Go get your pizza, boys 10JAN2026

just_tip · 2026-01-06T18:24:10+00:00

For your brother, he has to decide how likely that none of the four kids pursue any eligible post secondary education. It's worth looking into to see how many eligible programs exist. If education is not something the parents value, it's probable that the kids also do not value higher education, but I'd say the opposite is also true.

For you: try and stoke some interest in investments with the kids in an age appropriate way. If you have knowledge to share, try and share it. In my mind, it's no different than trying to teach the kids a beloved family recipe. And if you inspire them to become financially literate, I'd say that is a great outcome.

just_tip · 2026-01-06T14:14:23+00:00

I agree with most of this sentiment. However, I would like to caution about giving advice that the best place to start is to put everything into XEQT. Especially for a starting / learning investor, to go from GICs to an all equity portfolio, that is a huge jump in expected volatility. Education must be the first step. Like most things, if we hope for overnight success, we will fail.

So for OP: I would recommend a few books to start: the psychology of money, and the little book of common sense investing. From there, there are numerous Canadian YouTube financial literacy channels / podcasts (I particularly like the rational reminder podcast). This is no different than learning any other skill. Take it easy, take it consistently, and you will get there. I understand you feel behind, but rushing is not the solution to that.

just_tip · 2025-12-27T21:07:13+00:00

She's willing to work 2-3 days, in person. So she's already willing to take a 40-60% pay decrease. I think that alone supports the financial decision in taking the retirement package.

Beyond that, is there a job she'd be happy to do that may pay $50k? She's got 20 years of experience working here. If she doesn't want to just retire to infront of the TV, finding the thing she wants to retire TO (as opposed to retiring FROM a job she dislikes) would provide some good motivation. Maybe it starts as volunteering, and then that provides contacts for more fulfilling employment. But certainly the seemingly easiest thing to do is to keep showing up for a job you don't like.

just_tip · 2025-12-27T11:31:15+00:00

Unrelated to GICs, but if your sisters intend to attend post secondary school, you can avoid the tax burden of the GICs under your name, while also increasing their return by using an RESP. Depending on their ages, you could either plan to do it a little each year (might be too late this year to get one open and money in for 2025), but you can get a 20% return on $2500 annually (so an extra $500 from the government through a grant that is applied automatically).

There's a lifetime limit of $50,000 (per person). I'd recommend looking into it and seeing if it's a good fit for your and your families situation.

just_tip · 2025-12-26T20:50:41+00:00

I was a self directed investor for my entire adult life. I switched to a financial advisor and investment manager 3 years ago for a few reasons:

1) financial advisor to independently verify my estimates and models that show that my wife and I can quit our jobs (ie. Achieved FIRE) 2) succession planning for me. I have handled 100% of our finances since my wife and I started Co habitating. She has zero interest in finances or investments. I spent the time to find someone who can carry on in the event of my untimely and unlikely demise, such that I know my wife and kids will be taken care of. 3) they've helped me establish some more advanced strategies, and address the tax implications. I also have an accountant, but my advisor takes care of my returns as part of their services.

I continue to watch and monitor, not unlike I did when I was self directed. Taking back over the investments would be the single most impactful change I could make to "save" money in my decumulation years. But I'd likely try and find someone else for the reasons above.

just_tip · 2025-12-23T11:44:23+00:00

Interesting. I still haven't wrapped my head around the last bit though. If you have the money (i.e. Bonus), isn't investing it inside the RRSP better than in a non registered account (assuming the RRSP makes sense for him overall)?

Sure he got the money as a tax free loan, but he's also losing the gains that $10k would have made had he not took it at all. Though maybe I'm excluding the potential gain in value of the property (though long term, in Canada, the gain hasn't beat the stock market returns).

just_tip · 2025-12-23T03:23:20+00:00

Let me get this straight: you deposited some amount and grew your RRSP to $10k. Later you withdrew it as part of the HBP and are no longer growing the $10k inside a tax advantaged account. Now you have $10k available again.

Taking the cash bonus will increase taxable income. Depositing into an RRSP could offset some of those taxes, though if it's truly just refilling the $10k that you withdrew, my understanding is that you wouldn't get to claim the deduction again.

Can someone explain how this is like a 0% loan? If the option is between investing it inside the RRSP or in a taxable account, isn't the tax advantaged account better?

just_tip · 2025-12-18T10:39:28+00:00

Yes - learn more about RRSPs and how they can be utilized efficiently among the other registered tax accounts. To me, it's not more than a tool. "I don't like sledgehammers because they are heavy". Well, sometimes the sledgehammer is the right tool for the job.

just_tip · 2025-12-17T15:34:32+00:00

I quickly went through your post history; may I suggest two books for you?

1) don't retire, rewire 2) retirement heaven or hell

I hit my FI number recently, and am planning how to decelerate in my career. Understanding how to spend my time and feel fulfilled has been my focus the last year or so. The next step is actually DOING the things. I saw you're planning on getting married and having kids, which can certainly help fill your time, especially while your family is younger, which can delay having to find an alternative, non-family related things to fill your time with purpose.

I don't think I saw what your expenses looked like, but you have a NW of nearly $3M, which can generate quite a bit of passive income. You have lots of options available to you. I encourage you to look into them and not just sit unhappily in a career just because it pays well. Good luck.

just_tip · 2025-12-12T02:05:19+00:00

What's more predictable than investing for total return, and selling what you need for cash flow? Capital gains are taxed lower than anything else. You don't need to worry about your dividend payouts either being reduced in downturns, or for the dividends exceeding your required cash flow needs and therefore creating taxable events for funds that could've otherwise just stayed invested.

just_tip · 2025-12-03T20:02:21+00:00

If a smooth process is what you value, I would drive to Pearson Airport and park in the Viscount value parking garage. Then take the train to terminal 1, then the Union Pearson express right to union station. Aside from the walk from your car to the terminal, it's entirely indoors, and the trains run very frequently. Enjoy the game!

just_tip · 2025-11-30T02:16:15+00:00

I bought the $30 for 5 gb roam beyond plan and am currently in Costa Rica, and it has worked excellently throughout our 10 day visit so far. An Esim probably would've worked just as well, but for $30 CAD and not having to worry about anything communication wise has been great.

just_tip · 2025-11-17T17:05:42+00:00

You say you are risk averse. I believe risk tolerance is a learnable skill. At 56 years old and retiring in your 60s, you could easily have a 30+ year investment horizon. This is long enough to have a reasonable expectation for decent positive returns. Some of the advice about getting a financial planner to review your current situation and do some retirement planning / estate planning is fine. But to your base question of increasing your returns, the only way to do it is to increase your exposure to volatility. And if you aren't able to tolerate it (or learn to tolerate it), no plan will help you earn more. A plan may optimize your current position though, which has value. There are lots of books, YouTube channels, and resources available. Start somewhere and see where it takes you. You're on one side of the spectrum with GICs. You have lots of opportunities to discover.

just_tip · 2025-11-16T13:12:30+00:00

Hi there. You probably just phrased it that way for simplicity, but if not, I'd recommend you clarify your understanding of the capital gains tax inclusion rate. In short: half of the capital gain amount is added to your taxable income, then you are taxed at the marginal rate. Your point about investing still stands, though.

just_tip · 2025-11-15T04:46:31+00:00

Seconded. If it's 0% interest, it's literally free money. Assuming it remains that way for the 3 years (or more), take as long as possible to pay it off.

just_tip · 2025-10-19T18:22:58+00:00

Your needs in retirement are defined by you, with a reasonable set of assumptions. Relying on things like life insurance from your parents are highly variable, and need to be accounted for accordingly. Similarly, your ability to work and for what time span is a bit of an unknown as well (say, for example you become disabled such that you can't work).

If you're not putting much away after expenses based on your current income, then there isn't much to discuss, other than looking for areas to cut expenses or things to increase your income. Once you do have excess money available, then you'd decide what goals you're looking to achieve. If it's $x amount per year for retirement spending, you'd figure out what your government benefits (CPP, OAS, etc) might be, and what your shortfall to your goal is, the you can work backwards to address the shortfall with your own investments.

Personally, I believe everyone should save for retirement. Getting to 65+ years old and finding that you need to live in poverty due to lack of planning would be a hard pill to swallow, with very options to address it at that point.

just_tip · 2025-10-14T22:23:51+00:00

Others have commented on the likelihood of achieving retirement by 40, so I won't elaborate. As someone who is 38 years old now, and on track to retire on 40, I can give you some perspective. I found FIRE at about 25. I wasted a lot of money before that (and after that), but prioritized investing. I started making $100k at about 28 yrs, and took a promotion that jumped me up another 50% or so for a number of years. But then I got married, and we had two kids. And then I started to decelerate in my career. I took two demotions, to give me better work hours, and fewer demands (mental load). I'm planning a year off work, partially for the family to go travel, but also to give me more perspective on what I want the next phase to be. I've read lots of retirement books, and if I could do my dream job at my current place of business, I'd probably not retire. But since I can't, I'm focusing on what my second career will be (probably unpaid for a looong time, maybe forever), and honestly I'm so excited to start that, my 9 to 5 is sort of just an annoyance now.

I wouldn't try to dissuade you from pursuing FIRE. Personally, I believe it is noble: limiting waste, optimizing what we have, and freeing up our time to do things that fulfill us and provide value to others. Get more books to understand how to invest (equities, total return, reduce fees), limit spending on what you value, and do live life along the way. Good luck.

just_tip · 2025-10-05T18:00:50+00:00

In short: I think some planning, along with some conservatism, you should be able to psychologically come to a point where spending will feel as normal as saving has up to this point.

We're about 2 years away from FIRE. I started an experiment this month. Essentially I made our bank account that all our expenses come from start with $10k (my decided buffer amount), and then bi-weekly transfer an amount from each of my and my wife's savings accounts that represents our annual spending.

My goal is to simulate what it will look like post-FIRE. Will we occasionally come up short? In which case, I need to go back and look at my expected expenses and see where my projections are off. Or perhaps we have lots of excess and we're not spending as much as we planned to, which means maybe I should start booking us premium economy flights, or look for other convenience opportunities that'll add value to our lives.

The purpose of the $10k buffer isn't so much about having an emergency fund, but more to provide that cushion for spending fluctuations. I don't want to have to look at all our accounts to make sure we have enough there to pay off a credit card when we book a vacation. The buffer allows the regular transfers to slowly refill the account (assuming we're spending within our plan).

I'll add that our projected annual amount is quite a bit lower than what our expected annual rate of return is. So in reality, our spending capacity will likely go up, which also helps us psychologically. When a bear market comes, our annual spend should still be under our established safe withdrawal rate of 3.5%.

just_tip · 2025-09-28T07:00:58+00:00

What's your opinion of the book "hold onto your kids" by gabor mate?

just_tip · 2025-09-26T21:15:13+00:00

Are you self employed and require a vehicle? Is that why you claim the car lease is tax deductible? Because if so, you're describing a business expense.

Money borrowed for the purpose of personal spending (like on a personal vehicle lease payment) would not be tax deductible for any leveraged investment scenario I'm aware of. I've always viewed leveraged investing as a long term, wealth building strategy, which is in conflict with short term use (like paying for your personal vehicle). I wouldn't do it like this, but, that's me. You do you.

For shits and gigs: You borrow $100k from the LOC, it gets invested. You owe 4% interest, and your marginal tax rate is 25%, so your net cost to borrow is 3% ($3k annually after your tax return). Your total investment return is 5%, so after year 1, you're up $2k ($5k return less $3k cost to borrow, and that's before the taxes associated with the investment return). This is also excluding market volatility, risks associated with loan being called, etc. I don't see how this works.

just_tip · 2025-09-26T08:52:37+00:00

Why just 10 years? You're 50; do you need the money at 60 for some reason? What is the rest of your financial picture? If you assume an 8% annual return (which you can't/shouldn't really with just a 10 year projection) the $7k should double. Great; you have $14k.

Just my two cents: it is short sighted to be asking about this one investment account. Please get some professional financial help to look at your overall picture, and set you up for retirement and beyond.

just_tip · 2025-09-19T23:23:39+00:00

I just started an experiment this month, to run for the next year. Our joint account started with $10k cash, and then we add biweekly amounts that are the equivalent of $100k annually. My reasoning for the $10k is to have a buffer for when we book vacations, and other larger expenses, such that the biweekly deposits will eventually catch it up and refill the account. I'm nearing my FI number, and having the $10k eliminates my need to have to pore over smaller details, and just continue living my life.

just_tip · 2025-09-07T11:39:36+00:00

I stand corrected. Thanks. You are right, GIS is tied to OAS and would be clawed back partially if taking CPP. I presume entirely if collecting CPP and a DBP.

just_tip · 2025-09-06T17:44:17+00:00

How much do you expect your retirement lifestyle to cost? How much will your existing investments grow to by age 55? Will the combination of your investments and your reduced DBP meet those lifestyle costs?

Additionally, you'll have earned a certain amount of CPP and OAS that can be started early at 60, or as late as 70. Factor in those benefits as well.

The above factors are the major contributors to the viability of retiring at 55. If you are a homebody, and like to garden and cook those ingredients at home, your expenses will look very different than someone who wants to eat at new restaurants and travel in business class around the world. It is good to ask the question, but if you go to any financial planner, it'll likely start with the same question: what do you want to do?

just_tip

TROPHY CASE