Victoria executive assistant, 27, has a good income, but yearns for a meaningful career | Canada Voices

Name, age: Kate, 27

Annual income: $72,652

Debt: $0

Savings: $2,000 in savings account, $15,000 in tax-free savings account

What she does: Executive assistant

Where she lives: Victoria

Top financial concern: “I don’t really have much of a buffer. I’m living very comfortably but I am one or two bad months away from having to pack it up and move in with my parents.”

Kate, 27, grew up in Alberta before going to university in Victoria, where she found work. She has a good job as an executive assistant, but has recently been thinking about trying to find a more fulfilling job and living closer to her family.

“The longer I analyze my life, the less it makes sense to be living so far away from my family,” said Kate, whose partner also doesn’t have family in Victoria.

As for her job, she’d like to do something related to her psychology degree, but isn’t sure what her dream role would look like.

“I have this existential dread about finding this hidden gem,” she said, adding she might have to go back to an entry-level position if she changes careers.

“If I need to live with my parents while I get my dream job set up, I can do that, but I can only do that once. There is so much decision paralysis, which is why I am still here.”

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Kate’s parents have always been a strong support. They helped pay for university so she does not have student debt, they keep her on their family cellphone plan so she gets phone service for free, and her dad has helped with her car expenses when a few big costs arose at once.

Her salary of more than $70,000 is high for someone a few years out of university, but she still finds it hard to save. She says spending on clothes is a “guilty pleasure” and she also enjoys mountain biking and downhill skiing – a hobby that means a ferry ride to the mainland and a day at Whistler. She also goes off-island often to see friends.

“I like to travel and this is something I feel is the most at odds with my ability to get any significant savings stacked up in my account.”

Despite her relative success, Kate often compares her career and trajectory with those of her parents, who set themselves up young and have done well. She knows they grew up in a much different economic era, but the differences still sometimes lead to a feeling of malaise.

“The idea that every generation’s offspring is going to be stronger, healthier and more successful than before – I can’t help but thinking that nothing is going to be further from the truth,” she says. “Unaffordability is making life feel so uncertain.”

Her typical monthly expenses:

Investment and savings: $243

$243 to work pension

Servicing debt: $0

Household and transportation: $1,570

$1,100 on rent. “$2,200 a month split between my partner and I.”

$50 on utilities

$80 on gasoline

$108 on car insurance

$182 on car maintenance. “New tires, new brakes, annual oil change. My dad was very kind to gift me some money to help.”

$10 on Uber or taxis. “Only on a night out or something of that sort.”

$40 on internet

Food and drink: $515

$250 on groceries

$15 at coffee shops. “I received a nice espresso machine as a graduation gift so buying coffee out hurts my soul.”

$150 at restaurants

$100 on alcohol. “A beer or two on the weekend with friends.”

Miscellaneous: $2,387

$288 to income tax

$140 to Canada Pension Plan

$43 to employment insurance

$305 to deferred salary plan. “So I can take a paid leave in a couple years.”

$46 to work benefits

$100 on entertainment

$30 on cannabis

$20 on streaming services. “Netflix and Amazon Prime.”

$10 on other apps

$200 on clothing. “It seems there is something I always ‘need’ to replace seasonally … a jacket, new winter boots, technical gear for outdoor sports.”

$190 on the gym. “One session of personal training per month and a gym membership.”

$200 on hobbies. “Bike maintenance and race fees, knitting.”

$83 on new bike. $1,000 total.

$42 on roof racks. “$500 to mount an old cargo box my mom had.”

$40 on haircuts. “I started with my hairstylist when she was new and charging $52 a cut.”

$100 on cosmetics. “I have been struggling with cystic acne for the last six years.”

$150 on personal services. “Grateful for my benefits for covering most of this.”

$300 on trips. “Living on Vancouver Island makes any form of road trip off Vancouver Island a base cost of $200 due to the ferry.”

$100 on gifts. “I probably spent $800 on Christmas, and $400 on my partner for his birthday.”

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.

Some details may be changed to protect the privacy of the person profiled. We want to thank them for sharing their story.