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Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year

Welcome to YNAB Money Snapshots—where you see a real picture of someone else’s budget and finances. They’re all anonymous, because sharing money is still a squirrelly topic for many, but we think airing them out in the open makes you better with your own money story. 

As you read these budgets, keep in mind that some people make lots of money and some people make a little bit of money, but we know it’s what you do with that money and how you feel about that money that means more than any yearly salary. 

See how a stay-at-home mom and construction worker in British Columbia making $48,000 CAD a year spent their money in April.

All dollar amounts are in Canadian dollars (exchange rate: 1 Canadian dollar=roughly .75 US dollars. Salary would be roughly $36,000 in USD).

About

  • Name: Momma L & Papa L
  • Ages: 32 & 32
  • Location: Fraser Valley, British Columbia
  • Jobs: Stay-at-home mom and construction worker
  • Living situation: Married with two young kids (4 years and 11 months)

Income: $48,000/year

Savings: $32,000

  • Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP): $12,000
  • Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP): $8,000
  • Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA): $12,000

Debt: $40,650

  • Auto loan: $15,400
  • Student loan: $25,250

April Inflows: $4,618

  • Brother’s loan repayment: $200
  • Government: $1,734
  • Medical benefits reimbursement: $67
  • Payroll: $2,615
  • Bank interest: $2 

My April Budget

Budget

Catego­ry Target Amount Notes
Debt
Mortgage extra Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $146 This category is for an extra mortgage payment
Real Expenses
Strata Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $324
Storage Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $55
Auto Ins Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $176
Utilities Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $35
Auto Loan Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $467
Electric Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $78
Home Ins. Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $50
Mortgage Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $736
Phone Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $111
Crunchyroll Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $8
Giving Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $65
Fidelity TFSA
College Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $200 College saving plan ($100 for each kid)
True Expenses
Groceries Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $435
Household Supplies Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $174
Medical Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $213
Transportation Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $67
Home Maintenance Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $23
Clothing Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $12
Dining Out Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $40
Kids
Baby Needs Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $59
Clothes Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $16
Savings
Fun Money Budget Snapshot: Family of Four Living in BC on $48,000 CAD/Year $7
Total Needed $3,497

My Savings Categories

Right now my top savings goals are:

  1. Saving to buy a bigger house (a yard with a garden! We’d like a home closer to family and a workshop for my husband)
  2. Trip to Disney in five years

We also have a long list in our savings that aren’t shown in the budget above. We save for deductibles should something major happen (like the car accident recently that we thankfully had money for, so no new debt!). We have savings if our utilities get a big hit, saving for Christmas, extended family, each of our girls, and we each have our own fun money category and a category for birthday parties for our kids.

My Month

We did not have school or gymnastics costs for our daughter (which saved $205 total). The extra money was put towards future months.

My Story

I used to budget with a spreadsheet but when I had my first daughter it was too time consuming. We couldn’t keep up with all the receipts and stopped keeping track. We renovated to sell before our second was born and we spent too much. We had hoped to sell at the peak and live with family until the market dropped again and make up our investment with the sale. When that plan fell through and we were suddenly carrying credit card debt, I started budgeting again. That was when I found YNAB. 

It was easy to keep up with, it took three restarts, but we managed to get rid of our credit card debt (after a lot of overtime work for my husband), we are saving towards our future and our children’s futures, as well as enjoying regular trips to visit family (we live 4-6 hours from any family). We would really like to go to Disneyland when our kids are older, and we have just started saving towards that whenever we have a bit extra money in the budget.

My Financial Goals

  • Budget three months ahead (currently a full month ahead!)
  • Reduce debt (when there is extra money I prioritize debt repayment over fun (mostly) and pay down mortgage first because it has a higher interest rate).

I would rate my current financial situation: 4/5

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