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Name, age: Connor, 27
Annual income: $105,000
Debt: $0
Savings: $90,000 in savings account, $51,319 in tax-free savings account (TFSA), $15,522 in registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), $24,560 in first home savings account (FHSA)
What he does: Senior financial analyst
Where he lives: Calgary
Top financial concern: “Whether I am saving enough. It’s hard to know in the long run what’s going to be enough or what isn’t.”
Connor, 27, is on the precipice of being one of the first friends in his circle to buy a house.
“The only other friend I know buying a home got a lot of support from her parents,” says Connor, who lives with his girlfriend in a one-bedroom apartment in Calgary. “My girlfriend didn’t get anything from her parents. I got $20,000 from mine, which is definitely helpful, but the majority of what we have, we saved ourselves.”
Connor makes more than $100,000, and his girlfriend makes about $60,000. The pair plan to purchase a home soon: likely a two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse within 20 minutes of Calgary’s downtown by transit, and a short walk to a commercial area with restaurants.
“We’re looking within a 10-kilometre circle from the core,” says Connor, who currently bikes to work. “If we went further away, we could get a detached house, but we want to give ourselves the opportunity to walk 15 minutes and be in the heart of restaurants and bars.”
The couple expect to pay somewhere between $1,900 and $2,100 in monthly mortgage payments, and is aiming to keep their total housing costs, including mortgage, utilities, condo fees and property tax, below $3,200. Both work in finance, love to plan and are good savers, traits that have helped them make big strides in their shared financial goals.
“We’re doing good for our age,” Connor says. He acknowledges that he’s in a temporary sweet spot financially – far enough in his career that he’s making a decent income, but before he has too many financial obligations such as a house or children. “All we need to do is take care of ourselves.”
Connor grew up in British Columbia but moved to Calgary for better job prospects and has grown his salary quickly. He made $50,000 at his first job in 2021, a salary that grew to around $65,000 the following year. He got a new job that paid $93,000 in 2024, worked there for a year and then moved to his current job, where he makes $105,000.
Despite his success, he worries about managing new expenses and whether he’s saving enough for retirement.
“I am assuming and hopeful that when my girlfriend and I get married and have kids, we can afford that,” he says. “There’s always the uncertainty of, ‘Is this going to be enough to get us there?’”
His typical monthly expenses:
Investment and savings: $2,815
$2,500 to savings account. “I’m keeping all my savings in cash since I’m looking to buy a home within the next four months.”
$315 to RRSP. “Through my work.”
Servicing debt: $0
Household and transportation: $1,330
$600 on rent. “$1,200 split with girlfriend. Not the nicest one-bedroom apartment.”
$30 on renter’s insurance
$90 on utilities
$50 on parking space
$100 on gasoline
$200 on car insurance
$180 on car maintenance
$30 on taxis or Uber
$50 on cellphone
Food and drink: $740
$550 on groceries. “The prices of groceries are going up a little bit for sure.”
$50 at coffee shops
$90 at restaurants
$50 on alcohol
Miscellaneous: $3,597
$2,750 to income tax
$50 on entertainment
$30 on cable TV
$70 on app subscriptions. “Spotify, news, meditation, ChatGPT.”
$40 on clothes
$100 on sports. “Football, volleyball, the occasional fitness program.”
$60 on gym membership
$167 on hobbies. “I bought a new bike recently, and a PlayStation 5 last fall.”
$40 on haircuts
$15 on cosmetics
$208 on vacations
$67 on gifts. “Anniversary gifts for girlfriend, birthday for close friends and family, and Christmas.”
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.
