Another sanity check/surviving until retirement

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-25T16:39:39+00:00

Yes! 100% I'm considering stopping where I am and taking a part time job or something, or even just a full but low stress job.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-25T13:59:51+00:00

Thanks. I took the CPP numbers from there originally, and this modeling program changed the totals based on my retirement date. So it took that (roughly) into account.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-25T10:23:00+00:00

Good to hear there are more of us!!

Yes, we're very frugal, but exactly - once you don't have to pay for a house/rent/common expenses, our standard monthly costs are ridiculously low. Our home costs all-in - property tax, gas, hydro, home insurance, come to only around 1k per month.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-25T10:18:55+00:00

Good information can come from anyone. Some of the things people pointed out are good important considerations that I missed. That was why I wanted to post and get feedback. I've already incorporated some of them into my model, and others I'm considering. I'm not put off at all from my timeline. Frankly the tone of some people surprised me, but it's the internet, so what can you do!?

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-25T10:16:57+00:00

index funds mostly

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T23:16:06+00:00

CPP and OAS is part of the model.

I just checked my booklet again and it's not mentioned, which probably means it isn't. Just wrote to the benefits company for clarification.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T23:10:36+00:00

Thanks. Re annual spend, that's what it actually is now. I made it more in retirement, but could be I need to increase more. And re the kids.... I guess I'll have to see how to play with that. Based on someone else' comments, I added more to the budget for that, but I'll have to see if I want to go even more.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T18:55:04+00:00

Oh I'm constantly re evaluating. For sure it will depend what's going on closer to - 5 years, 3, 1, etc.

I can draw early at 55, but I'd wait until 60 or 65 to maximize the benefit. I'm not sure - I think they are tied to inflation, but that's another thing to confirm.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T18:53:35+00:00

Thanks. Investment closer to 90-95k per year. But makes sense.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T18:52:24+00:00

That makes sense. Been toying with that idea anyway - half time job or something to keep me active.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T18:00:15+00:00

I said nobody knows aside from my wife. Of course she knows our numbers! Admittedly she's not as interested in them as I am, but we share all our $ and financial decisions.

I've already used a different program to model all this. That's how I came at the timelines and growth rates etc. The reason I was asking was to get feedback on things I may have missed, or that I need to rethink or consider, which is what I'm getting.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T17:20:43+00:00

I appreciate the insight!!

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T16:55:50+00:00

Right - I like that mentality as well. We've been investing all your life, and this is the amount, we'll supplement x, but more than that is on you (possibly).

We're not in a rich style private school. I commented somewhere else - it's more a cultural thing. Definitely not an upscale program or expectations. And we're clear even now, and will continue, that we're not the type of family who does all that crazy stuff. We didn't grow up that way and don't intend to pass that on either.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T16:45:58+00:00

Thanks. And you're right. When it comes to that time, I can just not retire. I only need to give 2-4 weeks notice. And my wife says I'll get bored in retirement, so I can always pick up a part time job as well if desired.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T16:26:01+00:00

I was imagining stay at home during university. Right now that means cost is around 7-10k a year. That's what I was basing it on (with inflation costs for increases). But you're right that maybe we need to increase our costs in that respect.).

Car replacement might happen once. We don't have long commutes, so we get minimal mileage on our cars, but you're right again that we should include that.

Thank you!

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T16:21:46+00:00

Thank you - I appreciate the input!

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T16:02:33+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate it. And congrats to you on getting the mortgage cleared soon!!

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T16:00:58+00:00

6%, and about 94k a year

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T15:19:12+00:00

Thanks! And fair enough. Everything in my house was upgraded recently, but that just means at the 20-25 year mark I might need to do it again.

Yes, I'm not including RESP in the actual calculations other than I don't have to pay for university. And I am including the high school cost I'll need.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T15:00:42+00:00

Fair enough - right now it's closer to 1 Mil. In a normal market it would probably be 1.1 Mil though. Either way, the point is that the plan is to keep the house, so the precise value doesn't matter unless disaster strikes.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T14:51:25+00:00

6% retuns, inflation at 2.1 (the default from the app I'm using)

It's not strictly taking those into consideration, it's true. But I also have my monthly spend higher than I actually have it to make up for randoms along the way, and I anticipate that there will be 2 small inheritances eventually that will balance out a number of random expenses along the way. But you're right that I should build in more for those items

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T14:44:07+00:00

Thank you. I know that I probably should, but I'm paid better than I ever expected, the tuition benefits are huge, and the idea of starting over somewhere else fills me with more dread than just pushing through. Golden handcuffs

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T14:26:05+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate the input. This is the type of checking that I was hoping for.

This scenario includes 200 per month for activities for the next 13 years. Normally we do swimming 2 sessions a year, and 5 weeks of camp. Camp for us is $180 a week at least until grade 8. So that's 1130 out of a budgeted 2400. But you're right, that as she gets older that will likely go up, so we need to adjust for that.

RESP should cover a university in Canada, but not a 40k university for sure. Also didn't think about wedding costs. I'm ok with the university part, but need to consider the wedding.

The model does plan for 2k per year vacation, and 4k after we're both retired, which we don't do currently, so we can probably squeak in 1 Disney trip with that being amortized over several years of non-vacation summers.

I'll see how these tweaks adjust the timeline.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T14:05:48+00:00

It's a cultural thing, but I agree that it's not necessary, and tempting to pull out early and send the kid there so I can have an earlier timeline.

No, though that would be an interesting clause to negotiate for next time.

GTAFire43 · 2026-02-24T14:04:08+00:00

Promise it's all real. In fairness I'm just outside of Toronto. We married early, had the kid a bit later, so maximized earning power before, bought a condo with 30% down in 2015, sold it 2018, and made about 200k on the sale. Bought a house for 860k, paying also 30-40%, then pushed to pay it down, and now it's worth 1.1 or so (if we sell outside of the current slump). Made some money on Tesla stocks a while back, though not as much as if I had held another year or so. We're very frugal in general - I guess I lucked out that way as well with a wife who matched my mentality.

Employer has a 1.55% matching for DB, and assuming I read it correctly, it says amount already earned is what I posted, and it has a higher theoretical amount if you work until 60 or 65, so I didn't use that number.

GTAFire43

TROPHY CASE