My Fixed Expenses

I spend under 16k/year to live. How about you?

Photo by 青 晨 on Unsplash

Last Updated: December 2019

I'm flattered you're here, especially if you've come from my new podcast project, Explore FI Canada (with Chrissy and Money Mechanic). If you've heard about my low living expenses, scroll all the way down to see the daily/monthly breakdown of my fixed expenses.

If there is one thing I'm certain of, it's that I have one of the lowest annual expenses in Canada. Period. I spend exactly $15,519.12 to live! If I am that certain that my expenses are so low in comparison to the average Canadian, than I am that certain that I can accurately show you how I spend my money and what we both value doesn't come at a high cost that forces everyone else to work until 40, 50, 60, 70+. 

Before you get skeptical, keep in mind I'm writing as a taxpayer, a homeowner, a husband, a father, a driver and everything else you and I have come to enjoy living a luxurious middle-class life - a.k.a. the Canadian Dream. I'm just like you.


So on second thought, I'm going to take the blog in a direction where the cheapest Canadian products can easily be found and your spending habits can be checked against mine. 

You know how you can check IMDB for actors, directors, etc? Why isn't there anything like that for Canadian expenses? Why don't you check my site for the $40 internet package I use? Or the $2800 in property taxes I pay? How do I buy phones and what plan do I use to lower my expenses and ultimately my FIRE number? We will both get different value from different products so I'll be sure to include multiple options.

Also, don't forget that I'm only one third of Explore FI Canada podcast. Please show love to my fellow co-hosts and bloggers: Chrissy at eatsleepbreathefi.com and Money Mechanic at figarage.ca.

Feel free to comment below - or email me here: canadianfire1@gmail.com
You can listen to me here: exploreficanada.ca

Ryan Myricks


The Fixed Expenses
(costs are calculated daily, monthly expenses are shown in brackets)
(every monthly cost you see is averaged out over a year. For example, utilities will of course fluctuate depending on the season so the monthly cost swings from $140 to $250)

 Total: $41.53/day ($1263.26)       Annual: $15,159.12

• Kitchener Detached 1200sqft: $20.78 ($632.15)

• Kitchener Property Taxes: $7.69 (233.90)
• Kitchener Utilities (all 3): $6.55 (199.22)
• RBC Mortgage Interest: $2.77 (84.5)
• The Cooperators Insurance: $2.05 (62.55)
• Fido Internet: $1.48 (45.2)
• Water Softener Salt: $0.22 (6.78)

• Food: $13.08 ($330.41)

• First Adult: $1.64/meal on avg (150)
• Second Adult: $1.64/meal on avg (150)
• Child: $1 (30.41) - milk and food

• 2012 Toyota Corolla: $7.06 ($214.75)

• Bought used to cash so no payments
• Fuel Costs: $3.56 (108.28)
• Insurance: $2.93 (89.12)
• Maintenance: $0.56 (17.03)
• Licence Plate Sticker: $0.32 (10)

• Misc: $1.23 (37.5)

• Spotify Music Streaming: $0.49 (15) - I share this family account with a few family members - in return I get access to Netflix and Disney+ for free.
• Professional Certificate Fee: $0.41 (12.5)
• Hygiene: $0.32 (10) 

• Child: $0.85 (25.85)

• 1 Child, 18 months old - I expect these costs will go up as I begin to enroll her in community programs such as gymnastics or swimming.
• Parent's Choice Diapers & Wipes: $0.85 (25.85)
• Childcare: $TBD - My child is attending daycare starting October/2019. While I should be including this expense, we are not sure how long we'll keep her their nor do we intend to send future kids to full-time daycare. We're going to see how this goes and reflect on the value before including it as a fixed expense.
• Update Dec/19: We are pulling our child from fulltime daycare starting Feb/20, will update with final number once it is all finalized. Should be about $200~/month.

• Phone Plans: $0.74 (22.6)

• Public Mobile Plan #1: $0 - Thanks to my readers for providing me with enough referrals to eliminate this expense entirely!!
• Public Mobile Plan #2: $0.74 (22.6)

• Banking: $0

• Tangerine Chequing: no fees
• EQ Bank Savings: no fees
• Rogers Elite Mastercard: no fees
• Questrade LIRA: no fees
• Questrade RRSP: no fees
• Wealthsimple Trade TFSA: no fees
• Wealthsimple Trade Taxable Account: no fees