First job savings goal planner: how many hours until you can buy it?
Quick summary
Type in what you want to buy, what it costs, your province and the hours you can work. The planner shows your pay after tax, how much goes to your goal, and how many weeks it takes. It also works backward: tell it your deadline and it shows the hours you need. For a full guide to the job itself, read your first job in Canada: a guide for teens.
Checked November 11, 2026. Main source: Federal Minimum Wage Database (general rates, read November 3, 2026). See all 4 sources.
Key facts
- Default pay
- The general minimum wage for the province you pick
- Source: Federal Minimum Wage Database
- CPP
- Taken only from age 18, and only on pay above $3,500 a year
- Source: CRA
- EI
- No minimum age
- Source: CRA
- Best use
- Planning. Your pay stub is the real number
- Source: Our note
Your first budget
Change any box. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere.
Try an example goal
The costs are round example amounts, not prices we checked. Change the cost to match what you want.
Blank uses the general minimum wage for Manitoba: $16.40 (took effect Oct. 1, 2026).
CPP is only taken from age 18 and up.
Your first budget, per week
| Pay before deductions ($16.40 x 12 hours) | $196.80 |
| Income tax (estimate) | -$0.00 |
| CPP or QPP | -$0.00 |
| EI | -$3.21 |
| Take-home (98% of pay) | $193.59 |
| Goes to Used laptop | $116.16 |
| Yours to spend | $77.44 |
At 12 hours a week you reach $900 in about 8 weeks. That is inside your 20 weeks.
To have it in 20 weeks, plan on about 5 hours a week (100 hours in total).
Estimate only. It assumes you work this many hours every week and treats your pay as if it repeated for a full year, which is how employers figure withholding. It leaves out vacation pay, tips and any lower student wage. If you work only part of the year, you may get some tax back when you file.
How the planner gets its numbers
Pay before deductions is your hourly pay times your weekly hours. Employers figure income tax as if your pay will repeat for a full year, so the planner does the same: it multiplies one week by 52, works out federal and provincial tax and EI, then divides back down to a week.
CPP is left out until you turn 18, because the CRA says employees under 18 do not contribute. EI has no minimum age. From 18 on, CPP applies to yearly pay above $3,500.
Many first jobs last only part of a year. In that case your income for the year is lower than the planner assumes, so you may get some tax back when you file. That is our reasoning about how tax works, and the amount depends on your whole year.
What the planner leaves out
- Vacation pay, tips and bonuses.
- A student or youth wage lower than the general rate. The federal database has a separate page for those; check it for your province.
- Union dues, uniforms and travel costs.
- Hours limits for young workers. These differ by province and age. See the teen first job guide for the ones we confirmed.
Three ways to use the result
- Pick a date first. Set the weeks, and read the hours a week you need. If that number looks like too much alongside school, change the goal, the deadline or the share you save.
- Pick your hours first. Set the hours you can really work, and read how long it takes.
- Try a split. Save a share of each paycheque and keep the rest to spend. A goal you can reach in a few months is easier to stick with than one that takes a year.
Check what you learned
3 quick questions. Nothing is saved or sent.
1. Does the CRA say people under 18 pay CPP?
2. Does EI have a minimum age?
3. Why does the planner multiply one week of pay by 52?
Questions people ask
Why is my take-home so much less than my pay?
Income tax and EI come off each paycheque, and CPP too once you are 18. On a small income the tax part is often small, because a basic personal amount is not taxed. The planner shows each line, so you can see where the money goes.
Do teens pay CPP?
Not under 18, according to the CRA. From 18, CPP applies to pay above $3,500 a year.
Do teens pay EI?
The CRA says there is no minimum age for EI premiums.
What is a TD1?
A form you fill out when you start a job so your employer knows what to withhold. The CRA says that if it is not filed, only the basic personal amount is used.
Is the minimum wage the same everywhere?
No. Each province and territory sets its own. See the full table on our minimum wage page.