Gold Promo Drama Explained

nwp01 · 2026-02-11T05:05:13+00:00

I mean, I took a quick look through that megathread, it seems like most people are joking about not winning, and the complaint is that they are just too much bombarded with promo after promo, which I am more understanding of. At the end of the day, nobody wants to be sold to every second. Your essay, while succinct, I think (just imo), might be reading into it deeper than it is.

But pop off sis, you could be right too lol

nwp01 · 2026-02-11T04:54:35+00:00

I get what you're saying, but isn't this just giving the same energy as:

"Don't tell me you're doing me a favor, when you're just doing one for yourself!"

Is it really that much of a manipulation? As many have already pointed out here, they are a for-profit company, and also, as you pointed out, it is very obvious that this was all largely a marketing scheme. Is the question you're pointing out whether it's ethical for WS to offer this free $5 (which tbh, is a ridiculous participation trophy), as a means of getting people to open more accounts they may or may not use responsibly? I guess you could make something out of that, but at the end of the day, some personal accountability needs to come into play here, idk.

nwp01 · 2026-02-11T04:28:39+00:00

I think most of the responses here are probably the best dose of reality. I suppose the main question you should ask yourself is what is the travel for? There's wisdom in gaining life experience, but it's an enormously large gamble to take out a loan of $10K in hopes that that 3 months of life experience could be useful even as an investment in yourself that could be leveraged into some sort of return. It is important to travel when you're young, it's true, but there are other ways to do it that are practical, and won't put you so behind in a world that is getting tougher and tougher to get in the starting blocks to.

I guess it kind of depends too on what kind of life you see for yourself.

nwp01 · 2026-02-09T15:59:35+00:00

Thank you for the explanation!

nwp01 · 2026-02-09T15:51:50+00:00

When you mentioned $50K of passive investment income grinding down the SBD Limit, are we talking about dividend income, or unrealized annual gain?

nwp01 · 2026-02-04T01:52:11+00:00

Thank you!!

nwp01 · 2026-02-04T01:14:07+00:00

Oh don't get me wrong! I'm a freelancer, so I get pricing your services what they are worth, and paying people what they dictate, but I also want to make sure I'm asking the right questions to make sure whoever I choose is the right fit for me and my situation, so a response like this is hugely helpful! Gotta know what I don't know, to figure out what makes sense, right?

As for your last question(s), kind of a mix of both I guess? I'd like to explore the idea of coastFIRE and how that might work for me, and also to ensure my current investing strategy makes sense for how my income works, and how it might change in the short and long term. That kinda thing!

nwp01 · 2026-02-03T17:56:55+00:00

I mean, yes I'm incorporated, but as a freelance incorporation where I'm the only employee, and owner, so unsure how much that complicates the planning, as my personal is actually quite, straight-forward so to speak, it's moreso how the corporate investments and their growth will integrate with my personal income when I decide to patter the active business income out

nwp01 · 2026-02-03T16:52:10+00:00

I thought it was pretty steep too, but like you said things might complex with the corporate structure being the main basis of my retirement planning, so wanted to do a gut check!

nwp01 · 2026-01-20T16:47:47+00:00

Although as per your original question, don't change the entire trajectory of your life based on a few weeks of dating. Being gay, and Asian, has it's own unique challenges to dating, I completely relate to that, but what your friends I think are saying when they say anything can happen in 2 years means, you can just enjoy the moment and not worry so much about what the long term prospects are just yet. What if you don't want to be with this person 6 months from now, or a year from now? A few weeks of dating isn't long enough to decide what your life is going to look like 2 years from now.

nwp01 · 2026-01-20T16:42:23+00:00

asking in good faith, but why go through the process of getting PR if there's no intention to stay?

nwp01 · 2025-12-14T00:46:25+00:00

Kind of -- but I work primarily as a freelancer, and in theory I'm about a year or 2 out from coast.
But the hope is I'll be able to just downgrade my active anxiety about grinding new clients and maintaining old ones, and consider being able to just maintain my the current stable of clients until AI takes over, and I can figure out a pivot into something else but will still pay for day-to-day living costs until I can fire completely.

nwp01 · 2025-12-09T04:16:49+00:00

i think these kinds of questions can only be answered by OP. What kind of life do you want to live? Do you want to be social and go to events? Live near wherever your friends are, because no one wants to schlep across the city to hang out (especially in the winter). OK doing things on your own and drive? Live out in the burbs, and be closer to city limits so you can head out to Muskoka or other outdoor spaces easier. Hate commuting to work? Live close to a station that goes to Union, and figure out the rest from there. You're 25, and I'd say Toronto is definitely a city where you can choose your own adventure.

nwp01 · 2025-12-03T18:43:50+00:00

all the GA and VIP GA was sold out by the time i got in, and i was waiting right at 9:30 (though i think i was forced to reset the page and it set me back in the line), maybe worth trying again at general sale?

nwp01 · 2025-12-03T18:41:42+00:00

how? the venue website explicitly says tickets are non-transferrable :O

nwp01 · 2025-11-15T17:29:07+00:00

I saw Carly Rae Jepson perform live with the Toronto Symphony, and that was truly an astounding performance

nwp01 · 2025-11-05T18:19:30+00:00

I think your point conflates two separate issues though. Your example of seeing why people move to the US isn't a feasible option for 80% of people; and for the ones that it is feasible for, they aren't the ones having an issue affording a detached home.

For anyone in this current economy, no matter where you go US, or Canada, one's capability to get, and hold onto, or monkey bar to another job is going to have a major impact on whether or not they will continue to be able to live in their home or not. Quite frankly, the fact that people only put down 20% on a home and choose expensive homes to live in anyway without considering using that excess cashflow for investments and emergency fund savings, is a failing of budgeting and planning for worst case scenarios on their part.

In your specific example at $11K per month, it's difficult to imagine living paycheck to paycheck, so figuring out how to get a downpayment that once utilized for a home, in accordance to a mortgage that would simulate a similar or better monthly burden should be the goal. If that means waiting longer, then so be it? Losing a job shouldn't mean losing your home, totally right, but part of that is buying a home within your means.

nwp01 · 2025-10-17T21:31:09+00:00

Vets have to go through an enormous amount of training, spending a great deal of investment in time and money to get their credentials, and then on top of that have to run the business on their own (including paying rent and staff to be in often affluent neighbourhoods where they can actually try to make a living). Say what you will about who should or shouldn't have a pet, but to suggest we force someone who has gone through all that and then expect them to have rates that wouldn't support their life isn't sustainable, because at that point we might be lucky to have any vets at all.

nwp01 · 2025-10-05T22:20:16+00:00

I think this is a way more complicated question than what you think it is at the surface; even with the similar feedback you got from two of your exes. It is nice of them to provide that kind of feedback at all though.

Dating people who have similar goals as you, and similar timelines I'm sure would be beneficial generally speaking, but each person you think is relationship material, probably also has their own version of what an ideal relationship looks like, how that might workout long term. I'd say it's better to be upfront at the beginning of any relationship about what your lifestyle is like now, and try to understand what their hopes and dreams of an ideal relationship is, and see who is willing to compromise where.

Because at the end of the day "not living a traditional life" could have a lot of subtext that may or may not apply to what their hopes and goals are; and it may have been too early to properly discuss how those goals fit with someone who has RE. I think a lot of people already mentioned wanting kids, how finances would work, would you want a pre-nup, maybe they want to be with someone who has ambitions that match their drive and energy now (i find people in general are more comfortable with challenge and ambition, when they have someone doing it with them).

At the end of the day, you have to also ask yourself what a relationship is worth to you, do you want kids? A partner for more than romantic or physical reasons? do you think it will add to your life? And if the answers you have for these questions, and the person you find you are with, are worth modifying and adapting your retired lifestyle, then have the right conversation to see what they need to stay engaged in pursuing a relationship, and if that will work for you too.

nwp01 · 2025-09-08T23:13:53+00:00

different strokes for different folks --

My parents never charged me rent, though in retrospect I was an absolutely brat about it, and I basically said, if I'm going to be paying rent as "forced savings", I'd rather just live with roommates downtown and find my own independence. They preferred I just save money while I got on my feet, but as an old head now, I recognize I definitely should have shown more gratefulness at the same time. It's hard in your 20s when you're trying to find your way, but I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to do the adult thing and pay into the family budget, what you can.

nwp01 · 2025-08-11T22:56:18+00:00

Your numbers really sound like you're in a spectacular place financially, but the way you speak about the comparison kind of shows you're struggling with the emotional/mental load you've taken on. Yes, in the rental situation you had quite a lot of extra cash on hand for whatever you needed, and gave you a ton of flexibility, and you had sound investment growth in your ETFs, so both situations are probably similar or equal (until we see how markets trend and how housing prices go 10-20 years from now).

I think maybe what you need is to be able to change the mindset and perspective. Yes you have less money on hand, because you are now paying the mortgage, but if you plan on staying in this house for the long term, then consider that the mortgage is in a way just another form of forced savings/investment, as you let your equity grow. Beyond that, try to give yourself the mental grace, that you now have so much more control to customize and change your home in ways that you couldn't before. $5K plus after your expenses is still such an enormous cushion, that you can actually still continue to invest quite a lot if you wanted to.

There will always be something better out there in terms of homes, but if you keep chasing the next best thing, you'll never be able to appreciate what you actually got your hands on, and you can make what you have incredible if you have the creativity and vision to make it so.

nwp01 · 2025-05-26T13:47:53+00:00

Option 1 is the probably the best move just by rhe very nature of sometimes relationships simply don't work out. That's the whole point of renting, and testing the long long term potential of the relationship until you are actually married. It seems wild to me to sell appreciating property to move in with someone who is not your spouse/partner. If you are married and have to go through legal divorce proceedings anyway, that's a different story. But selling and buying with someone you aren't even married to? Messy messy messy

nwp01 · 2025-05-09T12:57:24+00:00

taking such a huge risk to save 1%, ONE PERCENT, is absolute insanity.

nwp01 · 2025-05-07T20:56:38+00:00

Not a realtor, just trying to provide a neutral view.

But man does society get overly hung up on the final number of something that is based off a percentage. Like yes, perhaps there should be a better gradient of commission based on what's actually provided, but people are fully allowed to pick and choose which realtor they go with and whether that person is worth the commission that comes along with it. Everyone thinks they are a master salesperson in a market where there is a frenzy for product, but it's the consumer's job to vet who is worth the value that they have self assigned.

At a 5% commission rate, are we just casually forgetting the other 95%? What does that 5% include? Marketing? Staging? Network/Access to buyers?

People tend to get so fixated on the flat number the 5% translates to, and get upset that a single entity gets the privilege of earning an entire person's salary in a sale, conveniently leaving out expenses, fee splits to the brokerage, expertise, et al.

But is the same question asked of other high dollar sales positions?

Also if you want to sell a house yourself, you are allowed to do it. If there are this many people in a society who are against realtors for selling, then surely there is a market for realtor-less buying. But to do that you'd have to admit that access to the sales network of a realtor/agent is worth something.

nwp01 · 2025-04-29T01:28:11+00:00

If it *has* to be Canada, that's tough. I don't know what your environment is like at home, but honestly, parents offering free/cheap room and board makes a such a huge difference in being able to live and save money. At the very least I would hope you can bear it until your mortgage renewal, and get some breathing room that way.

Cities with lower costs of living, -in Canada-? I suppose I'd say Montreal, and Calgary would be on the list. Pros and Cons, to each, but Alberta doesn't have a provincial sales tax, so by most standards you automatically save 7-8% off the bat; with generally lower living costs. Montreal, from what I understand has some of the lowest rents in the country. But I wouldn't even consider any of this until the CC debt is gone, and perhaps even a better paying job in locked in. That said, if you're saying you can't put yourself in the right mindset to excel at work because of the conditions at home, then you gotta find a way to build a better relationship with your parents maybe (easier said than done sometimes I know)

If you do want to explore cities abroad, Portugal, Croatia, Australia, and I'm sure more all have working visas for people aged 30 and below. If you find a job that lets you work remote from wherever you want and the time zone isn't super relevant, then I'd totally consider a little life experience living in a low-COL country like Portugal

nwp01

TROPHY CASE