I don't track my expenses that closely.
No budgeting apps. No spreadsheets with 47 categories. No "you need a budget" software syncing to my accounts.
I check my bank maybe once a month, sometimes twice, just to catch anything weird. That's it.
This probably sounds irresponsible coming from someone who writes about money.
Running businesses for six years changed how I approach spending. Saving alone did not feel like a sufficient plan for me; that does not establish what will make another person financially secure.
I chose to focus more attention on income and assets, while recognizing that either can fall in value or fail to produce cash.
The expense side has a floor. You can only cut so much before you're just... miserable.
Eating rice and beans. Never going out. Feeling like you're in survival mode even when you're not.
I've been there. It's not a strategy - it's just stress with a spreadsheet attached.
The income side gave me opportunities to work on, not a promise of unlimited earnings.
So I optimize for income. And I keep expenses reasonable - not minimal, just reasonable. Low enough that my runway stays long. High enough that I actually enjoy my life.
Here is the January 2026 example I published, using my reported estimates. It is not a complete personal or company ledger.
What I pay myself
I run my companies without investors. No VCs, no angels, no one else with opinions on what I should take home. Which means I decide.
In this January account, my reported gross pay was $6,300 per month, or $75,600 per year. I estimated take-home pay around $4,050 per month under my own Canadian tax circumstances.
Editorial update, October 11, 2026: The title's $75K is rounded: $6,300 × 12 = $75,600 gross annual pay. The $500K business description, personal pay and take-home estimates are historical author figures; this page supplies no year-specific company reconciliation, payroll slips or complete personal tax calculation. They are not current earnings or a salary/dividend recommendation.
That's it. That's the number.
Different founders have different cash needs and obligations. The amount that worked for me is not a verdict on paying more or less.
I was weighing personal cash needs against leaving funds in the company. The tax result depends on salary or dividends, business and investment income, province and other facts; corporate retention is not automatically cheaper overall.
Taking nothing would mean I'm stressed about rent, which makes me worse at my job.
So I found the number that covers my life without being wasteful, and I've kept it there.
This number hasn't changed much in a while. Maybe it will in a few years if my expenses change. Maybe it won't.
I'm not optimizing for a high salary - I'm optimizing for a high net worth in 10 years. Those are different games.
Where the money goes
Rent is $1,400. I share a place with a friend I actually get along with. This matters more than people think.
I've had the horror-story roommate situations - passive aggressive notes, arguments about dishes, someone's girlfriend basically moving in without paying rent.
Finding someone tolerable is worth more than saving an extra few hundred in a worse situation.
I don't own property. Don't plan to yet. I want maximum flexibility before my 30s. Owning real estate in one city feels like a constraint I'm not ready for.
Maybe that changes. Right now, renting lets me stay light.
Car stuff runs me about $520 a month total. $320 on insurance, which sounds insane but is apparently normal for Toronto. $200 on gas.
I paid off my car a few years ago - wasn't really my choice at the time, parents pushed for it, but it turned out to be the right call. No monthly payment now.
If I could do it again, I might have gone electric to cut the gas costs. Cars are a drag no matter what. They lose value the second you drive them off the lot.
There's always something - insurance, maintenance, the random repair that costs more than you expected.
But I need one where I live, so I deal with it. Not going to pretend I've optimized this perfectly.
Phone is $40. I used to pay $70-90 because I never bothered switching plans. Finally did. Took maybe 20 minutes. Should've done it years ago. Stupid tax for being lazy.
Home insurance is $65. Subscriptions run maybe $130 total - Spotify family plan, Amazon Prime, a few random things I should probably audit but haven't.
There's definitely something in there I'm paying for and not using. Maybe I'll cancel it eventually. Probably won't.
Food and going out is around $800 combined. $300 on groceries, $500 on meals and whatever else. Some months it's more, some months it's less.
I'm not tracking every coffee. I'm not meal prepping on Sundays to save $50. Life's too short for that kind of optimization.
The math
Add it all up and I'm spending somewhere around $3,000-3,500 a month. Sometimes a bit more. I don't have the exact number because, again, I don't track it that carefully.
Editorial update, October 11, 2026: The listed recurring categories total approximately $2,955 per month: $1,400 rent + $520 car + $40 phone + $65 insurance + $130 subscriptions + $800 food/going out. The wider $3,000-$3,500 estimate leaves roughly $45-$545 unitemized, before any omitted costs. Bank statements, irregular expenses and a reserve reconciliation are unavailable here.
What I do know: I'm not the most frugal person out there. There are people who spend half what I do and feel great about it. Good for them. That's not me.
But my costs are low enough that my runway is long.
If everything went to zero tomorrow - no revenue, no clients, nothing - I could live for years without changing much.
That buffer is worth more than the marginal savings I'd get from optimizing harder.
The thing nobody talks about
I've met people who track every dollar. Who have spreadsheets that would make an accountant cry. Who can tell you exactly how much they spent on groceries in March 2023.
Tracking every dollar did not suit me. That says nothing about whether careful budgeters are wealthy or stressed.
The wealth-building accounts that interested me emphasized useful businesses and ownership. That preference does not make small expense savings pointless.
Income-producing assets can help, but their value and receipts are uncertain and costs or losses can consume them.
Keeping funds invested was part of the appeal for me, alongside the costs and tax obligations of the structure.
I could cut another $500 a month if I really tried. Move somewhere cheaper. Drop some subscriptions. Cook more, eat out less. Fine.
But that $500 saved isn't going to change my trajectory. Building another income stream might. Taking equity in the right company might.
Leaving funds in a corporation may offer deferral in some circumstances, alongside corporate investment tax, eventual distribution tax and administration. It needs a calculation for the actual case.
Editorial update, October 11, 2026: The CRA's corporation income-tax guide distinguishes active-business and investment-income treatment; its dividend-refund explanation addresses further rules. Those sources explain why the overall result needs review; they do not validate my personal estimated take-home pay.
The expense side is a game of inches. The income side is a game of miles.
The uncomfortable truth
There's a version of financial advice that's really just anxiety dressed up as responsibility. Track everything. Optimize everything. Feel guilty about the $7 you spent on lunch.
I don't live like that. I refuse to.
Not because I'm careless. Because I've done the math on what actually moves the needle, and it's not the $7 lunch. It's not the subscription I forgot to cancel. It's not even the car insurance I'm probably overpaying for.
It's whether I own things that grow while I sleep.
That is where I chose to put more of my attention. The other expenses and obligations still matter.