Living On $48K A Year In Helsinki, Finland _ Millennial Money

Maria Ainamo-McDonald, 30, earns the equivalent of $48,000 a year as a marketing specialist at the broadcasting company YLE. She lives in Helsinki, Finland where she’s been able to buy two homes before turning 30. Here’s how Maria earns, spends and saves her money in the happiest country in the world.

This is the latest installment of Millennial Money, which profiles people across the U.S. and details how they earn and spend their money.

Maria lives comfortably on $48,000, but in an ideal world, would make closer to $75,000. She picked that amount after reading studies that suggest you need about that much to be happy. While it’s a goal in the back of her mind, “I don’t actively work for that to happen,” she adds. “I don’t do my work because of money. I do my work because I enjoy it.”

Ainamo-McDonald spends about $527 per month on groceries, including diapers, for the whole family. She also spends an additional $111 eating out. That’s enough to cover just one night out for the family at a nice restaurant. “In Finland, going out for dinner is super expensive, especially if you want to have alcohol,” she says. She gets lunch at work every day. It costs about $8 and is taken straight out of her paycheck.

Ainamo-McDonald bought her first apartment in Helsinki, Finland, at 26. She recently sold it, came out $21,000* ahead and used the profits to upgrade to a bigger home that she shares with her husband, Duke, and their two-year-old son.

It was a significant purchase: The four-bedroom apartment cost $326,000 all-in. The couple put $78,000 down, financed the rest and split the $932 monthly mortgage payment, which includes interest.

Plus, she plans on staying put for a while. “I was born in Helsinki,” she says. “And I’ve always liked Helsinki.”

You can’t beat the health-care system and parental leave policy, she adds. “In my humble opinion, Finland is the best place to have kids.”

It’s also the happiest country, according to the 2019 World Happiness Report. Aianamo-McDonald agrees with the assessment. “Everything is very good in this country: Everybody has food and shelter and free education, which I think is the key. You have the possibility of being very happy here — then, of course, it’s up to the individual to decide if they want to grab that chance.”