Changing careers and moving cities to afford a home - is my budget feasible?

[didyousaysomething]

@blessed2017 so no suggestions then.

 

[sevensong]

@blessed2017 True statement. Nevertheless, 20% gross (combined) of 90k/yr towards retirement together with CPP/OAS is no small amount to live on. That's why government employees are suggested to take on more risk on their portfolio because the pension almost act as the bond portion of the whole thing

 

[drewmarshall]

@sevensong It doesn't matter what they contribute, it's a defined benefit plan, and is paid out based on your top 5 years of gross salary

 

[sevensong]

@drewmarshall Oh ok I read that as Defined contribution plan

 

[raghavendrbr]

@keyboardguy23 Well as long as you are ok spending the rest of your life in Edmonton, Alberta then I don’t see anything wrong with your plan. However you should save for retirement in TFSA. Especially since you have to assume you will retire a single woman with a long life expectancy.

 

[airamnire]

@raghavendrbr Toronto isn't the centre of the universe

 

[deepblues36]

@airamnire I read it more as a knock against Edmonton than pro-toronto.

 

[tumrub]

@airamnire Edmonton kinda sucks, let's not deny that. Toronto is irrelevant to this conversation. PS, I was born and raised in Edmonton and it's a boring ass city. Even Ottawa, the city that gun forget, is infinitely more exciting.

 

[keyboardguy23]

@tumrub Where do you live now? I’ve lived in various cities throughout Canada over the years (including Edmonton for a summer internship while in university). The good thing about Edmonton is that it “ticks off all the boxes”. It doesn’t have major problems, but it’s not necessarily the most exciting.

 

[tumrub]

@keyboardguy23 It's allright if all you want to do is go to work and go home, settle down in some suburb and raise kids. Sure. But if you're young and want to go out and do stuff, you can't find a worse place than Edmonton (Among major Canadian cities). Every other city is more exciting and fun: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, even Ottawa.

I live in Ottawa currently as I'm studying here, planning to relocate after university.

I'm only talking about a city being exciting, fun and having things to do. Whether it has good housing, is safe, affordable cost of living etc... are all irrelevant to my point.

 

[yaaqob]

@keyboardguy23 I don’t mean to sound rude, I’m honestly curious because I studied account in uni but now working in IT.

A professional designated accountant with a niche speciality the GTA makes 90k? I honestly thought they would sit around 120k

 

[keyboardguy23]

@yaaqob No I’m not making 90k. I’m currently making less in the GTA in private industry. It’s because I’m not as experienced (just entered the niche specialty - before I was not a specialist and just did general accounting). Accounting has become pretty saturated in the GTA, which has been driving down salary growth. Companies are getting stingier too. But my area is still niche so wages are still higher in that area.

If I stay in private industry in this specialty the GTA I can expect about 100k in 2-3 years, climb steadily, and then reach about 200k 7 years after. Not much growth after that (because it’s a niche, so I’ll never become CFO).

 

[rngailbrown]

@keyboardguy23 You mentioned using a payroll calculator to figure out net pay. One thing that stuck out to me is you didn’t mention deductions for long-term disability (ltd) insurance. Because of how disability benefits are treated tax-wise, ltd insurance is typically a payroll deduction. A family member I know that makes about $100k with the government is deducted about $140 a month for it for example. Just something to check.

 

[the_gaurdian87]

@keyboardguy23 I get the feeling that Home maintenance $200 is very low.

 

[keyboardguy23]

@the_gaurdian87 For a brand new home? I know it’ll go up as time goes on - but this budget is just initially for the first few years.

 

[the_gaurdian87]

@keyboardguy23 I just read this in another comment:
"Factor in about 3-5% of your purchase price (per year) for maintenance into your budget. If you’re a first-time homeowner, there are going to be a lot of expenses that you’re not used to paying in year 1"

I tend to agree.

 

[lkl]

@the_gaurdian87 3 to 5% seems absurdly high for home maintenance a year.
$20,000 year for a $400k house?

 

[the_gaurdian87]

@lkl Obviously it does seem high. I can't really relate because my house is 242k.

If you would be a first-time homeowner, then I think you should look into this more. Before owning a house, I had no idea what it would entail.

 

[keyboardguy23]

@the_gaurdian87 I’m not a first time homeowner. I used to own a newly built condo. I’m pretty familiar with the costs of a new home. That’s why I’m not planning to take possession of a new home right away - I’m going to spend 2 years renting (after the move to Edmonton) and building up cash for the move/for an additional down payment/for a bigger emergency fund.

 

[creepted]

@keyboardguy23 What sort of commute are you expecting / okay to have when you move to Edmonton?