“I’m saving for the near-impossible task of buying a house”: How a 29-year-old spends his money

“I’m saving for the near-impossible task of buying a house”: How a 29-year-old spends his money

Who: John Christmas, 29

What he does: Electronic systems ­technologist at Pearson

What he makes: $90,000 a year with overtime

Where he lives: A one-bedroom basement apartment in Mississauga with his girlfriend

What he spends in a month: Rent: $1,275 a month, including utilities. “Living in Mississauga, my girlfriend and I are both closer to work than we would be living in the city.” Groceries: $0. His girlfriend pays for food and household items while he covers the rent. “That adds up to about half the cost of rent, but I earn double what she does, so we figured it was a good split.” Gas: $250 a month, for a 2011 Dodge Charger. Car insurance: $183 a month. Renter’s insurance: $23 a month. Debt payments: $0. “I paid off all my student loans as soon as I could.” Savings: $2,000 a month. “I’m saving for the near-impossible task of buying a house.” Cable and Internet: $74 a month, including a Netflix subscription. Cellphone: $40 a month, for a six-gig plan that his employer subsidizes. Dining out: $250 a month, at restaurants like Snug Harbour and Colossus Greek Taverna. “Every couple of weeks, my girlfriend and I go into Port Credit for a nice dinner.”

Recent splurges: Hockey: $350, for a season in a rec league. Wireless Internet router: $120. Blue Jays game: $130. Music festival: $180, for tickets and drinks at Burlington’s Sound of Music. Motorcycle: $1,750, for a used Suzuki GSX600F Katana that he found on Kijiji. “I used to ride dirt bikes. When my younger brother recently bought a motorcycle, I thought, ‘Okay, now I need one, too.’ ”

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