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http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/money/a44660/4-women-4-incomes/

4 Women with 4 Different Incomes: Opening up about their money and mine

I LOVED this article of 4 women and 4 incomes.

http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/money/a44660/4-women-4-incomes/

I am impressed by all of these women. They hustle, they get stuff done, and not only that, they’re not making their fortunes off divorces, inheritances or what have you; they’re working for it!

I wish more women would open up about their money publicly as these 4 did.

Commendable.

Here’s what mine would look like…

Income: Tough to tell. I guess ~$60,000 a year if you count all the years I didn’t work with $0 income averaging out.

As a benchmark, I worked full-time one year, and I earned $285,000, working my normal 40 hours a week. I rarely get to do overtime and I hate working long hours.

Location: Montréal

Occupation: Business Consultant – Freelancer

Family status: I’ve been with my partner for just under 10 years and we have a 2 year old toddler, Baby Bun.

Homeowner? Renter? We just bought a condo all in cash for $600,000 (I paid half) but had been die-hard renters until recently. Now my “rent” is cut in half so it has become a better deal.

Do you keep a budget? Yes, I have kept this one since I started working to get out of $60,000 of debt.

Nowadays, it’s a loose one, meaning I don’t freak out if I spend a lot, and I am not really glued to a specific amount. I know that by the time I burn through what I have saved in cash for living ($50,000) I will have found another contract by then to replenish the coffers. I’m being careful but not denying myself.

What’s a weekly grocery bill for you? $150 a week for regular groceries (we’re flexitarians which means we eat a lot less meat than before, only about once a week or twice), and I spend another $50 eating out here and there.

One thing you need but can’t afford: I can afford to buy anything I need.

One thing you want but can’t afford: I can afford to buy anything I want as well, and that includes that ever elusive ‘time’. I get plenty of it in between contracts.

The last thing you bought that required serious plan­ning: Our condo in cash for $600,000. I had to liquidate some investments and realize my capital gains to stump up my half of the cash.

Do you have credit cards? I have no less than 6. They all serve various purposes, one with no forex charges, one as my regular card, another for emergencies, etc. They never carry a balance.

How much debt are you carrying now? None. I used to be $60,000 in student debt but I cleared that in 18 months.

Saving for retirement? Yes. Now that is my main focus, since we paid for our place in cash, I wiped out my savings and see it as returning 4.79% (the cost of a 10-year fixed mortgage).

I am hoping to save a million in liquid assets.

At what age would you like to retire? Not really sure. I’m sort of living a semi-retired life right now. I work a few months or when I get contracts and then I chill out.

Maybe until 50? Or maybe until I save a million? I have no idea yet.

Felt the effects of the wage gap? Yes and no. I’m a young woman so a lot of the gatekeepers for contracts are older men who look down on me, and always try to negotiate me down.

This is why I don’t work as much as I should, it is partly the discrimination I feel by basically not being paid what I am worth and having to fight tooth and nail for it, to the point where I’m Queen Bitch in negotiations.

But as these two ladies have said it best:

“Bitches get stuff done.”

amy-poehler-tiny-fey-bitches-get-stuff-done

College plans for the kids? I started the day Baby Bun was born and I started receiving money for him.

He gets his own net worth tracked in my monthly budget roundups.

He’s at around $14,000 now, and I max out his RESP every year with $2500 (for maximum government support), and put the rest in cash in a high interest savings account.

  • RESP Investments: I use Questrade and I buy ETFs, guide here. Referral key: o0soehds to get 10 free trades
  • High-Interest savings: I use Tangerine. Referral key 32726976S1 to get your $50 & I get $50 too

How much money do you think you’ll be earning in ten years’ time? Same as I earn now, around $20,000 – $30,000 a month when I work. $0 when I don’t.

How happy are you on any given day, on a scale of one to ten? Nine. Some days are negative (those are Toddler Meltdown days, when I start to suffer from toddleritis), but I am generally very happy.

How often do you worry about money? I don’t, really.

I worry and wonder when I’ll get to work next, but at the same time, I also know that I am choosing not to work for cut throat rates, and if I ever need to, I can always work and make money as a freelancer or just by joining a company.

I just choose not to and would rather have the time off than go for less than what I’m worth.

Do you think your taxes are too high? No. I pay the right amount. I just wish I saw it being spent in the roads and bridges here. :\

AND HOW ABOUT YOU?

4 Comments

  • The Asian Pear

    Since you asked nicely… 😀

    Location: Toronto

    Occupation: Administration

    Family status: Single

    Homeowner? Renter? Living with my parents. I pay their mortgage.

    Do you keep a budget? Sort of. I have a budget in mind and I forecast but I don’t restrict myself to it. It’s more of a guideline.

    One thing you need but can’t afford: I don’t actually have anything I *need*. What else do I need but really shelter and food.

    One thing you want but can’t afford: I guess the only thing I really can’t afford is a condo of my own. (I don’t want to wipe out my savings yet for a down payment.)

    The last thing you bought that required serious planning:

    Do you have credit cards? I have 3. I’ll actually likely cancel one of them soon too. All one ever really needs is a Visa and a Mastercard anyways.

    How much debt are you carrying now? None.

    Saving for retirement? Yes, always. My company matches my contributions and I max out both my RRSP and TFSA every year. Plus I have other savings for retirement.

    At what age would you like to retire? Now. But likely 55-57 is a more accurate age.

    Maybe until 50? Or maybe until I save a million? I have no idea yet.

    Felt the effects of the wage gap? No thankfully. I am in a field where it’s really 50% men and 50% women. And while the higher ranks are mostly men, the demographics are slowly changing as people are retiring.

    College plans for the kids? Moot. I don’t want children nor plan to have any.

    How happy are you on any given day, on a scale of one to ten? Six. I’m not depressed but I’m not joyously happy either. I’m ok.

    How often do you worry about money? I don’t worry per se. I do think about it. Sometimes mine. Sometimes my parent’s debt. But I’m not too fussed about it. To be honest, right now, it is probably when we’re the LEAST worried about finances in over two decades.

    Do you think your taxes are too high? Nope. They’re right. I wouldn’t even mind paying more if it meant the funds would be properly spent and directed to services and infrastructure.

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