Train of life | Separated father: snatch some with $ 60,000 a year

We may tend to think that people who have difficulty making it to the end of the month are in the extremes: either they earn minimum wage or they spend lavishly. But there are also those who have a very decent salary, who do not splurge, but who do. Like separated parents.

Martine Letarte
Special collaboration

The situation

Patrick * is 43 years old and he has a 10 year old boy in shared custody. He has a stable job and is at the top of the salary scale with $ 60,000 a year.

“At first glance, that seems a reasonable salary to live with dignity. However, it is not. Each month, I always spend a little more than what I earn, ”he notes.

While he has a modest lifestyle, his financial situation is difficult because his separation has been tough financially and emotionally. He had to get new furniture and he moved a few times to find satisfactory accommodation after a bad experience with a co-op. He also had to see a psychologist. These expenses unbalanced his budget as a separated father. He got into debt and had to make a consumer proposal to his creditors: he pays $ 200 a month for another three and a half years.

“How do I make sense of my life when I work five days a week, 49 weeks a year, but can’t afford any leisure time or take my son for a week on vacation unless I am in heavy debt?” Am I unable to manage a budget, or do I have too low a salary to live with dignity without being constantly tormented by the fear of not being able to pay the next bill? ”

The answer

Improve your perception of the situation

Patrick’s story greatly affected the team in the Train de Vie section of Press as well as Carole Grenier, budget advisor at Conseils budget, who agreed to give her some advice. She says right off the bat that Patrick’s case doesn’t just affect personal finances.

“His separation was hard, he got into debt and had to make a consumer proposal, something very difficult to accept. We feel that he considers himself to be someone in a situation of failure, and it is certain that this hurts his self-esteem and that it does not help his situation at all. ”

Because in fact, his situation is not impossible, according to the one who has been doing budget consultation on his own for ten years.

“Paying $ 200 per month for a consumer proposal makes a big difference in his budget, and it is certain that for the moment, he must be very vigilant about his expenses so as not to get into debt,” says Mr.^me Attic. But it will come to an end. He should focus on the emotions he will feel when he is finished paying this debt. He will be able to be proud of having got out of this situation and will then be much more comfortable with his budget. ”

The budget advisor, however, tells him from the outset that he must avoid falling into the trap of believing that he will be able to maintain the same lifestyle he had when he shared expenses with his ex-wife. “It’s much more expensive to live as a single parent, and you have to accept this reality,” she says.

Think about annual expenses

If Patrick does not understand why he cannot make ends meet every month, when the figures give him a surplus of $ 300, the budget advisor has an explanation. She notices that he did not consider some annual expenses. For example, she thinks of the driver’s license, the hairdresser, the day camp, school supplies, school photos, the optometrist, the dentist – even if part of the costs are covered by her insurance -, the accountant , etc.

“For someone with a child who doesn’t own a home and doesn’t have a car, it really isn’t a stretch to budget for a minimum of $ 2,000 per year for these different costs,” says she does. It is therefore $ 167 that he must budget every four weeks to be sure of having these sums when these expenses arise. ”

Carole Grenier would also suggest that he save $ 10 per pay. “It sounds crazy as a recommendation when you earn $ 60,000 a year, but putting that amount every two weeks in a savings account would be good for your sanity. After a year, he would have $ 260 in savings. This is what could be the difference between worrying and not worrying. ”

By adding these elements, his monthly expenses thus climb to $ 3,022. His surplus thus drops to $ 130 per month, which he can use to cover small variations in his grocery and Communauto bills.

Plan your expenses based on your pay

Carole Grenier is also used to making her clients realize that there are always two months in the year when people who are paid every two weeks receive three pays. If you start the year 2022 with a pay date on January 6, those months will be March and September.

“When these paychecks arrive, the monthly expenses are already settled and there are just the weekly expenses, as in the case of Patrick, food, childcare expenses and Communauto. So that leaves him around $ 1,050, or $ 2,100 a year that he has to realize he has and decide what to do with it. ”

Free yourself from your debts

In the eyes of Carole Grenier, the most important thing for Patrick is to pay for his consumer proposal as quickly as possible. “We understand that he still has to pay $ 200 for 42 months, so $ 8,400,” she says. Already, if he allocates this $ 2,100, he will pay his consumer proposal almost a year faster. ”

It is certain that we are asking here someone who still earns a good salary to have a budgetary discipline which can be unpleasant because it does not leave him much room for spontaneity and follies.

“But he must really keep in mind that his situation will change drastically as soon as he finishes paying his consumer proposal,” says M^me Attic. Thereafter, it will be less tight each month, then he will always have his two months with a third pay to invest in projects, like vacations. And above all, from now on, he can be proud of having taken charge of his personal finances. ”

* Although the case highlighted in this section is real, the first name used is fictitious.

Are you planning a project that requires wise use of your money? Do you have financial problems?