Topic Title: Moving into my own place, want to increase savings and income
Life Situation: Single 24 year old living alone in Montreal, Quebec
Gross Salary/Wages: 39,140
Pre-tax deductions:
Health/dental/disability: 1,315
Pension: 1,315 (matched by employer)
Other Deductions: 3,051
Total: 5,682
Other Ordinary Income: Occasionally coach and waitress at my curling club, which pays for most of my food/drinks/events there, and any extra reduces annual dues. Unlikely that I would earn enough to have extra to take home, but ideally I would make enough to cover the whole cost of membership.
Adjusted Gross Income: 33,458
Taxes:
Federal: 2,787
Provincial: 3,829
Current expenses:
Rent: 8,520
TFSA contributions: 5,200
Groceries: 3,000
Hydro: 860
Internet: 780
Phone: 480
Insurance: 372
Gym: 138
Netflix: 108
Curling: 700
Cat: 500
OIQ dues: 415
Tuition/textbooks: 320
Transit: 300
Total: 21,693
I budget for 100/week in cash to spend on things I want like clothes, alcohol, meals out with friends, household items.
I also want to travel but that’s not a specific budget item right now.
Expected ER expenses: long ways off, unknown
Assets:
TFSA: 1,500 (+100/week)
Pension: 3,100 (+50/week)
Savings: 1,875 (+ extra when I can)
Total: 6,475
Liabilities: None
Specific Question(s):
I will be moving into my own place in a couple months and my costs are going up a little compared to my current place which I share with a roommate. All the costs shown here are for my new living situation. I want to minimize my expenses and increase my savings rate if possible. I’m also looking for ways to earn more money in my spare time.
Extra income ideas:
I have considered tutoring (I currently volunteer as a tutor, but am thinking about doing it for pay).
I coach rentals and waitress at my curling club, if I can increase my hours there I could potentially earn real money there, for now it just covers some of my costs.
I like writing, so I've considered either starting a blog or writing freelance articles, but I’m not sure if I could get paid to do that and haven’t looked into it too much yet.
I have thought about teaching some kind of financial skills course for high school students as a side hustle, not sure if that’s possible to make money off of, but I just paid off a 5 figure student loan in a year and have an interest in personal finance, so it's something where I could use my experience to help others.
My job is currently only 4 days a week, but I might be switching to 5 days soon. That would mean earning an extra 500 or so per month, which I would save/invest. I’m still waiting to hear on this from my boss.
Current savings rate: 19% of gross or 28% of net
With extra hours: 28% of gross or 40% of net
Savings include my pension contributions plus my employer’s match, and my TFSA contributions.
I really want to retire early but at my current savings rate it’s going to take a long time. I have one year left in a diploma program I'm taking part time but after that I could potentially get a new, higher paying job. I paid off my student loan six months ago, and I’ve been saving as much as I can since. I'm expecting a lump sum pay equity settlement in the next year, and a tax return in the next month, each totaling a few thousand dollars, which I will add to my savings and/or TFSA. I think I should find ways to cut more costs, but I don’t want to give up on too many fun things, and I find it hard to track my variable expenses in too much detail, so that's why I just have my cash budget for "other" spending.
If anyone has any ideas on how I can save more or earn more, I'd love to hear it. I'm looking for fresh perspectives on my situation from all you wise mustachians. I'm open to all suggestions and comments on the ideas I’ve had.
