{"id":608129,"date":"2026-09-07T00:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T00:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/608129\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T00:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T00:28:09","slug":"quebec-city-communication-advisor-28-wants-children-with-partner-but-worries-about-home-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/608129\/","title":{"rendered":"Quebec City communication advisor, 28, wants children with partner but worries about home prices"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Name, age: Benjamin, 28<\/p>\n

Annual income: $80,000<\/p>\n

Debt: $19,000 line of credit <\/p>\n

Savings: $2,450 in savings account, $19,000 in registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), $18,000 in first home savings account (FHSA)<\/p>\n

What he does: Communication advisor for a construction company<\/p>\n

Where he lives: Quebec City<\/p>\n

Top financial concern: Whether to buy a house now or save more money. \u201cThe housing market is less and less accessible even though we make good salaries. Should I do it now or just wait?\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjamin came to Canada from France as a child and his family settled near Montreal. He moved to Ottawa for his undergraduate degree and the government job that followed, before having a \u201cbreakdown\u201d during pandemic lockdowns and moving to Quebec City to do a master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about the meaning of my job and the lack of social contact with close ones,\u201d he said, noting he\u2019s pretty sure most people can relate to facing challenges during that time. \u201cI missed the Qu\u00e9bec culture and wanted a change of environment after two years of study and work from home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burlington public servant, 26, finally makes enough to move closer to downtown Toronto job<\/a><\/p>\n

It proved to be a good move. He loves the historic neighbourhoods of Quebec City, has found success in his work life and met Claire, the partner with whom he plans to have a family. <\/p>\n

They each owed about $15,000 in student loans and were able to pay them off within six months of graduating, thanks to support from the Quebec government and the fact that they both got good jobs.<\/p>\n

In their current positions, Benjamin makes $80,000 and Claire earns $65,000. Their only debt is a $19,000 line of credit they used to buy a car. Each partner pays $1,000 toward this monthly. They live a frugal lifestyle in a two-bedroom apartment that costs $1,300 per month, and the couple are gearing up for the next phase of their life together. <\/p>\n

Tech worker, 37, earning $166,000 has a Toronto condo that\u2019s dropped in value<\/a><\/p>\n

They\u2019d like to start having children soon, but aren\u2019t sure whether it makes more sense to stay in their cheap apartment as long as they can or buy a home that can accommodate more people now. A two-bedroom home in one of the areas they like would cost about $600,000 now, but rapid population growth in Quebec City<\/a> is driving prices up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Benjamin says they want to have children while they\u2019re young, and their parents (future grandparents) can help out.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have this conception they need to have the big house and perfect, stable job before planning for a child,\u201d he says. \u201cMy parents were in the restaurant business, with no job security, and I had a really good childhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Investment and savings: $1,022<\/p>\n

$306 to work RRSP. \u201c8,000 a year invested with employer match.\u201d<\/p>\n

$50 to savings account. \u201cI get 2 per cent cash back on my credit card and put it into my savings account.\u201d<\/p>\n

$666 to FHSA. \u201cIn order to reach the $8,000 yearly maximum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Servicing debt: $1,000<\/p>\n

$1,000 to line of credit. \u201cWe used this to buy our car, given the good interest rate \u2013 4.35 per cent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Household and transportation: $1,984<\/p>\n

$1,300 to rent. \u201cTwo bedrooms in turn-of-the-century historic district.\u201d<\/p>\n

$27 to renter\u2019s insurance<\/p>\n

$80 to utilities. \u201cHeat and electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n

$10 to parking. \u201cParking fee for city residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

$200 to gasoline<\/p>\n

$127 to car insurance<\/p>\n

$100 to car maintenance. \u201cA 2022 Kia Rio with 50,000 kilometres.\u201d<\/p>\n

$40 to city electric bike share. \u201cFor both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

$100 on two cellphones<\/p>\n

Food and drink: $1,270<\/p>\n

$550 to groceries<\/p>\n

$100 at coffee shops<\/p>\n

$500 at restaurants. \u201cTwo nice restaurants a month.\u201d<\/p>\n

$120 on alcohol. \u201cAt home and bar\/pub.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miscellaneous: $3,073<\/p>\n

$1,606 to payroll deductions<\/p>\n

$33 on going out. \u201cFor both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

$100 on streaming services<\/p>\n

$10 on electronics. \u201cA $120 Google streamer for our dying 2019 Samsung TV.\u201d<\/p>\n

$200 on clothing<\/p>\n

$50 on gym membership<\/p>\n

$140 on pet. \u201cOne cat who was a bit sick earlier in the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

$20 on cosmetics<\/p>\n

$20 on personal services<\/p>\n

$8 on dentist. \u201cCovered by insurance.\u201d<\/p>\n

$8 on glasses<\/p>\n

$583 on travel. \u201cOne big trip a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

$42 on donations<\/p>\n

$83 on gifts. \u201cChristmas and birthdays.\u201d<\/p>\n

$50 on wealth manager fees<\/p>\n

$120 on health insurance. \u201cFor both of us, taken off my pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some details may be changed to protect the privacy of the person profiled. We want to thank them for sharing their story. Are you a millennial or Gen Z who would like to participate in a Paycheque Project? Send us an e-mail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: iStockPhoto \/ Getty Images Name, age: Benjamin, 28 Annual income: $80,000 Debt: $19,000…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[114,268,85,46,91302,266,267],"class_list":["post-608129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-paychequeproject","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}