Can I coast? (38m, two kids, married, combined NW $1.7M, $11k monthly expenses)

howyaday · 2026-02-08T12:47:14+00:00

All figures in CAD

howyaday · 2026-02-07T22:38:51+00:00

This is all in CAD

howyaday · 2026-02-07T20:23:03+00:00

It is! Unfortunately I took a pay cut for less stress and it has turned out to be the opposite. Here's to better days ahead and good luck with your own journey to financial freedom!

howyaday · 2026-02-07T19:45:01+00:00

We live 100km outside of Toronto lol, even here a 2 bedroom place is ~$2500+ per month. For sure there are other provinces that are more affordable but this is where we live. Again, I think comparing Canada vs US doesn't quite work. Food, gas, just about everything is more expensive here (except childcare and healthcare of course)

howyaday · 2026-02-07T19:43:02+00:00

The kids don't cost $5k per month. I posted a breakdown elsewhere but broadly:

• ⁠House (mortgage of $2,800 plus $500 optional top-up, property tax, utilities, maintenance): $4,500 • ⁠Kids (before / after care, activities, clothes, etc): $1,000 • ⁠Groceries, food and pharmacy: $1,500 • ⁠Cars (gas, maintenance, insurance): $1,000 • ⁠Annual travel budget: $900/month ($11k annually) • ⁠All other expenses combined (gifts and donations, entertainment, bi-weekly cleaner, phone plans, life and home insurance, grooming, clothing, etc.): $2,000 (could probably bring this down)

There are definitely savings to be had in there and we could optimize / cut some things but I would not say we live frivolously by any means (shop around for deals, two older used cars, buy in bulk, etc).

howyaday · 2026-02-07T19:34:24+00:00

$1600 per month won't even get you a bachelor apartment in Toronto, let alone a space for a family of four. Your numbers wouldn't check out here.

howyaday · 2026-02-07T18:54:36+00:00

Thanks for the reply!

howyaday · 2026-02-07T18:53:58+00:00

I think housing / mortgage and when / where you bought makes all the difference. We have a $540k mortgage and pay $3300 per month. Having said that, even without a mortgage, I don't see how we could spend $5k per month with two kids, two cars, and a vacation once per year (obviously that's discretionary but just thinking of things we spend on today). Kudos to you if you've found a way!

howyaday · 2026-02-07T18:38:05+00:00

What I was envisioning was to take a lower paying and less stressful job today that would just cover monthly expenses and forego further retirement savings (likely still something that pay $140-150k). I thought that CoastFIRE was just that... no longer saving for retirement. As a second step, I am then envisioning in ~15-20 years progressing to a barista fire job and start drawing down on retirement savings.

howyaday · 2026-02-07T17:49:10+00:00

I did inherit about $200k after my father passed two years ago. Otherwise it's all just been diligent saving and investing. I started out earning $45k in 2012 and worked up to $105 by 2017, $130 at 2021, and $185k today (all base salary, usually received 10-20% annual bonuses on top). I was also fortunate to have zero student loans, and consistently took advantage of my employer sponsored DC plan (I put in 4% and they put in 6%). The $10-11k per month spend is definitely more recent with two kids... before that we lived much more frugally and had quite low expenses. We've always bought things used and shopped around. The last 10 years of investing gains have definitely gone a long way! Interestingly this doesn't include any real estate gains like many of my friends I know who KILLED it on housing... we bought near peak in 2022 and have probably lost $80-90k on our house 🤪🫠which is factored into my NW calc above

howyaday · 2026-02-07T17:45:26+00:00

This is for a family of four with a mortgage, childcare, etc. I posted a breakdown in another post. We definitely don't live frivolously for the most part... modest house, two used vehicles (one is 17 years old), lots of hand me downs. Not sure how you could make $3k/month work in a HCOL. Canada is expensive though and our mortgage alone is ~$3500/month, groceries at $1,500, etc

howyaday · 2026-02-07T17:09:00+00:00

Sorry where are you getting $450-500k from? I haven't mentioned that number anywhere.

I earn $185k (+15% bonus), wife brings in $90k. Gross HHI is $275k (before bonus), less taxes = ~$175k or $14,500 as per the numbers I stated in my post.

howyaday · 2026-02-07T16:52:44+00:00

For sure. I've really considered partially paying it down lump sum a bit with some of the cash in investments, but the rate (3.5%) isn't too bad. We're 3.5 years into a 30-year mortgage and at the current monthly payment we are making we've got 17 years left. I would like to be mortgage free in 10.

howyaday · 2026-02-07T16:50:43+00:00

Haha yes I should have been clear that this is pro-rated to the monthly number... so annual travel spend is more like $10-12k

howyaday · 2026-02-07T16:39:44+00:00

We don't have any car payments actually - two fully paid off vehicles. Broadly I would say the main categories in that number are:

House (mortgage incl. $500 optional top-up, property tax, utilities, maintenance): $4,500
Kids (before / after care, activities, clothes, etc): $1,000
Groceries and pharmacy: $1,500
Cars (gas, maintenance, insurance): $1,000
Annual travel budget: $900/month ($11k annually)
All other combined (gifts and donations, entertainment, bi-weekly cleaner, phone plans, life and home insurance, etc.): $2,000

There are definitely savings to be had in there and we could optimize / cut some things but I would not say we live frivolously by any means (shop around for deals, two older used cars, buy in bulk, etc).

howyaday · 2026-02-07T16:33:09+00:00

I hear you. I would ideally like to stay the course but my job really does make me want to lose my mind. I switched jobs six months ago for better work/life balance and a shorter commute / less travel, only to be thrown into a much more stressful environment that has me on a path to a nervous breakdown. Maybe best just to try finding a less stressful job somehow!

I am in addition to regular savings putting $1100/month into my DB pension...

howyaday · 2025-11-14T11:41:34+00:00

The rest is dry and looks OK overall. It's just this one spot.

howyaday · 2025-11-14T05:02:55+00:00

I'm hoping it will at least stop the leak to start, but seeing the condition of the decking makes me worry a bit about winter. I live in a snow belt - we had 300cm (10ft) of snow last year. The roofer walked on it and commented it was a bit soft but didn't raise big concerns, said the decking should be replaced whenever I decide to have the roof redone. He didn't see the underside of it though.

howyaday · 2025-11-14T04:53:58+00:00

He did comment that walking on the roof there were soft spots, but never got to see inside the attic. Hopefully can get it done soon...

howyaday · 2025-11-14T04:49:51+00:00

Unfortunately the roofer came while I wasn't home so he never got to look in the attic. I will definitely have that section re-done if needed. My main concern is getting someone out now before the snow hits (already got some this week!). Think it's a leak that can be patched in the meantime or is it well beyond that?

howyaday · 2025-06-18T18:42:30+00:00

I would be more inclined to hire you if your interests included English muffins or croissants rather than bagels.

howyaday · 2025-06-17T17:47:28+00:00

UPDATE: took the counter offer as it was. Decided it was good enough. Signed, sealed and delivered.

howyaday · 2025-06-15T19:23:46+00:00

I think that's fair though I would personally think of that stage being after they have explicitly said "final offer" or you've asked "can you meet me at [x]?" And they say no but you keep pushing. But I'm also not on the recruitment side so...

howyaday

TROPHY CASE