Welcome to The Cost of City Living, a recurring TorontoToday column that aims to tackle the ever-looming topic of money. Each week, one Torontonian details a week of their spending habits to see just how much it costs to live in the city.
This week, we follow a 40-year-old project manager in the Junction who frequently springs for delivery and has an eye for supermarket snack sales.
Location: The Junction
Occupation: Project manager
Age: 40
Pronouns: She/her
Salary: $65,000
Take-home pay (weekly): Roughly $1,000
Monthly Expenses:
Rent: $2,700
Phone and internet: $175/month
Utilities: $170/month
Transit: $158/month
Renter’s insurance: $32/month
Weekly spending budget: Around $250
Day 1
I ate breakfast at home because I wanted to finish off the eggs that had been sitting in the fridge for what felt like 100 years. Then I went shopping for milk, cheese and of course more eggs. $22
Later, I picked up a slice of pizza and a pop. $9.36
I got really lazy and sprung for a jerk chicken plate from UberEats. The price tag for the $21 meal skyrocketed after delivery fees and tip. $30
Daily total: $61.36
Day 2
I woke up late with no time to prepare anything so I headed to McDonald’s for a breakfast combo. $8.32
Today was full of appointments, so I ended up buying lunch as well: a chicken sandwich combo from KFC. $14.17
I headed to Shoppers Drug Mart to grab snacks — chips and dip and Oreo cookies. $18
Dinner was leftover UberEats jerk chicken.
Daily total: $40.49
Day 3
I had to purchase a new phone today. Mine was three years old and on its way out after being dropped too many times. Rather than get a replacement iPhone, I settled for an Android, which I picked up from the Samsung store. They made me buy my own charger. $450
It was my biggest expense of the month, but a necessary one.
Daily total: $450
Day 4
Yay, the weekend! Too bad I felt flu-like. I made a trip to the pharmacy to grab DayQuil, cough drops and chai tea. $34.72
Once again, I was feeling too lazy to cook — or more like I was making excuses not to. I ordered a KFC chicken bucket combo on UberEats. Luckily, I got a 30 per cent discount on the purchase. $32
Daily total: $66.72
Day 5
Too sick to go out and do anything so I settled for the KFC leftovers in the fridge. But then I was out of food for dinner — that bucket of chicken did not go very far.
Back to UberEats where I found a $30 pizza deal that included brownies for dessert. Too bad all the delivery app’s extra fees added up again. $40
Must cut back on takeout.
Daily total: $40
Day 6
I renewed my promise to myself for the 400th time and committed to save money by cooking at home. I went to a nearby Metro and picked up some cold deli sandwiches — kind of a cheat because there’s no cooking involved.
I also wanted something hot, so I grabbed two chicken dinners from the supermarket deli, as well as three boxes of cereal. $60
Daily total: $60
Day 7
I decided to restock the snack bar at home, which means four family size bags of chips and three pints of Häagen-Dazs, which were on sale. I also grabbed some Nescafé.
Since eating chips without dip would be a crime, I wandered over to the dip aisle where there was another sale on. Two containers for $6! I ended up buying eight tubs, spending $24 on chip dip alone. $80
Daily total: $80
WEEKLY TOTAL: $798.57
OVER BUDGET: $548.57
This diary has been edited for length and clarity.
