Month-to-Month: How much does an engineer make in Vancouver?

Omid Javadi is a full-time chemical engineer—and a part-time budding philanthropist.

Name: Omid JavadiAge: 29Gross salary: $72,000Javadi is a chemical engineer who helps run his family business, an oil-spill response company called Versatech Products. The demanding gig requires 50 to 70 hours a week, but that doesn’t stop him from devoting plenty of time to his passions: rock climbing, back-country skiing, and wrangling desert-bound hippies as a prominent organizer in B.C.’s Burning Man community, a cause to which he devotes more than 200 volunteer hours a year.

The Monthly Bill

Income after taxes: $4,595

Mortgage …… $1,200(Yaletown condo his parents bought in 2007)

Strata Fees …… $348

Eating out …… $540(“I rarely take a lunch into work, and a lot of the time I work late.”)

Cable and internet …… $97

Netflix and proxy server …… $13

House and car insurance …… $203

Phone plan …… $67

BC Hydro …… $35

Produce bin from Green Earth Organics and other groceries …… $188

Sponsoring a Palestinian child through the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund …… $100(“He was in a car accident and needs monthly medical supplies.”)

Donation to BC Search and Rescue …… $10

Donation to BC SPCA …… $15

Donation to elephant orphanages in Thailand and Kenya …… $10 (“I saw a GIF of a baby elephant playing with a rope. In the comments section it said it was from this animal refuge.”)

Donation to UNICEF …… $55 

Donation to UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees …… $15 (“I’m lucky enough to have been raised in Canada so I help when I can.”)

Donation to The Tyee …… $5 

Donation to the New Democratic Party of Canada …… $25  

Donation to the Green Party of Canada …… $10 

Donation to the Dogwood Initiative …… $10

Donation to Wikipedia …… $5 

Membership to the Hive climbing gym …… $50(“I go there three times a week.”)

Gas …… $100 

Tickets to the Funk Hunters …… $50

Incidentals (toothpaste, hair, toiletries) …… $135 

New bathroom towels …… $120 

Flight to L.A. …… $65(“There was a crazy seat sale. That’ll be my first vacation in two years. are going to Joshua Tree and Red Rock to climb.”)

Ticket to Star Wars: The Force Awakens …… $20(“It was a better stand-alone film than as part of the greater canon.”)

Total Spent: $3,491

The Remainder: $1,104(“I take all of it and put it in my RRSP. I’m looking to buy a new place, and I’m not sure how much money I’ll need.”)