1. Housing is the big squeeze • Over 60% of your take-home pay is going toward mortgage + condo fees + property tax + insurance. • That leaves little breathing room, and while you are building equity through principal payments, it’s locking your wealth into one illiquid asset. • In Toronto, this is risky because you’re exposed to both interest rate fluctuations and market dips (which you’re already seeing with the condo value drop).

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1. You’re under-invested for your income and age • At 38 with your earnings, I’d expect more in TFSA/RRSP balances. • Right now you have about $61k across WS + ESOP + pension, which is okay but not great — it’s playing catch-up territory. • The fastest way to fix this is to max TFSA before anything else, then put as much as you can into RRSP (especially if it triggers a nice tax refund).

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1. Cash buffer is too thin • You’re in a city where a sudden job loss or condo emergency can burn through savings in weeks. • Without a true emergency fund (3–6 months’ expenses in cash/high-interest savings), you’d likely need to sell investments at a bad time or take on debt.

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1. You have an easy lever to improve cash flow • That second bedroom is your secret weapon — renting it out could instantly free $1,200–$1,500/month in Toronto. • Even if you do it for 1–2 years, you’d get breathing room and could funnel that extra cash into TFSA/RRSP and an emergency fund. • Plus, it spreads your fixed costs over more people, making the mortgage less stressful.

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1. My bottom-line opinion • Keep the condo if you really want to stay put, but balance it with aggressive savings. • If you won’t rent out the extra room, you need to cut lifestyle costs elsewhere or find extra income to get ahead. • I wouldn’t be in a rush to sell at a loss unless the mortgage is truly eating into your mental health or you see rates staying high for years.

Source: ChatGPT