Can Marques change his free-spending ways?

In our Smart Money series, #MilliennialMoney, we ask people living in the Greater Toronto Area to record every penny they spend in a typical week. Then, using tips from a financial adviser, we challenge them to cut their spending the following week so they can save more money. Will they fail or succeed?

“I’m a momma’s boy,” Marques admits. The 29-year-old hospital co-ordinator has gone back to living with his parents in Mississauga after living downtown for a year on a trial basis. Why did he move back? “I found myself buying too much takeout. Usually my mom buys and cooks all the food I eat.”

It isn’t really about the money — he makes $70,000 a year — it’s more about being able to have home-cooked meals.

But recognizing that he’s turning 30 soon, he says the next step to growing up is to make saving money a priority. His girlfriend is hoping that they can finally pool their cash together and buy a house somewhere in the Greater Toronto Area. Initially, moving back to his parents’ place made it seem like these goals were more attainable, but now, his challenge is that he finds himself spending money on “random” things.

“It could be anything from expensive dinners to drinks to bets on sports games,” Marques says. As of last year, he’s been using an app to calculate all his spending to see where his money goes. But it hasn’t really controlled his spendings.

He doesn’t think his monthly recurring expenses are too excessive. He spends about $150 a month on pot at the Ontario Cannabis Store and he has a few subscriptions, like Apple Music for $10.99 a month. Plus, he still saves when he can.”

Before he began tracking his purchases in Week 1, he warned us he’d be dining out more frequently because his mom was on vacation. He also said he was prepping for a trip to Hawaii with his girlfriend, so his costs skyrocketed.

This is how his week went:

The expert: Jason Heath, managing director at Objective Financial Partners, reviewed Marques’s spending and had this advice to offer: It looks like Marques spent his whole after-tax salary for the week and he doesn’t even have to make rent or mortgage.

He says he wants to buy his own place, but one of the biggest problems with buying a house is making sure you can afford the ongoing costs.

Marques has lots of expenses for food, shopping and entertainment that are variable in nature. Home ownership means ongoing fixed costs that may not leave as much extra as Marques is used to right now.

As a young person, one of his most valuable assets is his income. I’d be sure to check out his group disability insurance plan at work and make sure his income is covered in the event he becomes disabled and cannot work — especially ahead of a home purchase. Sometimes, third-party disability insurance may be necessary to supplement group insurance coverage.

In the long run, he will need to balance home ownership and saving for retirement, as well as the potential future costs of a family. It seems like a lot, but the earlier you start to make space for these costs, the less impact there is to your lifestyle.

Results: Success! Spending in week 1: $1,015. Spending in week 2: $480

What he thought: Like Marques anticipated, when his mom returned from vacation, his food costs were almost cut in half. Additionally, because his first tracking week took place before his vacation, he had many extra costs.

Take-aways: This week, Marques said he tried to make a budget for “fun” spending — however, plans he had made with his girlfriend to watch Cirque du Soleil pushed his spending price up quite a bit.

He also knows that he isn’t exactly ready to buy a home, but wants to start by categorizing his spending to come up with a more accurate number of what he can put aside for a down payment. To further the conversation, Marques reached out to Jason Heath who gave him tips on how to use a home-buying calculator and highlighted the hidden costs he’d face being a first-time home buyer. After that conversation, Marques recognizes he may need the co-operation of his girlfriend to say no to dinners or other weekly fun activities.

For now, he’s limiting his “fun” budget, which is everything from Raptors tickets to $200 shopping trips. For everything else, he’ll try to benefit from living at home. Are you a millennial living in Toronto or the GTA and need help with saving your money? Be a part of #MillennialMoney and email ekwong@thestar.ca