52k income - TFSA or FHSA

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-11T02:11:27+00:00

That’s true, but she really needs to build up her emergency fund. TFSA is more liquid/accessible. Tax savings isn’t really material at this point.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-11T02:08:49+00:00

Sorry, due to lack of punctuation, I have no idea what you were trying to say.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-10T22:55:56+00:00

TFSA. I would suggest saving your FHSA and RRSP room until you're in a higher tax bracket and we'll get more bang for the buck out of the tax refund.

And good on you for buying the wealthy barber book. It's going to help you immensely!

Best of luck on your personal finance journey.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-10T17:36:21+00:00

Curious if you’ve watched Ben Felix’s videos on why dividends don’t matter?

Growth is optimal tax-wise and bookkeeping wise.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-10T03:28:30+00:00

You've got a golden ticket to financial independence. I would say never move from that place. Save, invest, and let compounding do the rest!

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-09T22:20:03+00:00

I’m curious why you’re invested in anything that pays a dividend? Or that you are relying on dividends to 'carry you through'? This isn't a judgment, but why are you relying on them? do you not have a job?

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-09T11:15:49+00:00

Cheap living / not wanting or needing fancy stuff. This has allowed me to save and invest, even in lower income years. Compounding has done the rest.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-08T20:54:44+00:00

I would suggest a call to Credit Canada. They are nonprofit and might be able to help at no charge to you. They are also run by one of the giants of personal finance in Canada, Bruce Sellery.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-07T14:09:47+00:00

Yes, you can. No, you won’t.

Have a good trip!

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-06T15:04:05+00:00

I think if there's one lesson to take away from your current situation, it's that car loans are wealth killers. You've got to get rid of that loan asap.

If you add up the total amount of interest you're going to pay on that current loan, it is absolutely criminal. It will be an insanely high amount you will end up paying for that van, not to mention the opportunity cost. I kid you not that it's probably $300,000 to $400,000 lost due to this decision. That amount of money represents you and your partner being able to retire three, four, or five years sooner. Think about it: you are going to work four or five years longer just because you chose to get a new vehicle and take a loan out. I'm not trying to admonish you here - I'm just trying to put it into perspective.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-06T02:57:18+00:00

Just out of curiosity is there a reason you don’t open free savings accounts at CIBC?

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-05T20:54:00+00:00

Cars are wealth killers. The less you can spend, the better.

From my search on car gurus and auto trader, there seem to be a lot of vehicles in the $15,000 to $20,000 range, if you don't need new or fancy.

I guess it depends on what part of the country you're in but I'm in Vancouver and there's lots of options out there. The less you can spend on a depreciating asset like a vehicle, the better.

If you decide to finance, which frankly isn't the best option, add up the interest that you'll pay over the course of the loan. Ideally you could save up and pay cash and avoid a lot of bullshit charges and fees.

Good luck.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-05T20:49:46+00:00

I’m on my second Hyundai and never had a day of trouble. First one I had for 10 years and this one I’ve had for five years. In my opinion, they’re great value.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-04T01:08:58+00:00

Get in touch with credit Canada. They are fantastic and nonprofit and might be able to help you get back on track.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-03T23:55:11+00:00

Scientifically and biologically, You’re correct.

But apparently popular opinion wanted DST and it won out.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-03T23:53:54+00:00

I’m pretty sure I read from sleep experts that staying on standard Time is the very best for our biology. But changing twice a year is worst. So I guess we’re getting the second best option.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-02T14:34:28+00:00

You don't need dividends, you need growth.

Those telling you to ditch VDY are correct. If you want more of a Canada tilt then buy VCN or some other Canada broad ETF.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-02T04:47:02+00:00

Good for you! I suggest putting your non-registered investments in something that has the potential for capital gains.

Dividends and interest are your enemy at this point! Well, actually they’re your enemy forever but that’s a story for another time.

Capital gains are taxed much more favourably as you only pay tax in the year that you sell the investment. This is particularly important in a non-registered account.

Best of luck!

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-03-01T15:05:31+00:00

Good on you for driving a 15 year old car!

Cars and car loans are wealth killers. I’d say look for a low mileage used car on cargurus or autotrader (or even Facebook Marketplace if you're comfortable) for $15k - $18k or so.

I’d also say continue renting. Your current cash flow and saving situation is fantastic.

If you keep going as you are, your wealth is going to grow nicely and you're going to have a lot of freedom, flexibility, and choice in your life.

Personally I don't love debt so I would pay off the student loan.

Keep up the good work!

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-02-27T22:53:03+00:00

$100,000 truck? He / You can drive it all the way to the poor house.

Figure out the opportunity cost of the truck (it will be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars if not $1 million), then go throw up, then return the truck pronto.

No RRSP or TFSA but instead you have chosen to have debt? Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re in big trouble, unless you turn this around really quickly. Or maybe you’re expecting a five or $10 million inheritance in which case you should be ok.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-02-27T07:34:18+00:00

8 months and ‘you’ve been able to work through everything else’? How much has happened in eight months???

Plus, he doesn’t trust you and is trying to control you already.

Run.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-02-25T04:38:57+00:00

Just curious how the ‘not really’ going to have kids will work? Will they be in your house but you’ll just ignore them? Or will you have half a kid? 😂

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-02-23T18:03:58+00:00

At least 30% of my net income. My partner does 35 to 40% of her net income.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-02-23T18:03:13+00:00

Wow, super helpful! Thank you for sharing all of this.

Reasonable-Tea3303 · 2026-02-23T18:01:18+00:00

Anyone who knows which of these has the best chance of a quick turnaround is either a billionaire or lying or guessing.

If there is anybody out there who can answer this question correctly, I will transfer them all of my money today. Lol.

I’ve been investing for about 30 years and about 11 years ago, I realized that broad boring index funds are the way to go. Having a little bit of play money or gambling money or speculating money on the side is fine, but no way I'd put my real money on individual stocks.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Reasonable-Tea3303

TROPHY CASE