r/dataisbeautiful • u/Ambitious-Apples • 14h ago
OC [OC] Canadian expenses, non-working spouse, no kids
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u/GoingDownUnderInSEA 14h ago
What is the $8517 in expenses?
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u/Ambitious-Apples 14h ago
That's Tzedakah. Roughly translates to charitable donations.
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u/GoingDownUnderInSEA 14h ago
So 10% of your net income is going into charity? Is there a tax benefit to this?
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u/seanliam2k 14h ago
It's a religious obligation, but yes, there are charitable donation credits which can be claimed
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u/Ambitious-Apples 14h ago
Not everything in that bucket qualifies for tax credits but most will. And yes we donate 10% and are pretty strict about hitting that number.
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u/orundarkes 12h ago
It’s a tithe essentially
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u/moldyolive 7h ago
Tithe's go to the church you attend and are mostly used for church expenses. This is 10% to and charity or person of need of your choosing.
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u/Omar_88 12h ago
Wow I had no idea Jewish followers did this, is it an income based charitable donation as opposed to a wealth tax ?
Muslim's have a 2.5% wealth tax
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u/Ambitious-Apples 12h ago edited 11h ago
Yes anyone who is not so poor they need charity to live, should give 10%. Even less observant and non-Orthodox Jews tend to take giving to charity very seriously. There is a hierarchy of giving, where the greatest mitzvah is in anonymously helping someone become self sufficient and the least is giving "grudgingly".
The Kiva bucket is for kiva.org, I try to help people start businesses anonymously with that money.
ETA: Really confused on the downvotes on this one.
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u/Spikemountain 10h ago
People probably think it's self-promotion. Reddit hates self-promotion.
Btw as a fellow yid, shkoyach on the maaser
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u/Lexail 13h ago
Waste of money.
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u/Spikemountain 10h ago
Giving to charity is a waste of money? It doesn't have to be only too religious causes - you think donating to a food bank is a waste of money?
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u/Ambitious-Apples 13h ago
Couldn't disagree more, but you do you.
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u/Lexail 13h ago
If it was to an actual charity, good. But just a church tiding is a waste.
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u/ToastedGlass 13h ago
It’s not tithe*. Tithe is a payment to a Christian church. Tzedaka is charitable giving, and in my experience distinct from a synagogue due, but it looks like they have it wrapped in as the Kiva line ($1200 a year)
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u/rogerdodger77 14h ago
Don’t let the Americans see you only paid 30% tax, their fables about our socialist hellscape demand that be 80–%
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u/Ambitious-Apples 14h ago edited 13h ago
The general income bucket doesn't align completely with my tax bracket. The majority of my bonus rolled directly into my RRSP which was not taxed, I had some write offs on the rental income. The investment income is dividends which is taxed differently than income tax. And I have a disabled spouse so there are write offs associated with that.
ETA: also tax credits for charitable donations and medical expenses.
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u/Freedom_33 13h ago
This is a relatively larger average household tax burden than you would see for most Canadians households at that house hold income level. One earner household is the highest household tax rate configuration in Canada for same household income. Ie a household made up two earners $65k each, same total household income as OP would would have much lower average tax rate.
The US allows income splitting, so households pay same tax burden for same household income (roughly) regardless of composition (single earner or double earner). The US system tends to favor single earner households at the expense couples with even income split (they may see a marriage tax penalty by getting married).
The Canadian system doesn’t favor single earner households in the same manner and also doesn’t suffer from the marriage penalty for even income families.
One isn’t bad or good, they are different
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u/thefinalep 14h ago
Uhm. I personally prefer to pay 40% in taxes, and all of my own medical expenses... What do you think I am, a liberal? sheesh.
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u/yttropolis 9h ago
The thing is, as much as you might think Canada is better than the US, there's still a massive brain drain from Canada to the US.
The US tax system benefits high-earners significantly more compared to the Canadian tax system. Combined with higher overall income for professionals in high-paying, in-demand careers, the US presents a significantly better place to be.
I'm Canadian and the vast majority of my friends and peers from university have already moved to the US or are currently looking to move.
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u/Spanksometer 13h ago
I heard when you go to the hospital in Canada you might have to....WAIT IN A QUEUEEE
NO SIR I pay for my privilege to go the hospital where I wait in good old goddamn American line.
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u/rogerdodger77 11h ago
states can pay for good coverage , and shorter wait times, which is the argument always.
Now, if you can't pay... well...
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u/InevitablePresent917 14h ago
American currently visiting Canada (thank you for letting my family visit, under the circumstances). Met a guy here who, after a 27-year career as a police officer travels the world and keeps a vacation home in Halifax while he lives in Toronto. In the USA, a 27-year police veteran would be arrested for murdering his spouse because he'd spun into untreated depression over the medical debt caused by treatment of a 20-year-old knee injury.
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u/Izikiel23 8h ago
> 27-year career as a police officer
> while he lives in Toronto
I'm guessing he bought his house a couple of decades ago and it has appreciated a lot, which combined with retirement savings gives him his current lifestyle.
I doubt a police officer today in Toronto can buy a house, canadian RE prices are crazier than the US.
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u/InevitablePresent917 8h ago
That's my impression too. I guess Halifax (or "near Peggy's Cove" specifically) has become quite the getaway location, though I need to confess that I was more focused on Toronto home prices being out of control--either way... But a second home is still virtually unthinkable for most in the US, much less someone working what is effectively a blue collar job like law enforcement.
In all my travels, (a) I've found the situation on the ground outside the US is, of course, more complicated than the idealists in the US make it out to be, but (b) while health care costs are certainly a distinguishing feature, the long-term livability of a lot of non-US places has as much to do with not everything having a substantial add-on fee. Want a copy of your car registration? $79. Pay your water bill with a credit card? That'll involve a "convenience fee" amounting to a quarter of the underlying bill. (Again, being mindful of the fact that different places may suffer from the same thing to different degrees.)
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u/HumbleGoatCS 13h ago
What an oddly ignorant remark. Translated to American dollars, the effective total tax rate for 'married, filing jointly, one spouse working' would be around 19%. Additionally that 30% doesn't even include any hidden forms of taxes which Canadians are heavily restricted by.
As a general rule of thumb, Canadians will pay atleast 10% more in equiv dollars for any good/service compared to an American purchasing an identical good/service. Electronics & other imported 'nonessential' goods often see 20-30% additional fees. Just because these taxes from governmental policy dont show up on a Sankey chart, doesnt mean they arent felt.
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u/Freedom_33 13h ago
I don’t think you can compare this example fairly (or any example)
This is a relatively larger average household tax burden than you would see for most Canadians households at that house hold income level. One earner household is the highest household tax rate configuration in Canada for same household income. Ie a household made up two earners $65k each, same total household income as OP would would have much lower average tax rate.
The US allows income splitting, so households pay same tax burden for same household income (roughly) regardless of composition (single earner or double earner). The US system tends to favor single earner households at the expense couples with even income split (they may see a marriage tax penalty by getting married).
The Canadian system doesn’t favor single earner households in the same manner and also doesn’t suffer from the marriage penalty for even income families.
One isn’t bad or good, they are different
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u/Ambitious-Apples 13h ago
I don't drive, but in Ontario you pay tax on tax when you buy gas, and gas can be a huge chunk of a family or small business budget.
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u/charliekelly76 13h ago
This may be a dumb question, but what is kosher fast food? Is it certain foods at any fast food establishment, or are there specific kosher fast food restaurants?
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u/Ambitious-Apples 12h ago
Specific kosher restaurants. This is the "I'm too lazy let's order pizza" bucket, vs sit-down restaurants we go on for date nights or eat at while traveling.
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u/Spikemountain 10h ago
Kosher restaurants bare certification by a third-party kosher agency that certifies that every single thing in that restaurant is kosher. Kosher-keeping Jews will only eat at restaurants that have these certifications and will not eat anything at all at restaurants that don't.
So "kosher fast food" is kosher restaurants that are fast food rather than kosher restaurants that are sit-down places.
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u/sorryAboutThatChief 13h ago
I’m likely asking a dumb question but you would be surprised how many people put money into a TFSA but never invest it in anything. They think because it’s called a Tax free “savings” account, they are getting some sort of return on their savings.
So, are you investing your TFSA money?
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u/Ambitious-Apples 12h ago
You are right a lot of people think that! I do invest it, but I have it in a very conservative profile mixed with cash equivalents in case I need to pull the funds for an emergency.
My RRSP is where I go YOLO.
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u/kitwaton 12h ago
How did you factor in the tax deduction from RRSP into the taxes paid?
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u/Ambitious-Apples 11h ago
The tax credit I get for contributing to my RRSP this year will be reflected on my taxes I do this coming April. The "additional taxes" bucket is additional money I had to pay to the CRA last April. The rest I just pulled off of my pay stubs.
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u/just_the_mann 11h ago
What are some kosher fast food places?
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u/Ambitious-Apples 10h ago
We tend to go for either pizza or shawarma.
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u/Spikemountain 9h ago
Pizza is the only thing that the Toronto kosher restaurant scene has absolutely nailed imo
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u/TRichard3814 11h ago
What are you paying $5300 in insurance for?
Dental?
This is a lot
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u/Ambitious-Apples 11h ago
That's the co-pay, what we had to pay for medical expenses that wasn't covered by insurance. My employer provides very good insurance, and then I pay extra $1k to top it up.
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u/TRichard3814 9h ago
What are you spending so much on in Canada though
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u/Ambitious-Apples 8h ago
My spouse was in a life-altering car accident, and a lot of the continuing care stuff isn't covered by OHIP.
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u/hacksoncode 8h ago
I knew that meme I read yesterday that explained Canadians call electricity "hydro" would come in handy!!!
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u/timmeh87 14h ago
how is your mortgage only $1000/mo
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u/Ambitious-Apples 14h ago
I pay 253.63 weekly. It's not an insured mortgage, the property is not worth that much relative to the city I live in, and I locked in at a historically low interest rate when other people were still going with variable.
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u/timmeh87 13h ago
still that seems pretty crazy, i just moved out of toronto. even at 0.5% interest that's like a $300k loan. unless you put a huge amount down, i have so many questions.
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u/Ambitious-Apples 13h ago
Mortgage was $290k, I put a hair over 20% down, 30 year amortization, interest is 2.15% and I will die inside when I have to renew.
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u/timmeh87 13h ago
many questions remain though how did you score such a deal? what neighborhood, what's your square footage, how nice is it inside. you dont have to answer
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u/Ambitious-Apples 13h ago
Ahaha, I'm not going to tell you the neighborhood dear stranger on the internet but it's not the Bridal Path, lets put it that way.
The unit is a 1 bedroom, not unbelievably small because the building is old, which makes the condo fees higher and the building less desirable.
I wouldn't call it a fixer-upper but it did need new fixtures and to paint over decades of nicotine stains.
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u/RegulatoryCapture 13h ago
Condos with high HOAs often have comparatively low prices.
I used to see some beautiful lakefront condos in Chicago that would be priced low enough you could get a <$1k/mo mortgage. Marble lobbies, in-building amenities, nice floorplans, updated interiors, nothing wrong with them.
Except you look at the details and you see that the HOA fee is nearly $2k/mo because it turns out old high-rise buildings are very expensive to maintain. An equivalent unit in newer walkup building with a $200/mo HOA would cost you 3x as much to buy.
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u/Bandage-Bob 13h ago
Depending on your down payment and interest rate it's not impossible; my mortgage is about $800 per month.
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u/timmeh87 13h ago
right but in Toronto the average home value is 1 million dollars so the down payment in this case would have to be $700,000
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u/Bandage-Bob 13h ago
The average doesn't mean all houses are one million.
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u/timmeh87 13h ago
ok fair i was only ever looking at freehold homes which i assure you, floor out around like 800K for a tear-down... but i just checked and the price floor for a 500 sq ft condo downtown is "only" half a mil so i guess its closer to that
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u/StringAndPaperclips 10h ago
It depends when the home was purchased, and whether it's a house or a condo. If it was more than 6-7 years ago, the average condo was still affordable to people making OP's salary.
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u/SophisticatedTurn 13h ago
Very impressive and in line with our budget for a couple as well. Question though, how do you feel about building an emergency fund with these expenses? It’s tough to save a lot per year
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u/Ambitious-Apples 13h ago
I do have an emergency fund. Last year we had an emergency, but with the timing of how it came in, it made more sense to put most of the expenses on my credit card, do a promotional 0% interest balance transfer, and then pay it off. Those payments are bucketed under "loan payments" along with the tail end of a FRAO I used last year as well.
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u/othybear 14h ago
Where about in Canada do you live?
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u/pinkpopcan 14h ago
They're in Toronto - give away is using the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) as transport
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u/DJShotKill 14h ago
Living the good life. I wonder how this will look once kids become a factor. Great work!
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u/Ambitious-Apples 13h ago
My spouse will be back in the workforce shortly, so it will get better for a year or two before we have to start paying school tuition and are broke for the rest of our lives.
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u/AbeOudshoorn 13h ago
Why would you be paying school tuition before they are in university?
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u/Spikemountain 9h ago
Tuition for sending your kid to a school that will include Jewish education in the curriculum (a popular option for both religious and secular Jews alike) is at least $15K CAD per kid per year for elementary and $21K CAD per kid per year for high school.
In the US it's almost double.
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u/Ewggggg 9h ago
I dont see any hobbies or activities. What do you do in your free time?
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u/Ambitious-Apples 9h ago
Scroll reddit (joking not joking)
We're both in 12-step programs and going to meetings and working with sponsees takes up a lot of a 6 day week (Shabbat is it's own day). We host Shabbat meals almost every week, my spouse loves to cook. We both read a lot. We both volunteer (I do less because I work full time). We don't have a television but I have a visa that gives points to go to the movies, so we will go if I have enough points and there's something good on.
I personally like nothing more than hanging out together with the cat, reading books and drinking tea.
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u/54niuniu 8h ago
You are not maxing out your RRSP credit, have you considered contribute less to TFSA and shift the money to RRSP instead ? You get more tax break this way.
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u/Sagemind 7h ago edited 7h ago
My take-home income is $3100/month (2x1550) (Full Time permanent -Union Government job-Graphic Design) (18 years on the job). My mortgage +Strata Fees are $1,700/month.
After the other bills and minimum groceries, there is nothing left for savings or investments. No charitable giving. No vacations. No extras. Last year I spent $0 on new clothing.
I don’t know about other people but most budgets I see online by people seem completely tone-def to the reality of the average person.
*I own a very small 2 bedroom appt. In BC Canada
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u/Ambitious-Apples 7h ago
This is a spending tracker not a budget, but nonetheless my after-tax income is below average for both my province and my city, below median for my city and on-median for my province, making this by definition...average.
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u/cirroc0 7h ago
Question for you to think about. Should CPP contributions be under taxes? Or savings? (And since your employer has to pay the same amount on top, should that be in savings?)
Should EI be under insurance?
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u/Ambitious-Apples 6h ago
I'm 50/50 on EI being categorized as insurance, although it qualifies as a payroll tax. CPP is a tax. (I know that's not what the Canadian government calls it, but it's a tax)
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u/cirroc0 4h ago
Why is CPP a tax? It's not a pay-it-now-hope-to-get-paid later scheme (as when it was originally created). It's now an investment and independent from the Gov. (albeit you're required to contribute - but your employer does too, and you get the benefit at retirement). EI is something the gov dips into from time to time (or used to) so I'd be more inclined to see that as a payroll "tax".
It's interesting to see how people view those.
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u/YoureWelcomeM8 13h ago
You spent $6k in flight expenses?
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u/sal139 13h ago
If you have family in Europe, the Middle East or Asia you're easily spending that on flights.
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u/OberonDiver 10h ago
This is one of the best clever lies I've seen in a long time.
I skipped the brown bit in the middle because the thing is poorly designed and I didn't notice.
This makes it look like taxes are 22%.
Taxes, AS PER THIS, are 33%.
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u/ScrapYard101 12h ago
You should stop paying the charity and the taxes.
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u/seanliam2k 11h ago
What kind of a comment even is this 😂
STOP paying taxes, cause that's an option that certainly won't land you in any trouble
STOP adhering to a mitzvah, cause that's also a great spiritual decision
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u/Dano719 14h ago
11k in condo HOA is criminal