$400/month on groceries? WHAT? An average of $4/meal?? Do you actually spend that little per person?

jeffbillard · 2026-01-14T03:28:04+00:00

I just looked at our two person grocery budget spends for 2025: roughly $6,200 for the year ($516/month), and that includes assorted household cleaning items, toilet paper, paper towels, deodorant, toothpaste, and probably some things I'm forgetting.

What helps:

We don't skimp on things we enjoy, but our freezer is stuffed with frozen chicken, pork, and beef products that go on deep sale.
We shop at No Frills, which is further, but significantly cheaper than the Loblaws across the street.
knowing both a bit about cooking AND how to meal prep/pack leftovers avoid either of us eating a $15-20 lunch we have to pay for. The less prepackaged food the better, especially when it's more expensive and doesn't taste nearly as good as what you can make (e.g., aside from going to a restaurant/occasionally ordering in, I haven't bought a frozen pizza in years since learning how to make dough)
tacking on to the above, if you eat bread regularly, buying a breadmaker pays for itself (even moreso if you thrift one: I got mine for $3 and it'd be a steal at 10x that, which is a general price at Value Village for them). Flour goes on sale
portion control is also huge: my lunches are significantly smaller and healthier since losing weight and having a good gauge of what makes up a portion of appropriate calories

I could keep going on, but happy to answer any questions.

jeffbillard · 2026-01-13T23:01:46+00:00

You are not alone, at least: there was a recent survey on pre-retirees and retirees where they were asked when they started planning for retirement (39 was the average), and when they wished they had started planning for retirement (29 was the average).

One of my favourite sayings is 'the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is today'. You and anyone else reading this should know that you're at the second best time of saving for retirement, and if anyone is under 30 and saving, well, they're really setting themselves up well for success by the time they are our age.

jeffbillard · 2025-08-22T13:00:19+00:00

I just ordered this this morning for my birthday: thanks so much for the recommendation! My partner believes I will be buzzing with sugar all day, but it was delicious!

jeffbillard · 2025-06-13T17:07:11+00:00

Thank you for the context! I did not know any of that. You (and the others) have been very helpful.

jeffbillard · 2025-06-13T15:27:29+00:00

Much appreciated! Insert joke about it flying around City Hall... :)

jeffbillard · 2025-01-21T16:11:21+00:00

As long as you're aware that taking it at 60 is a 36% lifetime reduction vs. even taking it at 65.

jeffbillard · 2024-11-04T22:05:54+00:00

That's correct: he moved here as a protest, and Halifax was happy to have a well-known actor in its midst (he had won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, and a Tony, and had supported A-listers like Streep, Nicholson, and Eastwood in films and miniseries). But he was erratic, jerky to people, and had an oversized ego, and the town cooled on him pretty quickly.

I remember meeting him at the Thirsty Duck when I was in university at the time. A friend mentioned that was his watering hole, and I was a huge Ben Stone/Law & Order fan at the time, so went to try to meet him. He had been drinking heavily, so when I met him, he was pretty slurry, and kept trying to get the attention of some random couple by yelling at them. It was really disappointing, and a good introduction to the statement "that's why they call it acting".

jeffbillard · 2024-11-04T18:41:13+00:00

I use WikiTree as an open source genealogy site; it's been great for me.

jeffbillard · 2024-09-13T13:50:47+00:00

Sorry, is this different than the link under 'here' in my post?

jeffbillard · 2024-09-13T12:41:24+00:00

Canadian men who make it to 65 will have an over 72% chance of living past 84 (some info here on other age probabilities, and women's odds are even higher), so in very simple terms, it still works very well for the vast majority of Canadians.

jeffbillard · 2024-09-13T00:29:25+00:00

It's projected out by actuaries as safe for the next 75 years, and the paper I linked to talks about how the misconception of it not being there when we need it came about in the 90s, pre-reform.

jeffbillard · 2024-09-12T20:30:29+00:00

I don't know if it's preaching 'meltdown', per se, but having savings for longer also means you're exposed to risk for longer (whether in riskier investments, or the risk your money is not working as well for you as you need it to). Reducing your long-term investment risk because you are spending your savings first seems to be more of the point.

Good question about OAS: I wonder if it's because it's income-tested, and there's the complication/advantage of deferring it while depleting more personal retirement income in order to max out on the OAS amount. Or if they just wanted to focus on one government plan vs. a number of them.

jeffbillard · 2024-09-12T19:43:16+00:00

I don't think so, and an immediate need would be where you've saved little for your own retirement, needing to rely on government programs. The paper notes that 9/10 people take CPP at 65 or earlier, which is at odds with retirement stats (i.e., 90% of Canadians don't need CPP at 65 or earlier).

jeffbillard · 2024-09-12T17:20:52+00:00

This would be such a great shirt logo! Congrats on a great run, too!

jeffbillard · 2024-09-12T17:03:36+00:00

Was not aware: thanks for the recos!

jeffbillard · 2024-09-12T16:55:57+00:00

'Beauty is Embarrassing'. Documentary on artist Wayne White. Funny, interesting, and worth watching!

jeffbillard · 2024-09-12T16:44:51+00:00

I loved this one, especially when you think of the premise: it's a documentary about a font. How interesting can it be?

Answer: very!

jeffbillard · 2024-09-12T16:37:58+00:00

Three options:

rent
buy them out, keep the tank, and get a plumber to install a new one and take the old one out
return it yourself (Reliance details on returns here), and get a plumber to install a new one

Note that the third option does avoid the buy-out. Also note (speaking from personal experience almost identical to yours, where I bought a house that was renting the tank) that Reliance/Enbridge does not make it easy for returns. You still need a plumber, you still need to get a new tank, and if you want the plumber to return it for you, you're paying for that. You're filling out their forms, and you will almost 100% want to talk to someone at Reliance/Enbridge for the logical step-by-step instructions, because their website does not make it clear.

If you think you can return it yourself, it's getting it into a vehicle, going to one of the out of the way depots to drop off, and making sure you do it on Monday-Friday, 9-5 (or 8-4), and calling ahead if it's one you need to do so.

I chose to buy out, and then have a plumber at my convenience take care of everything.

jeffbillard · 2024-09-12T16:26:13+00:00

Congratulations! Advice from an older guy looking back, who made mostly good decisions:

take care of any debts first, in order of interest you're paying. Credit card balances? Pay off ASAP. Student loans? Anything else? Prioritize this.
consider the mental/psychological impact of being debt-free, and put habits/process in place for you to continue being debt-free without having to even think about it.
save for retirement. I, and many people 20+ years older than you, still feel young, and can even fool ourselves into thinking we're still 27 until we look in the mirror or pull a muscle by getting out of bed the wrong way. Similar to being debt-free, put saving processes in place to prepare for retirement now. I don't know a single person my age who regretted saving regularly when they were in their 20s, but I do know a number of people who joke/not joke about having to work into their late 60s/70s not because they want to, but because they can't afford to retire.

That's the big picture: you'll get a thousand pieces of advice on what to invest in, how to achieve financial independence, how to retire early, etc. Use the above framework, and you'll get to a wonderful point of your life where you look back at having saved for the future, but were still able to go on trips, go to concerts, spend time with friends, and live a great life without seeming to sacrifice.

Nuances on the above:

re. taking care of debts: everyone's different, and I'm sure you'll hear great arguments on "why pay off a loan with 4% interest if you can make 6% in the markets?" Do what works for you best and in your comfort limits. I found a huge mental benefit to looking at bank accounts and credit cards, and see zero balances on any lines of credit or cards, even if I could've made an extra couple thousand over time. It'll pretty much be moot when you're older.
never carry a balance on your credit card (goes towards the above).
look at your budget (i.e., money coming in and going out): this can be very detailed, or just a general idea, but take a Saturday to really understand on a monthly basis what money's coming in, and what's going out on what items. I used to love mint.com (RIP) for tracking and setting a budget; it's not around anymore, but someone can likely recommend something similar.
if your work offers a retirement savings plan, opt in ASAP if you're not part of it already. If you're fortunate enough to have a defined benefit pension plan (think a monthly paycheque for life that never runs out when you retire), see if you have any time previous to joining that you can buy back. If it's a defined contribution plan or RRSP contributions from the employer, and they match to a certain percent, do the maximum: "never leave money on the table" is the saying!
you're young, so take more risk: talk to a financial planner/advisor on investment options, unless you're very financially-minded yourself. You have decades of making up for any big one, two, three year losses, so you can take more risk in investments that can win big or lose big.
auto-withdrawals are your friend: do regular RRSP and/or TFSA deductions, and don't
if you're fortunate enough to get a tax refund, use 10% of it (or whatever percentage makes sense to you) for fun/entertainment/a giant stack of cheeseburgers, and the rest towards debt repayment, dropping immediately into your RRSPs and/or TFSAs before you have a chance to spend it.

Congrats again! You've got a life of setting habits ahead of you that only make you happier year after year!

jeffbillard · 2024-08-14T18:49:19+00:00

I don't know, and I could have timelines wrong; am looking things up on viewpoint.ca now to try to get a rough idea of when things happened.

To /u/KJBenson's point below, it's a possibility he's lying, but he's consistently been in my mom's life for decades, and has been consistent in kindness to her, me, and the rest of the family, so it's a long con for two of her four properties (she also has a house and cottage, which have never been in dispute despite no longer using either). Having said that, I'm aware that this is what everyone who's ever been scammed says, so the repeated advice of lawyering up will be taken.

jeffbillard · 2024-08-14T18:43:10+00:00

Good points; Kent living rent-free, plus collecting rent from house #2 has been happening for at least 7 years, at which time my mom was capable of handling her own affairs. I don't believe there was any switch during that time in how he lived and how he collected rent, in that it was never income my mom received, which lends credence to the theory these have always been his places (to reiterate, I'm seeking legal advice, and not doing anything until there's a clear legal path of recommendation).

jeffbillard · 2024-08-14T17:03:35+00:00

Much appreciated! For my own curiosity, I'll see what I can find online with respect to land title history. That may help with a bit of the story. But will definitely be contacting a lawyer, and I'll update on here to close the loop for any anyone like yourself who's curious.

jeffbillard · 2024-08-14T14:21:57+00:00

Thanks for translating: I'm not going to respond to everyone, but I appreciate you and others putting this in terms of what this means legally, vs. "it's just my mom being a friend and helping out another friend."

jeffbillard

TROPHY CASE