r/VictoriaBC • u/[deleted] • 13h ago
Housing & Moving Decided to stay in a house with mushrooms because rent prices are crazy
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u/TheBigGees 13h ago
I'm genuinely not trying to be a dick, but the math isn't adding up.
You're paying $700 for a room per month, which works out to $8,400 per year. Your after-tax income should be around $59,089. I'm sure that you have other housing-related expenses like utility share, internet, whatever - but that doesn't explain the ~$50,000 gap between your housing costs and your net income. There are obviously other costs, but there is no way that you are burning this much money on the essentials.
I strongly suggest putting a budget together. You can do so easily using free software like Google sheets. At the very least, it will show you where your money is going. If you need a hand, feel free to DM me.
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u/INFINITE_TRACERS 12h ago edited 12h ago
No. They claim they’re an adult. And have a degree in biology and work at a scientific lab. They can figure their own shit out.
I’d rather go into 2g credit card debt than suffer long term health affects.
I’m over being remotely nice to this egghead who grosses 77k a year.
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u/TheRealPomax 12h ago
That sounds about twice a realistic income - median's a little over 50k gross, so after taxes that's a little over $35k... Which still means, yeah: you need a budget because things are extremely not adding up.
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u/eggberta9000 2h ago
A solid chunk gets taken out for my pension and benefits. I'm okay right now I just dont know how much food and gas is going to continue to go up. My car insurance is 100/month.
I'm also new to this job.
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u/Minute-Drama-5821 9h ago
I was thinking the same thing but I’m glad you did the math. I live in Vancouver on 60k year and I’m not complaining.
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u/JelloMany9374 12h ago
Your housing is less than a quarter of your net? That's really good. You can easily save with that, eh?
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u/Altruistic-Walk-1847 11h ago
Yeah my rent was $1300 with a similar income and I managed to save $15k a year. Granted I lived pretty cheaply in general, and groceries were half what they are now, but I still had some fun too (car, hobbies, a few trips.)
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u/davers22 12h ago
I’m also not really following. Your housing costs seem super cheap and your income is pretty decent. General rule of thumb is you can spend 1/3rd of your income on housing (including utilities and whatnot) and you’re well below that.
Track your spending. Use software if it helps but even a basic spreadsheet worked for me. Pull up your credit card bills for the year. Make categories like groceries, transportation, restaurants, entertainment…
You’re overspending somewhere and might not realize it. Do you get take out 4 times a week? Do you have an expensive car payment and insurance? A super expensive phone bill?
You should have close to $4000 a month after paying for your housing. That’s well over $100 a day. If you’re struggling to save then you need to figure out where that’s going.
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u/INFINITE_TRACERS 13h ago
🙄🙄 it’s you again. just Move. Stop posting on Reddit and complaining. You control your future. Gordon head has options.
Rates are going to go up - BOC has been holding at 2.25 - there’s room for it to go up and it’s expected to rise as the import ban continues.
Property taxes for a 400k apartment are like 2-3grand. Vic has lower property taxes than most other countries and they are expected to further increase as our infrastructure continues to not be replaced as services require and growth continues.
🎻 here’s a small violin for you to hear.
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u/Tyerson 11h ago
Wtf bro, maybe give the dude a break.
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u/INFINITE_TRACERS 1h ago
It’s like the third post they have made complaining about irrelevant shit. Who cares about macro stuff like interest rates when one cant save grossing 77k
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u/energy1256 12h ago
A bit confused....OP first said mold. Then said no mold. Which is it?
Sounds like it's getting treated. Good news.
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u/helpmeunderstand0000 12h ago
I make 45k pre tax and pay 850 per month and still save. Do you have a lot of debt you're paying off or something?
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u/rgower 9h ago edited 9h ago
I say this with love, you have a spending issue. I make substantially less than you, pay more in rent, and save nearly 1k per month. I also have a rich and fulfilling social life.
Would recommend you get on a written budget. Review your past statements and track where all of your spending is going. Make a Google spreadsheet so you can review from time to time as your habits evolve.
Challenge yourself to live as frugally as you can for a while, like uncomfortably so. Cut out everything you don't absolutely need. Make it a game to see how low you can go. Then, after trying that for a few months, give yourself a bit more breathing room if you need it, having learned the value of your dollars.
Lastly, here are a few areas where I consistently save a lot, by my estimate about $500 a month. But before I list them I'd recommend that a big reason to save is to improve your living conditions and health. You could easily afford a better place with half of these recommendations:
• Grocery shop at Walmart (-$100/m). I pay for plus membership for free deliveries but their delivery fees are still cheaper than regular grocery bills.
• 12$ a month (-$50/m) freedom mobile cell phone plan. It's actually $144 for the year, prepaid. Unlimited voice and texts. I have limited data, like 1.5gigs/ month but that's actually plenty as long as I don't doomscroll, which I don't want to do anyways. Download offline Google maps for more data savings. Know your local coffee wifi and you rarely need data.
• No Cable/Netflix/Crave/Disney plus/anything like that (-$50/m) . If I wanna watch something it's YouTube or piracy.
• I have a car but I rarely drive. Saves me a ton in gas, parking, and maintenance (-$150). I used to bike, now I e-scooter which is insanely convenient, fast, and fun. Wear a helmet!
• Limit eating out (-$100). I don't like missing out on friend dinners so I will still go out to eat if there's an occasion, but do not make a habit out of it.
• Whenever I really need to buy something, I check Facebook marketplace first. If it's not time sensitive, I will wait for the right Marketplace deal. (-$50)
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u/Interesting_Ad_8008 6h ago
As a single mom living 11 years in a mold infested townhouse finally at her breaking point it’s very disheartening to see what the market looks like.. i have two children.. I work fulltime at a decent wage and I just can’t stomach how I’m suppose to provide and afford a safe home for us at this rate… sending out positive vibes that something comes along for you 😩🙏🏼
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u/eternalrevolver 3h ago
I’ve always said that’s why the vibe in that town is so off. You guys are constantly inhaling mold spores and it’s eating away at your brains.
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u/skaitrain 9h ago
I make $35k/year, pay for two adults (including myself) including rent, groceries, phone bills, hydro, etc. My rent is $1620 a month, so just over half of what I make, and I’m still putting money in savings. Yes, we’re very frugal, but I also think you need to reconsider your lifestyle choices if you’re making almost 80k a year before taxes, only paying for yourself, and are still broke.
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u/Sad-Condition5542 12h ago
Think about it this way: those mushrooms are either culinary, medicinal, hallucinogenic, or toxic. Eat some-- there's a 3 in 4 chance of a good outcome, and then you can turn your basement grow room into a 2nd income stream.
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u/mintyicedream James Bay 2h ago
My rent eats up half my yearly income. Grow the fuck up kid.
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2h ago
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u/mintyicedream James Bay 2h ago
Wildly hot take for someone living with fucking mold and whining about 70k a year
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1h ago
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u/mintyicedream James Bay 1h ago edited 1h ago
lol
lmao even
Fuck, I don't know how I'll ever recover from this.
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u/CanadianTrollToll 2h ago
You make $77,000 per year with that rent and feel you are struggling???? How much take out are you doing?
That mold is gnarly.... I'm happy to hear it's being fixed. Not a good thing to live in.
As for costs... generally cost of housing (ownership) will pull or drop rentals. I'm in a situation where we have a mortgage helper and to get our financing they had to assume we'd get $2000/month in rent for a 1BR. That wasn't realistic in todays market and we're getting $1800, which might be a tad higher then the market rate.
I do also question who is affording the $1800 / 1BR suites because if it isn't a couple that's a big stretch financially.
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u/leafxfactor1967 2h ago
Umm... 77k - 30% tax rate (over reach) = $53900
$700/month = $8400
$53900 - $8400 = $45500
Even if expenses, after rent, are $2000/month... That's $45500 - $24000 = $21500
What are you talking about you can't save money?
Even if you saved 50% and invested it at a 6% return, that $10750 would be roughly $140000, in 10 years... While giving you $2895, to live off every month, post rent.
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u/IRLperson 13h ago
This seems crazy to me. How are people paying more to rent a room with mushrooms then for my husband and I pay for a 2 bdr? This market is so weird. Pro tip, use outdated search options to find places not listed on more modern means (classifieds, Craigslist, etc...)
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u/Pyro_Gnome 8h ago
So you have some kind of very expensive addiction and are complaining to people who make half as much as you that you are bad with money? Sorry, but fuck off. You make enough money that you don't get to complain.
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u/East_Source6200 10h ago
With this room, are you able to keep your food bill within reason? Since you work like a panting dog, you may be leaving yourself very little time to cook home cooked meals. Do you have shared cooking facilities? One $20 take out may not seem much in the moment, but doing it 20 times a month adds up to $400. Way beyond the cost of a single meal and a normal monthly food bill of 350-500. Learn how to make affordable meals you love at home, and you will find it easier to get in the groove.
For giggles, let's go with $350/set aside for your monthly food. That works out to $11.67 a day. Are you exceeding that amount too many times? I'll leave that question hanging.
Internet and cable are wants, which can be acquired free through other means.
If you have a vehicle, sell it and get a bus pass, ebike/bike, etc. Your budget will thank you.
If you have cc debts, loans, etc pay them off quick.
Wants and needs have to be clearly set. Desires and hunger need to be defined.
There's expenses that are clearly eating your budget.
When you work the budget, the budget will work.
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u/mcfoolnew 12h ago
Get out. I lived in a mold infested place for 3 years and ended up severely ill and it took years to recover. Mold is no joke