Family feels 'rich' on $24Gs

Fri, May 27, 2005

Family feels 'rich' on $24Gs

Biking to work, living without luxuries help make ends meet despite sub-poverty-level salary

By SHELLY DECKER, Sun Media

EDMONTON -- Surveying the simple basement suite his family calls home, Andrew McLean says even though he doesn't have a car and earns less than $24,000 a year, he's a wealthy man.

"Honestly, I feel very rich. I have a beautiful wife and a very beautiful daughter. I feel like I'm on the road to success," says the Edmonton man, who is the sole wage earner for his wife Mary-Ann and their daughter Cypriana, 19 months.

In a recent letter to the Edmonton Sun, McLean cites his family as proof people can live comfortably on low wages.

"Most people are confused between a need and a luxury. Sure, a vehicle would be nice, but I don't need it. I don't have a job that requires me to have a vehicle."

FAR BELOW AVERAGE

McLean, 23, works for Convergys, a third-party call centre where he handles customer concerns and earns $23,566 a year, before taxes.

That works out to monthly take-home pay of about $1,380, of which $550 goes to rent and $215 to utilities, including phone.

A family making ends meet on such little money impresses John Pater, communications co-ordinator for the Edmonton Social Planning Council.

"It's way lower than what the average family lives on," he says.

Actually, it's under a third of the national after-tax average of $59,900, according to Statistics Canada figures for 2003, the latest available.

McLean's salary is also well below Canada's low-income cutoff. Using 2004 figures, a family of three earning less than $31,353 before taxes falls below the poverty line.

Pater had a better understanding of the family's survival once he learned their furniture came free from a buddy and they receive clothing and toy donations from family and church members. A support system eases shortfalls.

"I think they're the lucky ones," he says. "People who don't have a family or church community, it's a different story."

McLean and his family live in a two-bedroom basement suite with basic furnishings and a kitchen so small there's no room for a table. Cypriana has a few boxes of toys and books.

BIKES TO WORK

The family saves big bucks because McLean bikes to work in warm months and buses in the winter. Mary-Ann doesn't have a bus pass. A relative drives them to the grocery store for monthly bulk buys and McLean walks to the store to pick up produce, bread and milk. They take the bus if their destination is too far to walk.

Spending is scrutinized -- they take a calculator to the grocery store to tally their items. However, they find money to rent a few movies and order a pizza every month. They live without cable, but have Internet. Clothes are given as birthday or Christmas gifts. McLean cuts his own hair.

Its a simple life, but a good one, says McLean, who adds they save enough cash to jump on a bus for an annual two-week vacation at his father-in-law's home in Utah.

"I feel like I'm quite blessed all around in everything. I can't think of anything I don't have that I need."

Mary-Ann dreams of owning a home so she can have a dog.

Devout Mormons, the McLeans provide a monthly 10% tithe to the church. Others have asked how they get by. Careful budgeting, not handouts, replies McLean. Since their daughter's birth, when Mary-Ann quit her job, they've sought financial aid only once from the church.

Pater wonders how long they can squeak by. "I'd be amazed if they could do it for a long time," he says.

McLean says people run into trouble with credit cards because they can't afford items. He has a $2,700 card balance due to a computer purchase and Christmas debt.

McLean offers this advice for people like him: "Stay out of debt. If you don't need it, don't get it till you have the money."

HOUSEHOLD BUDGET

The McLeans' household budget:

INCOME: After taxes and benefit deductions, $17,940 annually. In addition, $2,100 ($175 a month) child tax credit.

ANNUAL EXPENDITURES:

- CHURCH DONATIONS: $1,794.

- RENT: $6,600.

- GROCERIES: $4,000.

- UTILITIES: $2,580 (includes phone).

- INTERNET: $384.

- INCIDENTALS: diapers, winter bus pass, Christmas, grocery splurges, pizza, movie rentals, etc. About $3,000.

- HOUSE DOWN-PAYMENT SAVINGS: $650.

- VACATION: $400 bus tickets (not including spending money).

- LEFTOVER: $632.