the Story So Far

 

I never thought it would be like this.

I was raised by a single mother, always renting a home to live, for my sister, herself and me. I know my Mom worked for most of my young life, and I know that we struggled, but, at the time, it seemed alright to me and I never thought twice about not having this or that. Talking to my Mom years later she told me the rents were affordable, she could get a 3 bedroom apartment or even a 4 bedroom house with a basement on a single income at a basic job (she was a secretary).

My Mom never bought a home, that was a little beyond her means, but, growing up it seemed that if you worked hard and certainly if you were a 2 income household, working hard and saving, you could buy a home, no question.

I have always had a job, pretty much from my late teens till now, with very little time between jobs. I have saved and squandered savings, I have used credit to the point of bankruptcy and I have been irresponsible, somewhat at least, with my finances, as a whole, thoughout these 35+ years of working.

Those excuses aside, I have a good career that pays me $100k a year and I am married to a person that, if she wasn’t currently on disability, was making over $50k a year. We rent, and, pay more to rent a home because we, along with almost everyone, love animals, and have 2 dogs. We have lived in basement suites and “half houses” where you share backyards etc, but a few years ago, we rented a whole house and to this day, we have tried to maintain that, but its at a cost.

 I spend ~45% of my take home pay on rent, ~17% on Paying Bills, 30% on paying Debts…..which leaves not much for the rest. Of course my wife helps, but, when she was working , we decided to get a new truck for her. 3 years into that large vehicle loan, she got sick and now her disability basically pays her truck payments (we took it off the road to save insurance) and leaves her a little bit to help out with food and stuff around the house.

In summary, we live tight. I push my credit to help us, try and use Credit card points and whatever to help us, Im frugal, and we really live a simple life….thats fine for me. Im simple and I have kinda accepted that this is life right now, and most likely, for an indefinite time as my wife struggles with her illness and I just try and keep it together, work hard at my job (which I do love) and do the best I can to keep up, and not lose my mind.

I never thought it would be this way. There doesn’t seem to really be anything out there to help people like me. I make too much money for any financial help , but I don’t make enough money to get ahead….theres something odd, and quite sad about that. Im not blaming anybody or anything, because it isn’t one thing or person that is cause of this dilemma….a dilemma that I know I am not alone in dealing with.

Like I said before, we rent. We are VERY lucky. We rent a house in a very nice neighbourhood. It has some space for our dogs and is just great for us, being a 3 bedroom rancher.  Although the rent is 45% of my take home pay, the landlord could easily get another 20%+ more a month, which would force us out. This hasn’t happened yet, but I worry. In today’s market, we would most likely have to go back to sharing a house with another tenant, sharing space etc. Rents are starting to go out of control, and,well, we need somewhere to live and will compromise if needed. I feel poor, and kinda helpless when it comes to a home. I know as a renter, im kinda “borrowing “ a place to make a home, I am thankful that I can at least do that, I know there are people a lot worse off, and that is even more sad. In a country like Canada you can see the lines drawn, between those that have and those that struggle to have at least something and keep the minimum.

 Was I lied to as a young Canadian? Im 54 now, and, I see a lot of people from my generation were able to buy property and they have done well, maybe up to 2/3rds of them? As someone that is part of the 30% that didn’t , I guess we are the losers, and, in a way, deserve our lot. Survival of the fittest? Survival of the Luckiest in a lot of cases?

In closing, I shall continue to rent, most likely I will never officially retire (squandered RRSPs years ago) which is fine for me. I hope my wife gets well, and, I really hope I can keep it together, maybe I just need a little luck…

I never thought it would it be like this.