I spend about $30-$40/day on food on average, weekends are more, so $775 for me is low. I don't cook at home or buy groceries. I don't think $775/month for an entire family is too high.

dat dere Revolver + Meat and Bread is expensive shit.

I spend around $30/day on food for myself on weekdays. No time to cook.

I do around 15-20 a day.

Is this really a surprise? Vancouver housing prices are one of the highest in the country, maybe even the world... personally, I find a LOT of these numbers are a bit of an overestimate (my parents spend roughly $150/week for groceries to feed the 3 of us very well) but you can't argue that the cost of housing in Vancouver is much too high considering what one gets. Maybe it does reek of the whole left-wing "social justice" BS, but you can't argue that a $20/hour wage will take you a lot farther in non-Vancouver areas of Canada...

If you can't afford to live here, move away.

If you can't afford to live here, and do not want to move away, work harder, make more money.

The problem today is the lack of people who are prepared to work hard for their money. As Daniel Tosh put it:

Yeah it seems high but I think most people here don't have kids or any real life expenses.

TV/Internet/Cell Phones - ~200/month
Sports for kids/parents - varies widely! (at least $100/month generally)
Family event 1x/month - ~100
Family eating out 1x/month - ~75
Hair cuts/personal grooming for 4 people (inc. bathroom stuff) - ~50/month
Gifts (xmas/easter/birthday/anniversary) - probably ~150/month if spread over the year

Plus much more.
People can definitely get by spending less:
Rent can be closer to $1000
Food can be closer to $600 (varies for ages of kids)
MSPs are often paid for by work
? Parents education?? I don't even know what that is.

Probably closer to $3000/month in expenses if you are budget strapped BUT the average family will probably be closer to $4000 because........life.

This article is bullshit. I live in the GVRD and pay $500/mo in rent for a nice place (2 people living here about 1600sq/ft so $1000/mo between the two of us), pay about $200/mo in gas and $200-$300/mo in food. That's like $1200 TOPS for living expenses which if you have a full time job, would need to make about $10-$12/hr to live. Now that's bare bones, sure... but $20.10/hr? Yeah.. no. That would be $3200/mo before taxes which if you're single is a pretty damn good living with lots of money left over to save/entertainment.

Problem is people these days think a leased car, eating out every day, fancy clothes etc. are a necessity but they aren't.

probably district manager for Church's Chicken by now :ilied:

Read the fucking OP. Do you pay for child care? no? Cuz the budget's for a family of 4.

derp

If both parents are making roughly $20/hour, I don't think have two kids is the smartest choice unless you still live with your parents in a big household where the grandparents can take care of the kids while you're at work. We can argue about how reliable or accurate the budget is but the article specifically says “It’s a little bit more than scraping by — it’s above the poverty line … but it’s by no means a luxurious lifestyle.” So we're not taking about another episode of Extreme Cheapskates here. I'm sure the budget can be skimmed a little here and a little there but the total sum seems about right for a family of four while factoring in contingency costs.

What I got from the article is that 1) living in Vancouver isn't cheap (No shit), and 2) you shouldn't raise a family of 4 if both parents are making roughly $20/hour pre tax. My question is, when was it ever cheap to live in Van? When was it ever a "luxurious" living with $20/hour by both parents? Move anywhere else and the situation will be roughly the same. You might be able to stretch the dollar a tad more but the standard of living is still roughly the same.

my uncle has a family of 5 (before my grandma passed away last year) & he lives in COQ

hes retired once he moved to canada in 1998 & always had a habit of buying lots of stuff when its on sale/discount price period

if there is a sale on a brand of toilet paper, he would go couple pack just for storage & his house is filled with food & stuff, great save for a rainy day

i dun really know how much he spends on food exactly but im guessing its under the 700 budget (in COQ its quite hard to find cheap chinese stuff unlike richmond)

LOL @ title sensationalism. They act like every household has 2 kids. Vancouver is not exactly a young families utopia. What do I expect from "24" I guess though. Its barely a step above those fucktards @Vancitybuzz.

Is it coincidence that I thanked you and that we both work in the patch? No. People who complain that they can't make good money or that there are no jobs piss me off to no end..

wheres this 1600 sq ft for 1k just curious

1. food $775 - my parents told me a good figure to use is $3 per meal. so $9 a day per person. some meals of course are nicer and more than $3 a meal, some are less than $3 a meal. depends on dietary restrictions and if how big they are too. but my expenses so far seem to fit the $3 a meal average. that's $540 a couple. The girlfriend and I are spending approximately $500-550 on food groceries every month.

2. clothing, figure seems a little high, you can go to winners, target, department stores and such and get clothes for cheaper, but if you base it on the Vancouver standard of what the "average" person wear, than the figure is probably on the low side.

3. it depends where and which neighbourhood, and if you want basement suite or top floor, townhouse or what not. cant really comment on it as it all depends.

4. transportation depends on how many zones you have to travel for bus passes.

5. child care is fucking expensive. and it all depends on the daycare centre. but this figure seems like in the ball park.

overall. i wouldnt say this is the MINIMUM you need to get by. but if you want to live a somewhat decent lifestyle, you need to make more than $20 an hour.

yup. most on here still live at home with their parents.

The topic is about what hourly wage is needed to live in Vancouver.
Why not keep it simple and leave spouses and kids out of this.
$20 is still too low to live on your own in your own place.
With ridiculous real estate prices.
You need to make at least $30 an hour....60k yearly.
And thats still living paycheck by paycheck.

my food budget alone is more than $775 let alone the rest of the household
i cant see how a family could survive on that unless they were eating Mac n Cheese + instant noodles

Buying bulk and using coupons, you have save TONS.

There's tons of cheap food out there so long as you don't eat out.

Hell, I used to buy rotisserie chicken and eat that for 2-3 days.
1st day you eat the best parts
2nd day you strip off the meat and make a sandwich
3rd day, the remaining meat and boil the chicken bones and you make chicken soup. All you need is some daikon, green onions, salt and pepper.
That's pretty much $15 in total for 3 meals.

If you really want to save money, don't be a yaletown baller.

I pretty much took a 70% paycut this year and im finding it can be a little tough, but I still find time to enjoy the things I like to enjoy.

Basic landline service, $25-$35/mo. TV/Internet are not necessities. There, I just saved $165/mo.

First step in reducing the budget is deciding on NEED vs. WANT. So much shit people think they NEED, that they really don't. Forget Target for clothes, how about Sally Ann, VV Boutique, etc? Clothe an entire family for $50, and no you don't NEED another outfit every month. Go seasonal clothes shopping, once every three months, and now you're down to <$20/mo for clothing FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY.

$20/hr is an "I want it all, and I want it now" budget.

Cook on weekends. I pre-make meals for 14 days on the weekend.

You could save approx. $4700/year. Considering income tax rates you would need to earn approx. $6000-7000 before tax.