What percentage of your gross income do you save?

[Cut-Throat]

Is this Montreal? What type neighborhood?

Quebec is beautiful, and these prices are wonderful. Tough for a US Medicare recipient, but pretty good otherwise.

Ha

It's those high Canada Taxes. You get what you pay for! - Ever visit a slum in Houston?

 

[Jack_Key]

Condo (shared)
- Mortgage: $190 (includes life insurance)
- Taxes: $80
- Insurances (furnitures): $13
- Condo fees: $68 (includes insurance, heat and warm water)
- Electricy: $15 (electricity is cheap in Quebec, does'nt include heat and water, see above)

These are eye-poppers! For $373*2, or $726 Canadian, Jack and his wife have a condo, including heat!

Is this Montreal? What type neighborhood?

Quebec is beautiful, and these prices are wonderful. Tough for a US Medicare recipient, but pretty good otherwise.

Ha

We live nearby downtown in a city with a population of about 500,000. It's actually a very pretty neighborhood (one of the costliest area in town), and even if the condo is not a palace (rather small, 700sq.f. two bedrooms apartment), it's nice. The condo we bought $85k three years ago (1CAN=0.85US$, so approximately US$72k) now has a market value of about $110k. The same condo in a suburb, say 10 miles from downtown would cost less than $70k today. Electricity is cheap (about 1000$ / year to heat it, despite very cold winters), city taxes are rather cheap (about 1000$/year), but we do have our share of high costs: high income tax, a total 16% tax on goods and services, high gas price (about 30% higher than yours, thanks again to taxes), etc. But we don't have to plan for Medicare, since health care is mostly public, universal and "free". Also, our average income is much lower than the average american, an university professor, for instance, makes about $60k a year.

Comparisons are always very interesting between countries such similar in essence and nearby like US and Canada, but its difficult to have comparables figures. In my opinion: it is easier for the poors in Canada, but riches and mid-incomes get less for their worked hour in Canada. In general, we produce less output by worked hour, unions are very strong (particularly in Quebec), entrepreneurship and success is seen with suspicion and innovation suffers from that. Thus, the economic prospects are not that good here and most people just invest in actively managed mutual funds with high MRR fees (2.5% and higher for most of them) that mainly invest in the canadian market, which yield lower yields than the US market (except for this year, where energy prices increases favored Canada).

 

[yelnad]

Are you a university professor? Or are you saying the average american is?