Budget Breakdown: How to Debt Snowball | Young Mom in Canada

[@Zorro-5515]

🇨🇦Dave..thank you for recognizing AND acknowledging the important role of moms at home! Then to suggest the husband can get more involved was amazing! Well done! That's a LOT for gas unless he really has a long commute to work. Great job you two.

[@servantwarrior880]

Yes 👏 mom of five daughter here, home school, full time remote CFO, and my husband is gone 12 - 16 hours a day being the CEO of our company.

[@cherylsklar6640]

Suggest they watch Jessica Wanders for ideas on where to shop and what to cook in Canada on a budget.

[@gailkeen3917]

I am just wondering if you ever have any follow up with the people who you have done the budget breakdown for. It would be nice to see if they follow your suggestions and if they work for them. Love what you guys do and I personally try to follow along with some of your suggestions 🎉

[@nawoodshop2206]

I just want to mention that diapers and formula are minimum 30-40$ per box & 30-50$ per tub or box and I'm only in southern Ontario.. if they live literally anywhere else in canada its WAY more.. 800 for food isn't unreasonable if that includes formula and diapers

[@springchicken2513]

I was was shocked at how low the grocery budget was honestly

[@carolineholly7996]

Loved this episode for so many reasons! 1. Fellow Canadian here 2. Acknowledgment that groceries are super high in Canada ( we actually jump the border to the US as even with the exchange rate, we save) 3. The thinking hat 4. Balance in calling out the husband to help out with meal prep, etc 5. You can have anything you want, you just cant have everything you want…so many good zingers in here. Thanks for a great episode!

[@karinakissell9565]

I had 6 credit cards maxed out, a car loan, and a Klarna payment. I now am down to the car payment and only 2 cards having balances (neither maxed) because of debt snowballing. It works!

[@polgara28]

Congratulations! It's hard work, but SOOO worth it! 🥳

[@rsislandcrafts]

When I first started meal planning for my family of five It felt overwhelming. Then I realized we had a meal routine. Every Friday was homemade pizza. Once a week we had burgers and once a week a pasta meal. Realizing this allowed me to make a monthly meal plan. My family loved knowing what to expect for dinner every Friday or every Monday. I left two or three days a week for creativity. Even though Wednesday was pasta day It still allowed me to be creative and try different pasta dishes. Not just long spaghetti and red sauce. With my new monthly meal plan I no longer stressed over what to cook each week and It made It easier to stock up my pantry when there were sales. Even when my family turned up their noses at one of my new dishes they didn’t complain (as much😉) because they knew that tomorrow they would have one of their favorite meals.

[@victoriaoliver9958]

I’ve got to go all the way with this. A few months ago, we started doing pizza every Friday, and our family looks forward to it every week.

[@rsislandcrafts]

@@victoriaoliver9958 Once I realized my family wanted the same foods and didn’t want a variety of meals It became so much easier. I thought they were bored but they loved knowing that every Friday was pizza. They especially loved when I scheduled breakfast for dinner twice a month. A favorite for sure.

[@victoriaoliver9958]

@@rsislandcrafts Ooh! Breakfast 🥞 for dinner…they’d love that. And twice a month keeps it special.

[@rsislandcrafts]

@@victoriaoliver9958 Yes! Remember if you make pancakes, waffles, or some egg dishes to make extra for the freezer. Then you’ll have a quick breakfast or lunch on hand. 😉

[@Mommabeans]

To go off about the food budget, i live in canada, its about 1/3 more per American budget. And what about diapers and formula. That’s probably why the grocery budget is so high!

[@laurahelder2331]

🇨🇦Canadian here... gas is crazy expensive and groceries are insane!! You would be absolutely shocked...its actually quite sad for our country. Ppl are really struggling here.

[@springchicken2513]

Chicken breast is absolutely not cheap in Canada lol She absolutely can not spend only $600 on groceries in Canada. In my household it is my husband, my grandpa who I am a caregiver for, and myself, we live in Alberta. We can't spend under $900, that's me buying only 50% discounted meat, shopping sales, cooking 100% at home, simple meals, stretching the meat, little to snacks, buying eggs from a farm for as cheap as I can get, meal planning, and only buying off the grocery list. That is us eating meat, fruit, veggies, starches, and limited dairy products. I don't mean to sound rude but I think you guys are a bit out of touch on this one. You may want to do more research on prices and how debt works in Canada.

[@kariwhitehead3952]

I agree. I used to spend 600$ on a small family 8 years ago. I now spend 1400+ on a family of 8 and the only eating out we do is Domino's in coupons once every month or two. And it's 35$ Only way to solve her problem is to bring in a little extra. Trying to feed her family proper diets for $600 will cause so much stress and make her feel like a failure. I hope she reads some comments. ❤️

[@ajo6751]

Wow that is eye opening! I knew Canada was more expensive but I had no idea it was that high. Ironically on another channel I learned US and France food prices are not that far apart.

[@0nillevass]

I still use a notepad for my family budget. The year is 2023. I'm 35 years old. 😫

[@kathrynhilder9609]

I'm 54 and have raised 5 kids (I'm a grandma now!)...and still budget with a notepad! 😂😂 If it's what works just roll with it! 👍😊

[@shainastasch222]

I love that you said you can make memories with your kids without doing something extravagant. I have 2 older toddlers and an infant. To help manage the older two when my husband was gone some nights for work I would tell them it’s a picnic in the living room night. We would lay out blankets, turn a movie on the tv, and have pizza for dinner on the floor. They loved this so much AND still ask to do this when dad is gone for a night. It is can be easy to turn something that isn’t much into an event and something special for the kiddos, it’s all how you present it to them!

[@lin90210]

If they go out to eat they can buy oven food and bung it in the oven for 20 minutes and we done. Boil a veggie or two. Salad in a bowl and bottled salad dressing. An apple, banana. Easy

[@stephaniegaddis1716]

Oh man! I also remember those days! 4 babies in 6 years. It was exhausting!! My top tips: Develop a daily routine and a weekly routine -- this will reduce the chaos and decision making fatigue. Meal planning doesn't have to be fancy -- plan just 1 week and work that plan every single week, it's a little more expensive than shopping sales BUT it reduces decision fatigue and uses a plan which is cheaper than winging it and defaulting to the drive-thru. Also, write down what you spend so you can see those totals in black and white! Track it to the penny!! Also, make a game out of grocery shopping and include the kids in the game. We play "BEAT the BUDGET!" (say in your best game show host voice). 😁 Do the math so you know how much you are spending before you get to the register. Have you kids help you and if you are $10 under or even $5 under the weekly budget then you buy a candy bar to split among everyone or they get more time on screens at home or some other "treat." This makes it a team effort and reduces the constant asking for treats as you shop.

[@servantwarrior880]

I had 5 kids in 6 years. I TOTALLY get it. I am also work remote full time foe our business, home school, and my husband and is gone 12 - 16 hours a day being the CEO of our business. Exhausted!

[@FrugalFamilyFocus]

Meal plan: Monday is spaghetti and frozen broccoli, Tuesday is tacos and corn on the cob, Wednesday is chicken breast and mashed potatoes, Thursday is frozen fish/shrimp over rice, Friday is frozen pizza and carrot sticks with ranch. Boom! Meal plan done, cheap sides like corn, potatoes, carrots, and frozen veg. I meal plan like this weekly. Sometimes Monday is tortellini, sometimes it’s spaghetti squash, lasagna, etc but it’s always the same structure. Sub whatever’s on sale. Once you have your basic themes down you can easily swap in random sale things.

[@mauramarcus152]

When my kids were young, I went out to free places, e.g. parks and playgrounds in the area, public library, public library craft activities, etc.

[@esthers9140]

This lady situation reminds me of my biological mom with five little girls all around the same ages. I hope this woman has a good support system, my mother ended up leaving my father with all of us. I thank God my father was such a wonderful man. Using a slow cooker can be your best friend when you're so busy. Love just throwing everything in there turning it on and forgetting about it until it's done. There are so many easy, inexpensive slow cooker recipes on the internet. I don't know this woman but she's in my prayers.🙏

[@servantwarrior880]

I am a mother of five little girls. It is such a special life. They also have a great father. Your father must be amazing. Enjoy him and celebrate him as much as you can! I sure hope you and your siblings are super tight.

[@shelleystead5899]

Unfortunately, chicken is far from cheap in Canada these days. If you can find chicken breast for less than $7/lb, it is a day of celebration in my house. I marvel at Christine finding chicken breast for $1.99/lb; that's the price of on sale chicken legs here. But I do love watching these budgets! I love the practical ideas presented with compassion.

[@melissachihrin2464]

Exactly! Chicken is pricey in Canada. I won't buy chicken breast unless it is on sale for under $5/lb, then stock up.

[@Magdalena287]

Well you have to pay for that "free" healthcare somehow. It doesnt shock me one bit that you guys pay more for everything.

[@elissapoh7782]

@@Magdalena287I don’t think it’s the free healthcare that’s the issue - there are different regulations for food up here than there are in the states. And also in a lot of cases higher transportation costs to get it to market. Lots of things you guys get can’t be sold here due to the health consequences… idk that that is the same thing really.

[@rowddyone3570]

“Everyone calm down” when you scratched retirement, If it were me I would put more into retirement and tell my family member sorry can’t come to a wedding, 5K that’s nuts

[@laurenhill2291]

As a Canadian, they have tightened up the Mortgage lending rules even more in the last year. It is becoming so hard to get a mortgage here in Canada. The mortgage rules started tightening in 2008 when the market crashed and the stuff stateside went wrong. The 40-dollar bill is probably water and sewer, the 140 could be electricity and the other could be gas. Sometimes these days that gas and electricity could be reversed in price. BTW the house and land taxes is less than renting a 2-bedroom apartment in almost all cities. BTW chicken breast on sale is 4.99lb here in Canada. Often times lean ground beef and pork are cheaper.

[@annarchydeclutteranddesign413]

I loved this video, thank you. I've just started budgeting, using Google Docs as you suggested one time, to keep track of the different sinking funds in one of my bank accounts. Trying to live on my income, so my husband's goes into debt payment. I'm finding it all really exciting - updating the spreadsheet of sinking funds, and also on my spreadsheet on the computer is all the different food categories in my food account - groceries, lunches, take aways, And labeling my bank accounts 'Food', Sinking Funds', Reno, Insurance and rates, on line, has been ridiculously helpful. 😀

[@laurarice606]

I know the idea of not eating out for 8 months can sound overwhelming especially if you're used to eating out all the time. I find setting a shorter goal like we won't eat at this month to be more palatable initially. Then once you get the hang of eating at home during that short term, you realize you can eat better food for cheaper at home and not have to worry about taking 4 young children out to eat which can be overwhelming.

[@carrieprivette3032]

Love it! The kids memories is so true. My favorite memories of my mom and childhood cost almost nothing. My brother, Mom and I had berry "fights" from a nonedible bush just throwing them at each other and running around. She got us out of school early and we went on a hike to a local park with a big hill. We spent 2hrs going less than a mile bc she let us pick up every rock and show her. Looked at every leaf, every animal, etc. She would get free boxes from fridges or ovens at a furniture store and bring them home to play in. Fun doesn't cost alot if you enjoy your time together.

[@corilarge9267]

"I'm not an unreasonable person." Cue Dave laughing. I love it!

[@sherai55]

Omg food in Canada is absolutely INSANE!! Groceries and toiletries for a family that size for $800 seems actually pretty amazing. I think if you do $600 you have a hungry family. Most families I know of that size are spending $800-$1,000 just on food. I live in Canada, my husband and I skimp, and follow your plan, and we do $600 for the two of us. Only three years ago we were paid $400 for exactly the same items.

[@sherai55]

Also, a lot of student loans are interest free in Canada! So depending on what province they have them in makes a huge difference.

[@kariwhitehead3952]

I also thought the same!! I don't remember the last time our family was able to keep it under 800!

[@dianna7821]

I am so very excited to hear that you know Saskatchewan Canada exists. I doubt it will ever happen, but if I saw you sometime in Regina, I might be flabbergasted. Power is electrical and Energy is gas. We are weird and we know it. Lol. Love you! Thank you for sharing.

[@daniellecomeau2996]

It's crock pot season. Oatmeal overnight on low heat, even steel cut. Soups and stews. Instant pot makes lots of beans and rice inexpensively. Portion out. Eat some now and freeze some for later.

[@tannif7455]

Food costs in Australia is similar to Canada. Big. But I still try to budget my food bill to about $800 a month for a family of 4 with 2 cats. 2 adults and 2 teens. That's only do able by stocking up my pantry on the sale prices, cooking from scratch, eating leftovers and having 2 or 3 meatless meals a week. Most families I know spend about 300-500 a week on groceries.

[@sherryr1222]

Where I live in Vancouver you can’t rent a one bedroom apartment for that. A cheap two bedroom to own will run you 700k if you’re crazy lucky and on the edges of town

[@lhenkle13]

It would have been cool to have her on the podcast. Ask her questions as you make the budget

[@debbieweibley3899]

Dave Ramsey worked great for me.

[@megandrapal2210]

I wish that this wasn’t our reality of how we can best keep our kids safe when they are attending school. Thank you for sharing this brand and donating the extra items you received with everyone. I love your humor and connection, and also appreciate your advice and tips. Thank you!

[@lorig.7127]

To save money on the food budget it might be necessary to get a babysitter for a few hours per week Or trade with another Neighborhood mom To watch her kids. This will allow the free time to meal prep , make trays of food for the freezer To cut down there eating out budget... This time can also be used To order grocery I'm online With a clear mind, for pick up later by hubby or all 4 kids in the car after a play date.

[@courteneyliddledesigns]

They need to call student loans and ask about assistance. Even with a decent income you may get assistance on interest payments if you can show that your expenses are high. Always worth checking.

[@terristewart6119]

Totally true kids don’t remember things when they are young! Loving these budget makeovers. How helpful to all.

[@gemmagarner8168]

Another great podcast/video ! Did you include the almost 1000 left each month from their income?

[@rockyjaze8799]

Love the content. Not sure if it’s accounted for, but something to keep in mind is interests on the debt not paid off yet. Depends on how high the interest rates are, by the time payments might be more than today.

[@truthseeker6370]

Whoah hold on a minute 😅, 25% is the number for house pmt/taxes right? Utilities shouldn't figure in to that percentage as you are including here?

[@lorig.7127]

Christine I enjoyed your fun fact about being a dual citizen! I've listened to you for a number of years on your frugal fit mom KZbin. But I was unaware of this information How How fun!

[@CookingwithCatLover0330]

Great job to both of you. I hope this family jumps on board. My thoughts are with them.

[@polgara28]

And when the debt is paid off and they've turned the retirement payments back on, throw everything at the mortgage. Once you've paid off the house, the world is your oyster! Good luck! ♥

[@kariwhitehead3952]

Sadly in Canada you can not do that. You can make one lump sum of up to a percentage (ours in 20%) and that's per year. You can not just throw extra whenever you want. Save to make a payment sure but you can still only do that once a year. If you try and pay it off before your term is up. (Shortest term iv ever heard of is 5 years) you have a 10 to 20k penilty you have to pay. If you don't believe this Canadian go research it 😅

[@33snowgal]

Watching you from Saskatchewan. We’ve got snow here this morning!

[@KS-jf2jf]

I am in Canada in The Expensive Toronto and I have managed to get our fam of 3 food budget to CAD $300/ month. THANKS to watching your channel ❣️ it can be ✅

[@polgara28]

Yes, it absolutely can be done! ♥

[@mandy3486]

Lol. I also did our first few years of marriage, a ledger paper budget until my husband insisted I use excel.

[@mamainchaos]

Meal planning is key and see if you could have a church dinner. I would totally help with meal if I was in Canada I have 15 freezer meal to send wish I could

[@vintagechiclace6943]

Minimum payment on the cc is 3.5% to 5% monthly in Canada which is pretty high

[@viviang4217]

So fun to listen to a Canadian budget breakdown!

[@lauranewman564]

My daughter decided after her 1st 2 children were born at the end of November 2 years apart that she never wanted another holiday baby again. So one way they work their budget is to use birth control through April every year, regardless of when else. It's been great for her emotional health, which is so tied in to debt, etc.

[@greenlantern1986]

I've never gone 20 months without eating out, but I wish them luck.

[@dianasimplifies]

Lol me either and we actually do not eat out that much but yeah😂

[@christinab9133]

Amazing! ❤❤

[@alexdeaton5107]

So, I've heard the 25% rule for a long time (Dave follower), but I don't think I ever realized it included utilities and things other than the payment and insurance. 😳 Thank you!

[@OneMamaToAnother]

Does the income include the child tax benefit? Because she should be getting quite a bit of non-taxable income each month from that subsidy. You mentioned property taxes but they weren't on the list. Also, we have amazing parental benefits here so I hope the dad takes some time off to help her which would help reduce the eating out. A few other insights from another Canadian (and mom of 5): -If they regularly get a tax return look at filing a T1213 Request to Reduce Tax Deductions at Source to get more take-home pay each month -There are many food group buying options like The Good Food Box which can lower grocery budgets -Look for subsidies like the Stay At Home Subsidy which helps pay for preschool which could give her a break

[@jessicasinclair1547]

It's not quite that easy to pay down student loans and mortgages in Canada. You can usually only make lump sum payments once a year, and you can't just pay more without incurring a penalty in most cases. Also, Canada is in a recession, the chances of raises is slim.

[@polgara28]

Oh wow. Never heard that. I wonder why they do it that way. Are you allowed to pay more on the mortgage? In the States, it depends on the type of loan. We made sure we could before we bought the house. I'm sorry that things aren't good up there, either. 😪

[@kariwhitehead3952]

Nope most cases you can only pay a percentage. We have what's called a 20 and 20 which means we can increase payments by 20% and pay up to 20% in a one time lump sum per year. If we want to and can pay off our mortgage before the term we sign for which is often 5 years. We get a penitly fine of 10/20 k just to do so. So it's not worth it. We have one of the best options for paying it down as fast as possible in Canada. Cc debt you can pay as much as you want whenever that's very different. Iv never had a car loan outside of through my grandma so I'm not sure how that debt works as for paying it down faster. We definitely need someone who is good at this to start a Canadian budget KZbin channel.... It's something iv not seen yet. I also wonder if it's because it's not as dramatic here on how fast it can be done, if it's not interesting to ppl. 🤷

[@saraollech3567]

Loved this. Fellow 🇨🇦. Was thiking about submitting my budget but wasn’t sure if that would be okay with the change in currency.

[@jennifermiller598]

These are so beneficial! I appreciate y’all doing them!!!

[@brendasbudgetbites]

The paper thing is funny. Cuz I have a notebook I do that in. Started back in 1999 and still do it to this day. Everyone thinks I’m crazy abs should use a spreadsheet. But I can’t. I have to have the notebook and a pencil. My yearly notebook and pencil budget is probably about $150. Doesn’t seem like much-but that’s just paper. Haha 😁 I will never give it up. 😊

[@karengibbs7723]

She may be exhausted but watching a kid or 2 would not be a bad side hustle. Given the age match she may be freeing up some of her time by providing playmates for her own kids.

[@aaronhudgens8345]

Great advice as always.

[@LibertysMom]

This episode didn’t show up on Apple Podcasts. Not sure why. Thought you should know.

[@jillgott6567]

Has nothing to do with the budget [ although I love this podcast/ video topic ]. How did Christine get dual citizenship? Is one of your parents Canadian ? Dave rockin' the Thinking Cap

[@stzigeris]

I know missing the family wedding doesn’t sound ideal but think about how far that $5000 would go towards debt repayment. Also I don’t think the $600 grocery budget is enough. Especially having 3 kids in diapers!

[@recycledmessages]

Are you saying 25% for mortgage, interest, taxes (which are all combined for us into our mortgage pymnt) plus power bill, water bill, trash bill? I ask because I thought we were doing well with the mortgage at only 16 1/2 % of income, but when we add in all those utilities, we are at 29% of income. Thx

[@KS-jf2jf]

Yihaa, Canada, Toronto ❤🇨🇦

[@arthrodea]

i'm sorry, but the family wedding for $5000 is RIDONKULOUS - they are over 20K in debt!!! They need to pick one adult (whoever is closer to the people getting married) and send them to the wedding for like 1-2 days to attend the ceremony. Hauling 4 kids around to the tune of thousands of dollars is financially irresponsible - they don't even have a basic emergency fund or house maintenance fund or car repair fund. Ask the kids if they would have rather attended a wedding at age 2 - or have a college fund with $1,000 that could double every seven years if well invested.

[@polgara28]

100% agree. 1000 even.

[@happymama1015]

Idea pants 🤣😂

[@dianasimplifies]

Christine this never came up on my podcast app this week?

[@AnnaLauraBrownHealthCoach]

If going to the family wedding is that important, they should ask someone else in the family to help pay.

[@mariayelruh]

$5,000 for going to a wedding even if it includes travel seems ridiculous. Does this include an expensive gift also?

[@megankuchta9145]

With two in diapers and one probably on formula, it’s possible they can’t easily cut $200 from their budget. With one born 2020 we were spending 275 USD on just those two items.

[@alexieshaw558]

I totally worry about people who are eating through 2000 dollars, how are they going to cut 1200 and not be really hungry

[@sarahgoodwin3337]

Welcome to Canada! Chicken breast is sooooo expensive 😭 try another protein lol

[@cookshackcuisinista]

🎉and FF Dad! Love the content!

[@johnp2209]

It is now Jan 2024. Can we get an update on this case study? Thanks

[@servantwarrior880]

Idea pants.. thinking cap 😅😂

[@elissapoh7782]

I feel like that has vehicle budget included insurance and maintenance on the car - I don’t see a second vehicle? And omg I don’t think that grocery budget is very high for Canada at all - especially with diapers that are probably $120 a month by themselves and heaven help her if she is paying for formula too. Also with that income I think they would have qualified for the debt repayment relief on the student loan that would have taken the payment to zero. Tough to apply US rules to Canadian budgets. Yikes.

[@kdbwaugh]

You forgot about an emergency fund, especially with owning a home.

[@bluej822]

What happened to the random $1000 from eating out???????

[@colinkaak9874]

Yes, I was wondering that from the start. The math is off!

[@truthseeker6370]

I don't think she can cut the grocery budget if they are also eliminating eating out? So sorry! Not trying to be a Negative Nellie! I do Love you and Dave! I personally don't think they should go to the wedding? Give them a nice gift within your means- not an extravagant 'apology' gift for not being able to be there, with a genuine message in the card. No one should expect a family of 6 with 4 littles 5 and under to travel to their wedding. As a mom of 6 littles, the stress of the travel Well Beyond the travel expense would be Well beyond exhausting. It wouldn't be enjoyable and then you're out the money you don't have. Been there, done that and I definitely don't recommend it 😊

[@kathymills9572]

❤️❤️

[@polcapolca5274]

🇨🇦😊

[@mamainchaos]

Or just have a cheaper house

[@colinkaak9874]

They are so lucky they don’t have to pay for health insurance!

[@johnp2209]

You lost me me when you cut the food, diapers and toiletries down to 600.00. Sorry!

[@mauramarcus152]

Eating vegan can be cheaper.