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Name, age: Sunny, 27
Annual income: $48,000 from main job, $3,000 from secondary job
Debt: $6,000 in student debt
Savings: $0
What she does: Restaurant manager, dance teacher
Where she lives: Fredericton
Top financial concern: “My medications. I don’t have insurance at the moment. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to function physically and mentally.”
Sunny lives with her common-law wife and several pets in a one-bedroom apartment in Fredericton. The apartment is on the fourth floor, and the building doesn’t have an elevator – one of many challenges she faces daily as someone living with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
“Basically, I got [mononucleosis] as a kid and it never went away,” says Sunny, who works as a front-of-house manager at a brunch restaurant. “My cells don’t fully energize themselves when I rest.”
With limited energy, Sunny directs most of her budget to maintaining her wellness. She has to take Uber rides or taxis more often than she would like, buys healthy food to support her well-being, and orders takeout when she is too exhausted to cook.
While she sometimes has to turn down extra shifts at work because of her condition, she finds that working in a restaurant – where she’s constantly walking and doing light lifting – has helped overall.
Sunny also has mental health diagnoses for bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). She takes medications for both, but doesn’t have a drug plan, so ends up spending around $250 a month on prescriptions.
“I am on generic medication and the prices can fluctuate,” she says, noting that her condition becomes noticeable to others if she misses even one day of ADHD medication.
The couple has one dog and three cats, and Sunny says the dog has been trained to press on points in her back that relieve some of the physical pain she experiences, and can help detect whether she is hallucinating – a symptom she experiences.
“He can help me distinguish what is real and what is fake,” she says. “He will bark if it is real.”
Sunny attended art school and received several grants for people with mental and physical health challenges. She took out a student loan to cover what she needed for one semester of school, and says her dad paid for the rest.
She teaches dance classes as a side gig, and says the income from that covers her student loan payments.
Sunny’s wife, however, has about $15,000 in debt, down from $30,000 accumulated through “not knowing how credit cards work in her early twenties,” she says, adding, “She had a bunch of student loans she couldn’t pay so she took out a line of credit.
“We’re in a position now where we’re comfortable and working to pay that off too,” she says.
Her typical monthly expenses:
Investment and savings: $0
Servicing debt: $269
$69 to student debt.
$200 to vet debt. “We had an emergency with our cat. There’s only $200 left.”
Household and transportation: $1,123
$763 to rent. “My half.”
$25 to renter’s insurance.
$95 to utilities.
$20 to transit. “Occasional bus trip for $3 a trip, but I mostly walk.”
$100 to Uber or taxis.
$90 to cell phone. “Phone fees included in my plan. All my other electronics are paid off.”
$30 to internet.
Food and drink: $550
$250 to groceries.
$300 at restaurants.
Miscellaneous: $2,308
$461 to payroll deductions.
$200 on cannabis.
$200 on cigarettes.
$30 to streaming services.
$100 on clothing.
$55 to songwriting lessons.
$400 on pets. “One of our cats is disabled and requires regular medications.”
$100 on yarn.
$87 on haircuts.
$250 on medication. “I am looking into getting insurance.”
$125 on vacations. “Once a year to visit Ontario, where my wife’s family lives.”
$300 on entertainment.
Some details may be changed to protect the privacy of the person profiled.
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Welcome to Paycheque Project, a regular series in The Globe and Mail that looks at how much young Canadians are earning – 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.
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 [email protected]. 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.