An economics student, Andre Brière is all too familiar with the concept of debt. And it keeps him up at night.
Although his parents are helping pay for university, he expects to graduate in “two to three years” with an Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) bill of around $50,000. To keep those numbers down, Mr. Brière has implemented austerity measures.
He saves the little he earns from odd jobs – some tax preparations here, a pizza delivery job there – and eschews the social life of a student for a quieter – and much less expensive – one, sharing an apartment with his girlfriend and another roommate.
“We eat a lot of rice and beans,” Mr. Brière says, “and we buy a lot more in bulk – Kraft Dinner, 10-kilogram bags of rice.”
What’s Mr. Brière’s end game? To reach his goal of paying off his debt after graduation, he’s accumulated $3,000 in mutual funds, $9,500 in GICs and approximately $12,000 in savings accounts.
“I would like to visit Kyoto or Tibet, but I’m not really sure I can afford that. I’d really like to get a job at a bank.”
Here's a breakdown of his typical monthly expenses:
$610 on rent.
$300 on groceries. “I pick up a large supply of dry foods – rice, beans lentils – at discount places like Bulk Barn and Walmart.”
$40 on eating out. “Normally wherever we have coupons for. We go to Harvey’s a lot. Nothing fancy.”
$4 on coffee. “Sometimes I’ll get a coffee at McDonald’s because the 7th is free.”
$35 on cell phone. “I’m with WIND. Everything, data included, is unlimited but overall they have a much less reliable network. I made the switch from Koodo since I was getting annoyed at increasing prices.”
$5 on alcohol. “Alcohol is expensive. I can’t justify spending that kind of money.”
$300 on tuition.
$100 on school supplies and textbooks.
$30 on gas. “I drive my mom’s 2005 Suzuki Aerio. It’s paid off. My mom pays for insurance. I drive - but not very long distances normally. We use it a lot to go grocery shopping.”
$30 on clothing. “I don’t like to spend money on clothes – they’re not exciting. When I go, I go to Winners and buy some pants, shirts.”
$80 on pets. “We have two guinea pigs, four hamsters and two turtles. We order 50-pound bags of food off Amazon.”
$32 on holidays/trips. "We spent around $100 on gas when visiting family in Quebec.” (He is breaking out the payments over three months.)
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