3 ms·

I lived on $1000/month two years ago. My rent right now is $300/month. My current standard of living, which I blow through money, has me go through $1500/month

by fruzz 12y ago

I lived on $1000/month two years ago. My rent right now is $300/month. My current standard of living, which I blow through money, has me go through $1500/month. I save the rest (which is about the same amount). I have about $13,000 saved but am hesitant to put them in RRSPs (Canadian 401k) because I may need to pull that money for surgery.

arjn 12y ago
Can you post some more details on your situation - location, jobtype etc ?
- fruzz 12y ago
  I'm a software developer in Ontario, Canada. I live with three roommates, which is why rent is cheap. I'm just shy of my thirties. A few years ago I was looking to get out of my workplace where I also worked as a software developer. They had suffered five years of consecutive lay-offs and the environment had really suffered. Months of job hunting proved fruitless. So I made a return to university hoping to prop up my credentials. That's when I was making $1,000/mo (I was still working my other job - part time hours, full time load.) Fast forward a year, life events made it so I could no longer afford it, and I went back to work full-time. A year later all the interviews came in. I changed companies, got a huge pay boost, and have been pretty happy since.
jacquesm 12y ago
> am hesitant to put them in RRSPs (Canadian 401k) because I may need to pull that money for surgery. Aren't you covered through 'OHIP' or the local equivalent?
- fruzz 12y ago
  Officially yes. First I need to fill out a huge document in which I state why I need this. Then I wait. The wait time right now is two years to see someone, likely three by the time I get there as it keeps getting longer. Then I have to travel for five hours to a specific facility - there's only one in Ontario - to prove to someone that I need this. Then they'll either have me come back (more wait) to prove again that I need this. Or they'll set-up the surgery - which would then be maybe 3-6 months away. They're paying a private medical facility to perform the work; if I have the means I could just as well skip the three years and pay for it myself. Or spend a fraction of the cost and do it overseas. Note that this isn't for all things in Ontario, but is true for gender affirmation surgeries.

by fruzz 12y ago

arjn 12y ago

Can you post some more details on your situation - location, jobtype etc ?

fruzz 12y ago
I'm a software developer in Ontario, Canada. I live with three roommates, which is why rent is cheap. I'm just shy of my thirties. A few years ago I was looking to get out of my workplace where I also worked as a software developer. They had suffered five years of consecutive lay-offs and the environment had really suffered. Months of job hunting proved fruitless. So I made a return to university hoping to prop up my credentials. That's when I was making $1,000/mo (I was still working my other job - part time hours, full time load.) Fast forward a year, life events made it so I could no longer afford it, and I went back to work full-time. A year later all the interviews came in. I changed companies, got a huge pay boost, and have been pretty happy since.

jacquesm 12y ago

> am hesitant to put them in RRSPs (Canadian 401k) because I may need to pull that money for surgery. Aren't you covered through 'OHIP' or the local equivalent?

fruzz 12y ago
Officially yes. First I need to fill out a huge document in which I state why I need this. Then I wait. The wait time right now is two years to see someone, likely three by the time I get there as it keeps getting longer. Then I have to travel for five hours to a specific facility - there's only one in Ontario - to prove to someone that I need this. Then they'll either have me come back (more wait) to prove again that I need this. Or they'll set-up the surgery - which would then be maybe 3-6 months away. They're paying a private medical facility to perform the work; if I have the means I could just as well skip the three years and pay for it myself. Or spend a fraction of the cost and do it overseas. Note that this isn't for all things in Ontario, but is true for gender affirmation surgeries.