Daniel Stepczuk, 27, electrician apprentice

His Income: $35,000 per year

His Parents: Roman Stepczuk, 55, chartered accountant, and Oksana Stepczuk, 53, pharmacist

The Place: A three-bedroom bungalow in Islington

DANIEL: My parents supported me through university. I have ADD, which made it difficult for me to keep up. In 2012, halfway through my third year, I dropped out of school and moved back home. My parents were devastated. They’d always assumed I would take over my dad’s accounting practice one day.

To make money, I worked full-time as a busser at Mill Street Brewery’s beer hall in the Distillery District. I realized that I was good at working long hours on my feet. I knew there was high demand for people in the trades, so I enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship electrician program at the Skilled Trades College of Canada, which cost about $8,000. My dad paid for it—he was happy I’d found a new career.

By now, I’m used to living with my parents. My girlfriend stays over on weekends, and we often have to tiptoe around my mom and dad. They watch a lot of television every evening, and there’s only one TV, so we have to ask if we want to watch something else. Otherwise, I have a lot of space to myself.

I buy groceries for the household and cook dinner on weeknights because I get home earlier than my parents, who still work full-time. I spend about $480 a month on groceries. I usually make chicken or fish with salad—light and healthy options. We have a cleaner who comes in every week, and my dad and I take turns shovelling the snow or doing yard work.

I’ve saved about $10,000, which I put into an RRSP and a TFSA. I also bought a Volkswagen Jetta, which costs me $316 a month. My parents know how much it costs to rent in Toronto right now, so they’re not pushing me to move out. I only make $21 an hour as an apprentice, and I don’t want to spend every cent I earn on rent. When I become a master electrician, I could make up to $50 an hour. I’d like to buy a piece of property one day in the future, but it’s not realistic right now. I’ll probably have to wait for a major dip in the market.