‘Getting by day to day’: Inside the affordability squeeze facing younger Ontarians

LEFT: A woman in corporate attire using a laptop at an office (pexels images). RIGHT: 24-year-old Sharran Kumar (provided by Kumar).

Miriam Franco earns close to $90,000 a year, works 12-hour shifts, and budgets carefully. Still, she says she feels stuck in place.

It is a situation that at least one financial expert says is becoming increasingly common in Toronto as more and more young people with seemingly stable careers feel the financial squeeze.

“I’m 26 and I work as a nurse in Toronto,” Franco said. “I finished school, got a full-time nursing job, and I’m getting by day to day.”

But even with steady employment in a profession long viewed as secure, Franco says her long-term financial future feels increasingly uncertain.

“Saving for a home feels completely out of reach right now,” she said. “On paper I’m doing ‘well.’ Most of my income goes to rent and basic living costs, so it doesn’t really feel like I’m moving forward, just keeping up.”

Franco’s experience reflects a growing tension emerging across Ontario: people managing their finances in the present, yet questioning whether long-term stability is still achievable.

Last week, according to Statistics Canada, employment in Ontario fell by 67,000 jobs in January, while the province’s participation rate dropped sharply among youth aged 15 to 24.

In the last few days, CTV News Toronto has heard from dozens of residents, both young adults and older Ontarians, who say the pressure isn’t always about immediate crisis, but about the growing fear that even steady employment may no longer be enough to feel “okay” in the GTA.

‘I thought there was opportunity’

Franco moved to Canada as a teenager from Europe, believing education and job security would eventually translate into independence.

“I thought (in Ontario) there was opportunity for growth, for employment, for success,” she said. “As long as you go to school, university, have a good job, have that job security, everything else would be guaranteed.”

Today, she lives in Mississauga with her mother and younger brother and helps support the household.

“I’m basically the main person that provides an income to the household,” Franco said.

Her days are long and structured around 12-hour shifts in a Toronto-area ICU.

“I drive to work from Mississauga to downtown Toronto,” she said. “I work 12 hour shifts, so I’ll be there from 7 a.m. till 7:30 p.m.”

Despite the workload, Franco says the financial payoff feels limited.

“We’re doing everything right, and still it’s not enough. Something definitely needs to be changed.”

Where the money goes

She explains that most of her income, after taxes goes toward basic expenses.

“I would say groceries, for sure, because I’m buying for three people,” she said. “And then I’d say bills, specifically, for the car and the insurance.”

She notes automatic deductions take another hefty chunk.

“When I look at my pay stub, I’m like, okay, half of the money I’ve made is going to taxes, retirement or union fees.”

What’s left only allows for minimal savings.

“I’m able to save maybe $200 a month,” Franco said. “Bare minimum, like very bare minimum.”

For many young adults housing remains the biggest concern.

While Toronto saw its average home price dip under $1 million for the first time since 2021, the cost of real estate still feels out of reach for many.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to afford a house in the short future,” Franco said. “(The dream of buying in Ontario) has definitely shifted for sure.”

Affordability gap a challenge

That sense of uncertainty is shared by 23-year-old Carlos Sanchez, from Ottawa, who is pursuing a career in acting.

“It often feels like I’m forced to choose between pursuing a meaningful goal and building financial security, rather than being able to work toward both,” Sanchez said.

He says the challenge isn’t a lack of discipline, but unpredictability.

“That gap feels especially wide when your income isn’t linear or guaranteed,” he said. “Being ‘okay’ in the present doesn’t necessarily translate into confidence about the future.”

Recent RBC polling suggests those concerns are widespread.

The survey found Ontarians were among the most likely in the country to cite housing and everyday spending habits as major barriers to achieving financial goals. 66 per cent pointed to housing as a key challenge, while 52 per cent said personal financial habits were holding them back.

Experts weigh in

Financial planner and author Jessica Moorhouse says many young adults who appear financially stable are experiencing a quieter form of stress.

“Someone at 26 making $90,000 (before taxes), that’s great,” she said. “However, you’re still just 26… you’re not supposed to have anything figured out in your 20s.”

She acknowledges the pressure is amplified by rising costs and fuelled by “comparison culture” on social media.

“There’s so much display of wealth like you’ve never seen before,” Moorhouse said. “You might be doing actually great for your stage of life… and you still may feel bad about yourself.”

Moorhouse says today’s younger generation has little choice but to engage with money early.

“I remember when I was in my 20s, it was weird for me to care about my money,” she said. “Now people in their 20s are like, ‘I can’t afford to not think about my finances.’”

Housing pressure, a major concern

Personal finance expert Sean Cooper says housing concerns remains the dominant factor in Ontario, regardless of age.

“The incomes just haven’t kept up with the home prices,” he said. “That’s the single biggest expense for the vast majority of people.”

That pressure persists even as the market cools. Recently. the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board found January home sales fell 19.3 per cent from a year earlier, while the average selling price dropped 6.5 per cent to $973,289.

Cooper’s advice for young people:

“You have limited cash flow and you’re starting an entry-level position,” Cooper said. “You can’t expect to have enough money to take care of everything at once.”

‘Gets a bit depressing,’ Scarborough resident says

For Sharran Kumar, at age 24, the pressure intensified after losing his consulting job last year, a role that he says paid about $80,000 annually.

“From week to week, it’s now just a bunch of rejection emails,” Kumar said. “It gets a bit depressing.”

Living at home in Scarborough, he helps with household bills while continuing to search for work in a highly competitive job market.

“I got laid off because the consulting industry took a hit, likely due to the emergence of AI,” he said.

Facing unemployment and rising costs, Kumar says he began using AI tools to launch “BudgetCaddie” — a business aimed at helping people better understand and manage their financial habits. He says its an idea born out of his own frustration with budgeting tools that didn’t reflect how people actually spend.

“It lets me spend what I can to enjoy my life but still stay within my means and hit my savings goals,” he said.

Kumar notes the goal is to shed light on the affordability pressures facing young adults, even as he navigates his own uncertainty.

“I’m willing to work hard, and I understand things are complicated, any help we as young people can get would be incredibly helpful just to help us enjoy our life and be more productive.”