Household expenses are a per-person representation of a breakdown of living expenses. The sum of expenses is then tallied and divided by the number of people in a household.

This gives you a total of each household member’s consumption. If you are considering moving to Canada, here is a look at the top five largest living expenses in households.

1. Shelter

The largest expense for Canadians comes from shelter, be it house purchase, rent, or mortgage. Different sources place housing expenses at between 20% and 35% of total household expenses depending on one’s city of choice.

Young people without families often find this more manageable by sharing a house and cost-sharing on rent or renting our extra rooms. If you fall short at one point or another, you can contract a personal loan with no credit check.

2. Transportation

This might come as a surprise for a country with a vast bike-sharing network. This aside, transportation costs in Canada for car owners take up about 17% of a household’s income. These expenses relate to care acquisition, fuel, insurance, parking, repair, and vehicle maintenance.

3. Food

Food takes up 9% to 15% of the household budget, according to most estimates. This goes for groceries and some kitchen utilities such as napkins.

The amount can go higher for families that prefer to eat out often, get take out and shop from organic stores.

4. Utilities

These account for 5.6% to 10% of household income.

This figure includes all house utilities like gas, hydro, cellphone, landline, cable, and so on. House repairs are also included in utilities.

5. Debt Payment

Save for recurring costs, many people use 10% of their income in debt repayment. These can be personal loans, payday loans, and credit card loans.

Tips and Tricks to help Minimize Expenses

If these costs seem unmanageable, there are numerous tips and tricks you can use to minimize them.

Start with rent. Rents are higher in large cities and towns. Suppose you do not mind a quieter, slower pace of life, consider smaller cities and towns. You will be shocked to find that life inland is not that much different from larger cities.

If you live near your workplace, you can be within walking distance of the office, negating the need to have a car. Other things you can consider include carpooling and long-term bike-sharing.

The importance of eating clean, healthy meals cannot be understated. However, you can minimize food bills by eating at home instead of dining out and shopping in bulk. You enjoy significant discounts with the latter.

These figures are extremely useful for someone looking to live in Canada. The last thing you would want is to be in a foreign country and find yourself with a deficit every other month. This list should help you plan better.