# My Path to Wealth



## aok (Jul 3, 2013)

Hi there, I am 23 years old single, living on my own, and I make about 25,000 after taxes, I live in Toronto and I commute to work monday to fridays to work. I don't make enough considering I live in the expensive city of toronto so I'm thinking of picking up a part time job, or starting my own business part time. I dont have any students loans to pay back or any of the sorts, I graduated with a business diploma from college and I didnt want to jump into any big mortgages or car loans. I am having a bit of troubles due to the fact that I dont make much but I purposely stayed with my company for the skills and knowledge I would learn because now I have 5 years of insurance experience, trained in multiple systems which means I'm more marketable in the insurance industry. My next goal is to find a management position/ Sales to develop more sales and management skills which in the long run would help when I own my own business. On the side I am getting into male modeling and acting but for those to generate income you have to pay money first to an agency to get you started up, so that has cost me as of now $1000 but later on it will generate spurts of money here and there. So I wanted to keep track of my records here on this site and hear some inputs from everyone on things I should be doing differently here is my statement. 

*Figures are as of July 9, 2013* 

Income: $25,000 after taxes
Expenses: 
Cell: $76/mth
Rent: $430/mth
Gym membership: $40/mth
Chequing acc fee: $11/mth
Gas: $200 - $400/mth (give or take on gas prices)
Food: $300-500

Assets:
TSFA: $3300
US account: $2000

Liabilities:
Line of Credit: $5000
Credit Card: $75


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## mattw (May 14, 2013)

Few things: is it possible to take public transportation to work daily? Or is a vehicle necessary to meet clients? Gas expense seems pricey every month.

$500 for food every month seems bit excessive and likely could be cut down. What is your TFSA invested in? If basic savings, pay off the LOC with the proceeds.

If you are planning on starting own business, any idea what the approx start-up costs would be? Look at setting up a PAC plan to start saving for the costs and keep renting at that price especially for Toronto.


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## Homerhomer (Oct 18, 2010)

Get university diploma, in insurance industries etc many doors will be shut for you unless you are university graduate.


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## aok (Jul 3, 2013)

mattw said:


> Few things: is it possible to take public transportation to work daily? Or is a vehicle necessary to meet clients? Gas expense seems pricey every month.
> 
> $500 for food every month seems bit excessive and likely could be cut down. What is your TFSA invested in? If basic savings, pay off the LOC with the proceeds.
> 
> If you are planning on starting own business, any idea what the approx start-up costs would be? Look at setting up a PAC plan to start saving for the costs and keep renting at that price especially for Toronto.


I work in brampton and its due to the toronto traffic so it takes about 20-45mins to get to work depending on traffic and I have pondered around the idea of getting a bike and leaving an hour early to bike to work, and I agree food cost is high, and I am looking to see if I can lower the cost of that. 

I can say about 30,000 for a start up cost.


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## aok (Jul 3, 2013)

Homerhomer said:


> Get university diploma, in insurance industries etc many doors will be shut for you unless you are university graduate.


A university degree would make a difference, but most insurance brokerages only require you to be licensed and to start up your own brokerage a university degree wouldnt matter at that point


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## mattw (May 14, 2013)

Guess you basically have a trade off between high rent or gas - so it's all personal preference. 

I would just continue gaining experience, pay-off the LOC - then set-up a PAC for savings, look at a second job to save more, and take any additional insurance courses that may be required to advance.


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## Ponderling (Mar 1, 2013)

Brokers have one training requirement, industry underwriters and processors another. 

Wife works on the underwriters side processing claims, and has chewed her way though 'the insurance institutes' courses. Kind of like extended high school/college level stuff focussed on insurance. She can now get a more repsonsible job if she wants it, or step from one company to another with more definable skills portability.

If you are looking to go broker side, then study for the broker licensing requirements; there are tons of office processors who are paperwork and call centre type flunkies; the broker is the key agent in each office though.


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## MoreMiles (Apr 20, 2011)

aok said:


> *Figures are as of July 9, 2013*
> 
> Income: $25,000 after taxes
> Expenses:
> ...


I think you are missing a few items.

How about car insurance, like $150 / mth? I hope you are driving with insurance.
How about utilities? Does you apartment include gas and hydro?


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## aok (Jul 3, 2013)

MoreMiles said:


> I think you are missing a few items.
> 
> How about car insurance, like $150 / mth? I hope you are driving with insurance.
> How about utilities? Does you apartment include gas and hydro?


no these items out for a reason and utilities is included in my rent


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

aok, please do not quote the stuff you reply to. It's not necessary in a threaded view. Better to simply address the person by name or use an up arrow ^, if necessary.


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## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

Doesn't MoreMiles also get a slap on the wrist? The quotes of entire messages are in my view more problematic.


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## rd_aaron (Jun 24, 2011)

the-royal-mail said:


> aok, please do not quote the stuff you reply to. It's not necessary in a threaded view. Better to simply address the person by name or use an up arrow ^, if necessary.


You're the only person on any of the forums I frequent that seems to have an issue with this. It's his thread, he can do whatever he wants.

Back on topic, I'd say the most important thing right now is to maximize income/limit expenses. Are there any similar jobs in Toronto that would pay more? Is there any way to take public transit to limit gas expenses? While your living expenses are pretty low for a place like Toronto, if you spend at the top end of your gas & food budget for the month, you don't have a whole lot left I'm guessing.

$500 is a lot for a single person for food for a month. Does this include eating out?


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## aok (Jul 3, 2013)

rd_aaron said:


> You're the only person on any of the forums I frequent that seems to have an issue with this. It's his thread, he can do whatever he wants.
> 
> Back on topic, I'd say the most important thing right now is to maximize income/limit expenses. Are there any similar jobs in Toronto that would pay more? Is there any way to take public transit to limit gas expenses? While your living expenses are pretty low for a place like Toronto, if you spend at the top end of your gas & food budget for the month, you don't have a whole lot left I'm guessing.
> 
> $500 is a lot for a single person for food for a month. Does this include eating out?


yes the price includes eating out lol Ive been limiting that though my figures have only been for the month of june


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## YYC (Nov 12, 2012)

the-royal-mail said:


> aok, please do not quote the stuff you reply to. It's not necessary in a threaded view. Better to simply address the person by name or use an up arrow ^, if necessary.


Who elected you king of forum posting rules? Either add something to the discussion or don't, but get off this bandwagon.

To the OP. What's the point of the US account? Do you have a need for it specifically? If not, you might consider liquidating it and putting the proceeds towards your Line of Credit. If you can pay that off, it will free up some monthly cash flow for you and make some of the other decisions easier. Same goes for the TFSA if it's not well invested (ie: in a HISA or something similar).


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## aok (Jul 3, 2013)

YYC said:


> Who elected you king of forum posting rules? Either add something to the discussion or don't, but get off this bandwagon.
> 
> To the OP. What's the point of the US account? Do you have a need for it specifically? If not, you might consider liquidating it and putting the proceeds towards your Line of Credit. If you can pay that off, it will free up some monthly cash flow for you and make some of the other decisions easier. Same goes for the TFSA if it's not well invested (ie: in a HISA or something similar).


The US account has no specification, basically my mother gave me the money and Ive been wanting to pay it to my line of credit, but i wanted to challenge myself to try and get rid of my line of credit myself through my spending habits if i cant do it through my spending habits then paying it off with my savings would be pointless because ill still have the same spending habits


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## aok (Jul 3, 2013)

Income: $25,000 after taxes
Expenses: 
Cell: $76/mth
Rent: $430/mth
Gym membership: $40/mth
Chequing acc fee: $11/mth
Gas: $200 - $400/mth (give or take on gas prices)
Food: $300-500

Assets:
TSFA: $3300


Liabilities:
Line of Credit: $3033.40
Credit Card: $400


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## aok (Jul 3, 2013)

Income: $25,000 after taxes
Expenses: 
Cell: $76/mth
Rent: $430/mth
Gym membership: $40/mth
Chequing acc fee: $11/mth
Gas: $200 - $400/mth (give or take on gas prices)
Food: $300-500

Assets:
TSFA: $3845

Liabilities:
Line of Credit: $3400.19
Credit Card: $473
Credit Card 2: $7


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

I would suggest switching to a no-fee chequing account, such as PC Financial or ING Thrive.


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## SpendLessEarnMore (Aug 7, 2013)

As someone that used to make less than $25k gross for a few years I can somewhat relate to your situation though you make a bit more than what I used to make.

You cell is high, there's plenty of gym that have lower monthly membership fee though maybe not the perks you're receiving. Gas is a bit high. I used a 250cc scooter commuting from Mississauga to Toronto for work. Avoid speeding. Minimum fine is $5000 without insurance in Ontario. Your food bill is huge for a single person I assume. Try grocery shopping and learning to cook simple meals. Why do you have a TFSA if you have no money in a chequing or savings account? Are you using line of credit and credit card to pay your daily expenses? 

And you picked up a 2nd credit card?! Well at least you're building a credit history. They can be tempting to max out. Well everyone was young once live and learn. Enjoy your youth but be mindful of your spending habits. 

These are just frugal ideas I'm throwing at you. By no means do you have to follow them just offering up some advice but you will have to make sacrifices to the privileges you're used to if you want to save up money for your future.


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## mcoursd2006 (May 22, 2012)

I suppose your modelling career requires you to work out, but is it really necessary to do it in a gym? $40/month is not unreasonable for gym membership, but you are not making a lot of money. And 500 for food is way too much for one man.


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## aok (Jul 3, 2013)

Income: $25,000 after taxes
Expenses: 
Cell: $76/mth
Gym membership: $40/mth
Chequing acc fee: $11/mth
Gas: $200 
Food: $200

Assets:
TDwaterhouse trading account: $600

Liabilities:
Line of Credit: $3800
Credit Card: $200
Credit Card 2: $20

these are new projections I recently left the city of toronto to move back to my home town and living with my parents which means rent is automatically taken off and I ran into a bit of a snag and i had to dip into my savings to repay some debt I took about 600 to do some online trading as well


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## aok (Jul 3, 2013)

yeah but recently Ive held back in the modelling business because male models dont get too far in that industry


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

Unless you can dramatically increase your income your "path to wealth" is going to be a long one.

On the spending side, you can't really do much more unless you don't want any kind of life whatsoever.


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## Feruk (Aug 15, 2012)

So in 4 months your net worth went from $225 to -$3420, or about -1,400%. Not too sure what "snag to repay debt" is about, but looks like your debt hasn't moved while your assets have vanished. Honestly though, like Jon_Snow said, you need a better job. $15/hour just doesn't get you anywhere, regardless of how much you save up. I don't know if that's a job change, going back to school, or a complete career change. The positive is that you're young, so going back to school for something new might be the best idea.

Lastly, I'll give you a hard time for what looks like driving without insurance. Are you brain dead? If you can't afford insurance, take the damn bus!


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## Janus (Oct 23, 2013)

Jon_Snow said:


> Unless you can dramatically increase your income your "path to wealth" is going to be a long one.
> 
> On the spending side, you can't really do much more unless you don't want any kind of life whatsoever.


The stud from game of thrones is right. If you're going to plan on being wealthy, frugality is important but the driving factor is going to be your earning prospects. If insurance is your future, get an idea of where you want to be and how to get there - and how much you can expect to be earning. It's good to have these kinds of goals in mind so you're working towards something.

I agree with Feruk... can you explain the snag to repay debt?


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## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

I didn't mean to come across as being harsh in my post - at 23 years old I was in a very similar situation as the OP.

Less than 20 years later I am light years ahead of where I was then... time is still on aok's side and he can get there.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

Jon_Snow said:


> time is still on *aok's *side and he can get there.


Change that to *oak* and you will be correct in more ways than one :encouragement:


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## Franky Jr (Oct 5, 2009)

I think with a low income like this you should hammer off your debt before investing. Also, I have three bank acct's at three different places and pay no fee's (albeit only one is a chequing acct.) So I would also suggest that you stop paying bank fee's.


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## janus10 (Nov 7, 2013)

If you are young and good looking enough to be a male model could you try being a waiter at a decent restaurant frequented by middle class customers especially females? The tips you could make might shock you and you could afford to take any additional courses during the day. 

It's an end to a means but not a permanent distraction from your goal.

I notice that you left out expenses such as toiletries, haircuts, clothing, etc. it could be significant over time on a tight budget.


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