{"id":4078,"date":"2023-04-21T13:47:10","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T17:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vpms1.humber.smartmanagedservers.com\/scribemag\/?p=4078"},"modified":"2023-04-26T15:28:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T19:28:29","slug":"experts-give-tips-for-people-on-a-budget-in-the-toronto-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/news\/experts-give-tips-for-people-on-a-budget-in-the-toronto-area\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts give tips for people on a budget in the Toronto area"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Andrew Raghunandan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Living in the Toronto and GTA area can be difficult to balance your budget. It costs the average person about $4,000 a month to live in the city, according to Careerbeacon\u2019s salary report<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what experts say you should keep in mind to make your life a little easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Share your living space<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

University of Toronto professor and expert on financial management Laurence Booth suggests sharing an apartment or renting a bedroom to cut down on rental cost. Even moving to smaller cities like Peterborough, Hamilton, or London could help since housing prices are cheaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s difficult because Toronto is emerging as a very expensive, rapidly growing world class city,\u201d Booth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada is accepting 500,000 immigrants a year and Booth said that since the bulk of newcomers are settling in the GTA, there is a push for accommodation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToronto is fast-tracking its housing market. But thankfully we\u2019re not as expensive as the other world-class cities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, University of Toronto professor and housing affordability expert Karen Chapple has warned that could change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are seeing that it’s quite common to move within the region into smaller cities like London and Hamilton,\u201d she said. \u201cBut those cities are now seeing their affordable crises.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapple said that although the housing affordability crisis is affecting young people more than other demographics, there is a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe easiest way out is what we call \u2018renovating revolution\u2019 where you buy a house, share your mortgage with your friends and fix it up. Buy a single-family home and divide it into multiple units. The province made it legal and they should take advantage of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young people in this category are even deciding to leave Ontario altogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stats Canada<\/a> shows that about 20,500 people aged 25-29 years left Ontario within the last two years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch your credit card debt<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the rates section<\/a> published by Craig Pickthorne on Ontario Living Wages website three months ago, the 2022 living rate for residents residing in the Greater Toronto Area is \u201c$23.15 an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is a painful experience for those on minimum wage and low-income people,\u201d Booth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Booth added that it\u2019s a good idea to think twice about paying for groceries on a credit card. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t under any circumstance use your credit cards to pay for groceries,\u201d he said. \u201cInterest rates on credit cards are ridiculously high.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t borrow to pay for basic goods and services. You have to adjust what you can to your wallet,\u201d Booth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is especially important for people living on minimum wage as Booth thinks it\u2019s because they spend \u201cproportionately more\u201d on accommodation and food than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make more money<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ontario government is making plans to increase the minimum wage to $16.55 an hour on October 1, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 6.8 per cent pay raise for low-income workers builds on the government\u2019s steady and predictable increases every year to help families offset the rising cost of living,\u201d according to the official government of Ontario press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Craig Pickthorne of the Ontario Living Wage Network said that because of the high cost of living for people in the GTA, increasing the minimum wage would not make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you’re not making at least $23.15, you\u2019re just not able to pay your bills. With the increase in inflation and affordability, you are only seeing a pay cut,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Pickthorne did insist that it could make a difference to people who work in airports, rail, and interprovincial travel, as they are federally regulated industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFederal banking employees, security guards, cleaners, and contract workers will also see a modest increase in their wages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expect some relief<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Booth, he expects the interest rate and minimum wage will go down soon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt will pass within the next 18 months. By the summer of 2024, I would expect the rate of inflation, food cost to come down, and a decline in short-term interest rates,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living in the Toronto and GTA area can be difficult to balance your budget. It costs the average person about $4,000 a month to live in the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[247,210,209,178],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-scaled.jpg",2560,1440,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-170x120.jpg",170,120,true],"medium":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-768x432.jpg",696,392,true],"large":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-1024x576.jpg",696,392,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-1536x864.jpg",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-2048x1152.jpg",2048,1152,true],"td_150x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-150x84.jpg",150,84,true],"td_218x150":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-218x150.jpg",218,150,true],"td_300x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-300x169.jpg",300,169,true],"td_324x400":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-324x400.jpg",324,400,true],"td_485x360":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-485x360.jpg",485,360,true],"td_696x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-696x392.jpg",696,392,true],"td_1068x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-1068x601.jpg",1068,601,true],"td_1920x0":["https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/Feature-photo-idea-for-story-photo-credit-_-pexels-james-wheeler-1519088-1920x1080.jpg",1920,1080,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Scribe Staff","author_link":"https:\/\/humberjournalism.com\/scribemag\/author\/scribemag\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Living in the Toronto and GTA area can be difficult to balance your budget. 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