I woke up on Thursday with a fluffy blanket of snow covering all of Toronto. Even my sublet's backyard, which was more like a well with narrow stairs to the roof, looked sculptural. Since this wasn't a traditional house with a porch, the wind created a shin-high snowdrift against my ground-level entrance. Since my friend had no storage for a snow shovel, I wondered how I will clean it all. Luckily, the neighbour once again cleared both of our entryways and the sidewalks.
My self-imposed budget seemed harsh given that this was also a "vacation". Why make arbitrary restrictions? Today's fortune advised to "prepare today for the demands of tomorrow". The $4K limit actually exceeded my own expenses. Because I purchased whole-life insurance only recently, and wanted to pay it off within a decade given my age, the premiums were high. So my projected retirement income would not cover the total budget and the insurance payments, too.
To live in Toronto, I then have two options. One, bring my monthly expenses down to $3500. Two, work (part-time) enough to cover the gap which was about $20-30K a year. The other solution would be to stay in Ottawa until the insurance was paid off. Obviously, none of these problems exist if I continue to work full-time. It was eye-opening to consider the cost of living here. In any case, I stayed home today and cooked with my groceries. But it was more the case of not wanting to go out; some people weren't as diligent about keeping their own property clean.
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