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Name, age: Duane, 31
Annual income: $140,000 from job, $120,060 from rental properties, $600 from Canada Carbon Rebate
Debt: $1,184,038 on three mortgages, $32,000 on car loan
Savings: $5,000 in savings account, $120,000 in Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), $30,000 in Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), $40,000 in non-registered investment account, $33,000 in emergency fund
What he does: Registered nurse
Where he lives: North Bay, Ont.
Top financial concern: “I worry about having a disaster at one of my properties; a capital expense that comes up out of the blue that requires upwards of $20,000.”
Duane, 31, has lived most of his life in North Bay, a city of 50,000 people, located about 350 kilometres north of Toronto. He’s a nurse at the local hospital and finished his bachelor of science in nursing at about age 26, with no debt. He technically has a part-time position, but ends up working about 55 hours a week by picking up extra shifts.
“I do overtime as much as possible,” says Duane, who wants to quit his job by age 35. “I get ribbed at work quite a bit because I tell people I’m retiring.” He adds, “I started thinking, ‘Time is the one thing we have, and how can I start maximizing it?’”
To meet this goal, he has been building up a small real-estate portfolio of rental units: three houses subdivided into smaller units that he mostly rents out to students. He bought the first one in 2020 after saving his income and living with his parents. He refinanced the first house to purchase the second in 2022.
The third he bought this year, with his partner - she qualified for a 5 per cent government loan as part of the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive. They have since moved in to one of the smaller units, a two-bedroom basement apartment.
“It’s what’s known as the ‘house hack,’” says Duane. “I started learning about real estate and passive income, and once you start down that line of thinking, all these other factors about saving for the future and delaying gratification now for the future really started to hit home. I realized, ‘Oh my god I am so far behind.’ I was 27 or 28, probably. It really sort of led to a dramatic change to how I viewed money.”
His apartments currently bring in $120,060 a year, almost as much as the $140,000 he makes at work.
After he “retires,” he plans to keep working – just at something less hectic than what he’s doing now. He’d like to continue growing his investments and passive income, and wants a job with a flexible schedule, so he can have time for the family he and his girlfriend are hoping to start.
“Whatever it is, I’ve got four years to think about it,” he says. “I picture myself being home a lot of the time.”
His typical monthly expenses:
Investment and savings: $3,833
$583 to TFSA. “I do the max contribution Jan. 1 of every year.”
$1,250 to RRSP. “This may change as the RRSP has fallen out of favour in my investing strategy.”
$2,000 to non-registered investment account. “80/20 between two dividend-paying stocks.”
Servicing debt: $7,131
$6,436 to mortgages. “Three properties.”
$695 to car payment. “This is my first time having a car payment.”
Household and transportation: $4,404
$260 for home insurance
$559 to property tax
$2,000 on utilities
$300 on renovations. “These properties were purchased in great condition and I keep them this way.”
$400 on gas
$360 to car insurance. “I’ve been in accidents, unfortunately, so this is unnecessarily high.”
$250 to car maintenance. “Three-ish checkups a year and servicing.”
$65 on cell phone
$210 on internet. “Service for the three properties, split between Bell and Virgin. Calling these companies and knowing competing offers has halved the cost of internet over the past couple of years.”
Food and drink: $900
$400 on groceries. “We don’t nickel and dime groceries and certainly don’t coupon.”
$200 at coffee shops. “There is a local coffee shop that has my heart.”
$250 eating out. “My partner and I typically go out two or three times a month for dinner.”
$50 on alcohol
Miscellaneous: $7,018
$5,241 to income tax. “Typically it averages 45 per cent of my pay.”
$24 on streaming. “Twitch.tv.”
$100 on clothing
$30 on drop-in hockey. “Shinny, nothing super organized.”
$100 on CrossFit-style gym. “I attend two to three times per week.”
$417 on golf. “Membership, food/drink/events at home course as well as trips to different courses.”
$60 on cat. “Food and litter.”
$63 on camping. “Camping sites and gear that would be needed for a week backcountry hike and the car camping trips we take.”
$40 on haircuts
$10 on dentist. “I don’t have insurance so dental visits are infrequent now.”
$833 on vacations. “This varies and corresponds to how secure I feel with the financial situation overall.”
$0 on donations. “I am not at the point where I can donate the sums of money that I would like to.”
$100 on gifts. “Birthdays and Christmas time for my family.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify the details of Duane’s property purchases and his recent move into the latest property he purchased with his partner.
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