Hey - based on a job offer I have just received from a company based in Calgary, I am attempting to work out how far my money would go each month. Firstly is using the below income tax calculator an accurate representation of montly cash available:

http://lsminsurance.ca/calculators/canada/income-tax

Secondly I have had a look but did not find anything recent so could someone put some figures against monthly costs below so I can compare to what I spend now:

Utilities (Gas, Water, Electricity)
Council Tax - is there a Canadian equivalent?
Home Contents Insurance
HD TV Package like Sky with medium channel package + broadband internet
SIM Card only tariff for my exisiting iPhone
Car Insurance - I know this is hard to estimate but I have been looking at leasing an Impreza WRX or a Golf GTi. Ball park figure for this one.

Rent I can work out from Kijii or Craigslist and I am assuming food is similar with some items cheaper and some more epensive so a bit of a balance.

Finally I understand that as we have a 9 month old daughter we will be eligible for some form of child benefit payment?

Any advice much appreciated.

There are so many variables in giving you costs, I'm not sure how useful they'll be - it's going to depend on a host of factors.

FWIW, here are my outgoings:


Utilities (Gas, Water, Electricity) - I only have electricity costs, it's my sole utility bill, and is on a direct debit for $120 p/mth. I'm on a well, so no water bills, though my previous property cost c$600 p/yr.

Council Tax - is there a Canadian equivalent? - city taxes are the equivalent. Here (interior of BC) reckon on $10 per $1,000 of assessed value. My current city tax bill is $150 p/mth, but I'm out of city limits, so it's greatly reduced. I lived 4 kms further up the road a year ago and paid $800 p/mth for a smaller house, though larger piece of property.

Home Contents Insurance - I have buildings and contents, they cost $2,700 per year. If I was in city limits they'd cost under $1,000 as I'd then have fire coverage. Insurance figures are going to be meaningless as premiums are going to be based on the possessions you're insuring, their value and the deductible you're happy to swallow.

HD TV Package like Sky with medium channel package + broadband internet - My HD TV (satellite) costs $120 p/mth. Internet (satellite) is an additional $90 p/mth.

SIM Card only tariff for my exisiting iPhone - no idea, sorry.

Car Insurance - I know this is hard to estimate but I have been looking at leasing an Impreza WRX or a Golf GTi. - I owned an '09 WRXS and paid $1,100 per year with full no claims, garaged, rural location, strict limitations on drivers.

Utilities - I can't remember exactly so I'll look up later. They will want a deposit off you approx $300 each account and bill you monthly. Gas in the winter is pretty high but very low in the summer.

Council tax - there is local government tax don't know what it is as I rent for now and the landlord usually pays property tax so it's included in the rent effectively.

Home contents - its easy to get a quote off somewhere like TD Canada Trust. I think I pay approx $30 pm with low deductible. Can't remember the sum insured but it's higher than the standard they offer.

TV/phone/Internet - comes to $170 pm with some extra channels (not HD though). I'm thinking of cutting it down though. You can see the options if you go to Shaw.

We use UK quad band mobile phones with SIM cards from Rogers on Payasugo. It's more expensive than the UK but better than a contract here which has to be 2 or 3 years! I don't know about Iphones but you can see the options on Rogers.

Car Insurance - best price I found was Canadian Direct which accepted UK driving history. With the best category of driving history premium still came to approx $1000 pa comp.

Rent - depends what you're looking for. Google Calgary Rent and you'll get a few rental websites.

There is child benefit but an 18 month period qualifying period. The amount is assessed on previous years tax return ie means tested. For 3 children I found the amount is approx 1/3 of what it was in the UK.

In terms of work benefits be careful to check what is included. Here you tend to have to pay extra out of payroll for life insurance, long term disability, health to obtain equivalence with what is provided with jobs in the UK. Without company health cover dentistry and prescriptions are very expensive indeed.

I would say food in Calgary is more expensive than in the UK and range is more limited. Depends what exchange rate you base your comparison on. At 1.6 things seem expensive here but at 2.3 they would seem cheaper. I'd gues a break even comparison is 1.8-1.9 but in the end it doesn't matter as your earning dollars.

Good luck.

On the subject of car insurance, a recent thread mentioned rates of $3000/$4000 per annum for new drivers (most Canadian insurers don't seem to take into account any no-claims discounts earned in the UK). I have been here for 12 years and pay $1,350 for two vehicles (a 2007 Mustang and a 1998 Dodge Caravan) so a Subaru or Golf GTi might be a tad expensive!

The type of car is not a major factor in the way it is in the UK so I don't think that's a cause for concern. For example, my 2007 Beetle is $5400 or so, replacing it with a new Audi TTS would not put the premium over $6,000.

thats really expensive??? i pay $55/month for telephone/hdtv/extreme speed internet

yep.. my shaw bill for average tv package, internet and phone comes in around $140 a month

gas i pay $70 per month
electric $40 per month

property tax was around $2500 last year
the garbage collection water rate one was $800

car insurance i'm paying $240 a month for a 2010 hemi dodge ram 1 year ncb
home insurance for our 4 bed house in town is around $35 a month

http://www.taxtips.ca/calculators/taxcalculator.htm

Is a little more complicated but a much better calculator. It also calculates CPP and EI contributions.

http://content.calgary.ca/CCA/City+H...ater+Rates.htm



http://www.vibrantcalgary.com/upload...-june-2009.pdf

the first link would need calcs, the second might have a better overview