How Marcus Found $620 a Month He Didn't Know He Had — Without Earning More

Good Salary, Zero Savings

Marcus was 31, earning $95,000 a year as a project manager in Vancouver. By any reasonable measure, he was doing well. And yet, every month, his chequing account ended somewhere between $200 and $800. He wasn't spending on anything obviously extravagant — no sports cars, no expensive vacations. The money just... disappeared.

"I knew I was supposed to be saving more," he says. "But I had no idea where the money was going. I figured I must just be bad at money."

He wasn't bad at money. He just hadn't looked at it clearly.

Entering Everything Into the Calculator

Marcus spent about 15 minutes entering his finances into TrackMoola's Cash Flow Calculator. Monthly gross income: $7,917. Monthly take-home after tax: approximately $5,800. Monthly living expenses: he estimated $4,800 — rent, groceries, transit, the basics. Monthly debt payments: $420 (student loan + car).

The result: a projected monthly surplus of $580.

"That can't be right," he thought. "I never have $580 left over."

That gap between projected and actual was the entire story.

The Audit

The calculator showed his savings rate was 10% — below the recommended 20%. That prompted him to actually audit his spending. He pulled up his last three bank statements and went line by line.

What he found was uncomfortable:

• 14 active subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify, gym, Duolingo premium, three different news sites, four SaaS tools he'd forgotten about, and more) — totalling $287/month
• Dining and takeout averaging $680/month — about 18 transactions
• His estimated grocery figure of $400 was actually $620
• Impulse Amazon purchases: $180/month average

His actual monthly expenses were $5,820, not $4,800. That $1,020 gap was exactly why he felt broke.

The Reset

Marcus didn't go on a punishing budget. He made three changes:

1. Cancelled 9 of the 14 subscriptions — saving $210/month
2. Set a dining budget of $350/month (roughly 10 meals out instead of 18) — saving $330/month
3. Added a $100/month "random purchases" allowance — so Amazon impulse buys had a limit

Total freed up: $620/month. He redirected $400/month to his TFSA and $220/month to his emergency fund.

Six Months Later

Marcus ran the calculator again six months later with his actual numbers. His savings rate had climbed from 10% to 21%. His TFSA had $2,400 in it — his first meaningful investment ever. His emergency fund was at $1,320 on its way to $6,000.

"The calculator didn't do anything magic," Marcus says. "It just made me look at reality. You can't manage what you don't measure."

Try It Yourself

Use the Cash Flow Calculator to see your real monthly surplus or deficit, your savings rate, and a 12-month projection. Read the how-to guide for tips on filling in each field accurately.

Once you know your surplus, put it to work with the Account Type Comparison tool to decide between RRSP, TFSA, or other investments.