single means she has to make good decisions. \u201cIf I screw up my job, I don\u2019t have another person to fall back on.\u201d <\/p>\n

She wants a larger house \u2013 she uses her second bedroom at her current home as her office, which can be challenging when she has guests. <\/p>\n

Still, she\u2019s not sure how to decide whether to keep plugging away at her existing mortgage, or level up to the house she really wants. \u201cIt is the biggest thing holding me back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Investment and savings: $1,200<\/p>\n

$200 to savings account.<\/p>\n

$600 to TFSA. \u201c$50,000 in managed portfolio, $10,000 in stocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

$400 to RRSP. \u201c$116,000 in a managed RRSP, $19,000 in a (locked-in retirement account).\u201d<\/p>\n

Servicing debt: $1,898<\/p>\n

$1,898 to mortgage. \u201cI have increased my monthly payments multiple times to help pay off the principal faster.\u201d <\/p>\n

Household and transportation: $1,280 <\/p>\n

$240 on condo fees. \u201cWater cost is included.\u201d<\/p>\n

$100 on home insurance<\/p>\n

$217 to property tax<\/p>\n

$80 to electricity<\/p>\n

$90 to gasoline <\/p>\n

$100 on car insurance<\/p>\n

$83 on car maintenance<\/p>\n

$85 on cellphone<\/p>\n

$85 on internet<\/p>\n

$200 on house cleaning. \u201c$25 an hour, four hours, twice monthly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Food and drink: $1,065<\/p>\n

$900 on groceries. \u201c80 per cent purchased at Costco, 20 per cent at discounted grocery store.\u201d<\/p>\n

$25 at coffee shops <\/p>\n

$100 at restaurants. \u201cTypically go out twice a month.\u201d<\/p>\n

$40 on alcohol<\/p>\n

Miscellaneous: $3,847 <\/p>\n

$1,512 to income tax<\/p>\n

$1,020 to pension. \u201cDefined benefit pension plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

$75 on entertainment and going out<\/p>\n

$35 on streaming services. \u201cNetflix, Prime, Crave, Disney bundle via cellphone provider.\u201d<\/p>\n

$15 on music streaming<\/p>\n

$167 on clothing. \u201cClothes, shoes, activity gear.\u201d<\/p>\n

$325 on sports. \u201cSki and CrossFit pass.\u201d<\/p>\n

$30 on yoga classes<\/p>\n

$42 on hobbies. \u201cReading and biking.\u201d<\/p>\n

$50 on haircuts<\/p>\n

$25 on cosmetics<\/p>\n

$75 on personal services<\/p>\n

$21 on dental appointments. \u201cI have good dental coverage through work benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

$333 on vacations<\/p>\n

$83 on donations<\/p>\n

$29 on long-term disability insurance<\/p>\n

$10 on credit-card 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 by the globe and mail\/iStockPhoto \/ Getty Images Name, age: Michelle,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":797865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48,10526],"class_list":["post-797864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-paychequeproject"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797864","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=797864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/797864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/797865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=797864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=797864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=797864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}