How much money do you need to get by in Hamilton?

For Juan Carlos Duran, a household income of $4,000 per month isn't enough to feed his family of four.

Bailey Plouffe decided to move into her mother's garage-turned-apartment with her husband and their two-year-old son because $24 an hour used to be a great wage years ago" but isn't anymore.

The young Englefield family of three is only able to afford their home due to subsidized rent.

Despite earning a living wage - or higher - these families are left with little to no disposable income at the end of every month, which raises a question:

Is a living wage enough to live on in Hamilton in 2022?

A living wage is an income that covers the cost of living, rent and public services, while sparing some money to be a part of the community. It varies from city to city.

In Hamilton, it is $17.20, according to the November 2021 Ontario Living Wage report.

At that time, the rate of inflation in Canada was 4.7 per cent. It's 8.1 per cent today - which has had a significant influence on the cost of living.

And it doesn't help that Steeltown is among the top five least affordable cities in North America.

The Spectator interviewed four families, and despite their jobs or individual circumstances, they had at least one thing in common - for all of them, life in Hamilton is unaffordable.

We cut back on any fun excursions"

Bailey Plouffe and her husband got pregnant at the beginning of the pandemic. The cost of rent was already soaring at that time, but then it got way more difficult to get an apartment" within their budget.

Last year, the Plouffe family moved into a makeshift garage apartment at her mother's home in Stoney Creek.

Plouffe, a stay-at-home mom, helps take care of her mother who is disabled, while living in the low-rent space at her parent's home, she said.

It's still not enough. Their household income is about $3,000 a month, plus another $560 from baby bonus. A third of their income goes to rent. The rest is spent on phone bills, groceries, gas, and car insurance.

I'm price matching ... getting my son's stuff second-hand. We're not extravagant eaters," Plouffe told The Spectator.

The family doesn't go anywhere unless we're carpooling or splitting on gas."

Nobody is talking about (the expenses), and it needs to be said that ... everything is hard," Plouffe said.

I cannot see light through the tunnel"

Juan Carlos Duran moved to Hamilton from Toronto with his wife and two daughters in 2021, thinking it was going to be cheaper."

He was wrong.

He and his wife are earning a total of $4,000 every month working with a commercial cleaning company. That isn't enough to pay for rent for a two-bedroom basement apartment, groceries, insurance, raising kids, a phone plan, and credit card bills, Duran said.

For them, housing is taking up more than 40 per cent of their income at $1,500.

What I had to do to survive, and to have a decent life is to get a second job, and sacrifice my family time," he told The Spectator.

He noted he hasn't shopped for clothing in a year because I cannot afford that" - cutting back on spending money wherever he can.

Duran worked in Alberta as a petroleum engineer for 12 years. He went back to Colombia, his home country, and then came to Ontario for his older daughter's higher education. But he couldn't find a job in his field in Hamilton.

When the month ends, Duran said he's left with nothing, sometimes using overdrafts from his bank account, or requesting the cellphone company split his bill in two parts so he doesn't have to pay it all at once.

Duran, 53, said he worries about his life and what it may be a few years down the line with no retirement savings.

We're stretching the dollar"

Janice Englefield decided to go back to her part-time job at Dollarama so that a $600 paycheque every two weeks could be an extra cushion to pay the bills."

Englefield loved being a stay-at-home mother to her three-year-old daughter, while her husband, Daniel, earned for the family as a building maintenance worker.

But we couldn't do it without me going back to work ... It's been getting harder," Englefield told The Spectator. She blames the financial instability on inflation.

My husband brings home about $850 every two weeks ... we were getting by OK," she said. With inflation, everything is getting so expensive ... even a box of diapers costs $45 ... it used to be about $20."

The young Englefield family is fortunate to only pay about $400 in rent because Daniel works in building property management and gets a reduced rate.

Together, the couple is bringing home about $3,000 every month, which gets spent mostly on groceries, including child care supplies, and credit card bills. They also receive child care benefits from the government.

Their mantra is to stretch the dollar," cutting costs by limiting food waste and opting for cheaper meals and commute options, like walking to work.

After all this, they're left with a couple hundred dollars at the end of each month.

They don't want to have kids because they wouldn't be able to afford it"

Emily Dunn married her high school sweetheart Chris Gregoire at 25 after she found out she had cavities.

We never had an intention of getting married," Dunn said. But after a dentist visit, I came home very romantically, and said, You could help me pay for my cavities, or we could married.'" They got married at city hall in 2018, and Dunn got her teeth fixed with access to Chris' benefits.

Their wedding was based on affordability. Now, the couple doesn't plan on having kids because a huge part is we know we wouldn't be able to afford it."

Their priority is to pay off student debts, a car loan, and afford a basic living - rent, food, and cellphone bills.

I'm still digging myself out of the hole," Dunn said, referring to her hefty student loan.

Gregoire made between $45,000 and $55,000 working at a car factory during COVID, which Dunn described as sporadic" due to lockdowns, while she found a sustainable job two months ago, bringing their household income to $6,000 per month.

Despite making a decent living as a household, the couple is meal planning and trying to cut food waste, and still finding it expensive in Hamilton. Every month, they're left with about $200 to $500 in savings, which isn't enough to plan a secured future.

Ritika Dubey is a reporter at The Spectator. rdubey@thespec.com