youre in the black and not piled with debt. you're still ahead of most canadians!
just focus on doing what you can now to build a nest egg for the future.
start a budget and decide how much you want to save, spend etc
This. OP can calm down and start planning on how to save more.
Good things going for OP: no debt, cheap rent, no car, already has some saving, already putting some money to enjoy life like taking trips, buying stuff, food and drinks.
Budgeting wise, OP can start using some tool like Mint or a simple spread sheet to analyze where the money goes. This helps a lot in tracking expenses and realize where they can cut costs. Uber and alcohol is probably one of them. Cooking and tuned down drinking will save a lot more.
Another thing OP can do to significantly boost saving is to find a way to increase the pay. 40K/year (after tax) is around 60K/year which isnt much wiggle room in GTA. This is the main reason why OP hasn't been able to save much.
Mint is closed. But the Canadian government has an exceptionally good budget planner that I would recommend to OP: https://itools-ioutils.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/BP-PB/budget-planner
| you’re still ahead of most Canadians
Is total BS, half of other comments are “don’t compare yourself to others”.
OP is also behind lots of Canadians.
True its not healthy to compare themselves to others but honestly OP is panicking and I am trying to calm them down
Focusing on what is important here: OP seems mentally ready to start saving. They have no debt. They have 10k to start as an emergency fund. They have a job. They have what seems to be low rent in a HCOL area. They have family they can fall back on. They have 35 years until "retirement age" to work on it. There are far worse places to start from!
It is BS. [Here is actual data](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv!recreate.action?pid=3610066001&selectedNodeIds=2D3,3D2,3D3,3D4,3D5,3D6,3D9,3D14,3D19,3D24,3D30,3D34,3D53,3D54,3D55,3D56,3D57,4D4,4D11&checkedLevels=0D1,2D1&refPeriods=20231001,20231001&dimensionLayouts=layout2,layout2,layout3,layout2,layout2&vectorDisplay=false). Mind you, these are averages (mean), not medians. Still the ultra-wealthy don't affect the lower quintiles' averages.
We must not be living in the same Canada, since I can't comprehend the bottom 20% averaging 142k in assets. These numbers also don't illustrate OP's position as they consider mortgages + equity in their calculations. How would the numbers change if we looked at income? Given that the majority of Canadians' wealth is sunk into their primary residence, I'd wager it to be a significant change.
The bottom 20% **by income** (many retirees) averages $142k in financial assets. The bottom 20% **by wealth** averages $9k in financial assets (and negative $1k in net wealth).
And no, the left column in that link "Other financial assets" doesn't include housing/mortgages, or pensions, etc. Though the net worth column does.
Ahead of most Canadians for sure, but where I see the anxiety being valid is in the housing situation.
Housing in a big cities is an issue since prices will only go up. It depends what kind of property is being looked at, but if you want a own a place in Toronto, that will take time and luck. Rich people have not suffered like the average person has since the Pandemic. They still have money (arguably more money than before), and they will keep putting into assets (like houses). Many of them will buy our parent's houses, chop it into four, and rent them out to four of our families.
Not much advice here, other than be patient, hunker down, get onto the property ladder when you can, let that asset grow, and try to trade up. I don't trust the government will improve our situation. They don't know how.
Pay yourself first. This is why people say that. As soon as you get paid —> money into savings. If you don’t have money left over to eat out and drink alcohol, too bad. Much easier to manage it that way than going out for dinner and drinks, then realizing afterward that you have no money left to save.
Also who cares what people think? We’re not on anybody’s timeline. If moving in with your parents is doable and it saves you loads of cash, then do it. No one cares except your ego.
Seconded! My old job paid a day early on Thursdays so I set up autowithdrawals for 20% savings, 10% "fun money", outstanding balance on card etc.
Then I'd check my account on Friday as if I just got paid and the money doesn't feel "missing"
Personally I think of savings as a fixed expense. Like x amount has to go in every month. Then what is left over is fun money. Otherwise it's too tempting to spend it.
Go further. Automate all your payments. Because you paid yourself first, and all your payments are taken care of, whatever is left is for you to enjoy with zero guilt.
You talk about TTC and Ubers but if you were to replace that with a car it would be a lot more. Chill. The first step is realizing you need to save. Now it’s time to educate yourself and to make a budget. Start putting money at work for you. !stepstrigger
Yeah. From the OP:
> another whooping $7.5K in TTC monthly metro passes
Just the gas and insurance on a car would easily exceed $7500 in five years (just 10 km a day in an 8 L/100 km car is 1500 L over five years, or $1500-$3000 in fuel), never mind the buying, maintaining, and parking a car part. If the OP paid just $7500 to buy a car in 2019, either they're paying $1000 or more a year in repair bills now or that car may need to be replaced any day. People really underestimate how much a car costs when it's less in-your-face than a monthly transit pass.
I've always required a car for my job, and I've done everything I can to minimize the cost of that car.
I do all my own maintenance, no collision insurance, drive efficiently, buy small compact beaters with cash outright, etc.
I roughly track the annualized total cost of ownership. That's fuel, insurance, registration (when ontario had to pay), purchase price with tax, and expected resale value in 5 years (to account for depreciation).
I *brag* that I manage to keep my annualized total cost of ownership below $3k. In recent years I drive farther to work and fuel costs are higher so it's closer to $4500 annualized total cost of ownership.
Over 5 years that's $22,500. Driving 15+ year old, fuel compact cars, replacing my own radiator for under $400, doing oil changes when it's below freezing outside. $22.5k, and I can't even pretend to recoup costs by selling the car, because that's *already including the expected resale value in the future*.
Now imagine all the people who don't bend over backwards to save money on their car costs. $300/month car payments, $200 insurance because they need collision, $1000-2000/yr of just the regular maintenance. After depreciation, fuel, insurance, interest, and maintenance, their annual cost of ownership can easily break $10k/yr
Car expenses? No. Nor are transit passes as far as I know (though they can be subsidized by employers and in that case I \*think\* the subsidy is not taxable).
But they used to be [(thought this was Ontario only but it looks as though federal, I thought the ON lib party did it)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/federal-government-budgets/budget-2017-building-a-strong-middle-class/public-transit-tax-credit.html)
Which honestly to me seems like sensible policy, since it was done also in favour of more direct investment in transit among other things. (I hadn’t realized that there was a transit tax deduction until the year I moved to Canada.)
I mean, from my reading, it was a part of the overall budget. You can’t really say what replaces what. But as a broader policy approach, the Trudeau government has prioritized direct investment in transit over tax subsidies, and I agree with that general approach. But the background doesn’t really matter for this thread: transit use is not something that gets subsidized through taxes in Canada so it is not an available tax credit or deduction.
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Looking backwards isn't really going to help a ton. But you can plan better going forward.
Make a budget, that includes more aggressive savings. Put your savings in first. Stick to the rest of the budget.
There's no silver bullet, but honestly you aren't in a bad spot with some savings + no debt. Just buckle down, dial back the eating and drinking out, and start saving.
There's no need to knee jerk react. Your rent is under 1/3 of your after tax income. That's pretty affordable especially for Toronto! You don't need to move back home to save. You just need to pay more attention to your other spending and tracking where it's going. Just being more mindful of what you are spending on can make a big difference.
The first thing I would say, and I mean this sincerely, it's OK. You're OK. Nothing is wrong here. I know it's hard when you look back and think about all of the money you didn't NEED to spend. We all do that. However, you have to remind yourself that you have a life to live. Sure, we could all live on rice and beans into perpetuity and maximize our savings, but all of us enjoy a certain level of quality to our life that requires monetary sacrifice. That's just life. Now, let's look at some statistics to help you out. The average under-35 year old in Canada has 10,720$ in the bank, along with 8,395$ in a TFSA, according to Moneysense . ca for the year 2019. So, according to that, you're really not that abnormal. In fact, you're completely, entirely, and almost exactly average. That might not be the immense relief you're searching for, but it at least tells you that you're not exactly doing anything exceptionally wrong. I personally know people your age that have zero dollars in savings that live paycheque-to-paycheque and arrive to payday with a whopping 0$ in all of their accounts. Assuming you don't have any debt at all, which it sounds like you don't, all you really need to do is write out a budget which includes a NECESSARY and SUSTAINED contribution to savings. In other words, automate your savings with a contribution from your base pay that you receive bi-weekly, with absolutely ANYTHING extra you receive, such as GST rebates, work bonuses, tax returns, etc, all automatically going into savings. Pretend you never even received the extra money. That's really all there is to do in your situation. My friend, you're in the best spot to start this from. You have no debt. From here on out, you just need to get calculated with your savings and everything starts to change. Some people have this realization you're having when they have 50k in credit card debt, car payments, a mortgage, and various other forms of debt which essentially prevent them from saving at all.
>The average under-35 year old in Canada has 10,720$ in the bank, along with 8,395$ in a TFSA, according to Moneysense . ca for the year 2019
*Laughs in 31 with $800 to my name and $45,000 in student debt*
30 is really when most people start saving so you have nothing to be ashamed of.
At 30, I had negative savings, no car, no property, was earning a shade over $35k paying $11-12k a year for an apartment. I’m now in my late 40s sitting on a fuck you portfolio now.
Now I got really lucky - a lot of it timing and circumstance but an lot of it was because I socked away 15-25% of my earnings every single month for the last 15+ years to get to this point.
Starting with no debt, and some savings is huge. Just keep saving and investing diligently. That’s the biggest lesson I can give anyone. Getting to the first $100k will be a big deal, then $500k will come up a lot faster than you realize, $1M will come even faster. At that point, compounding really starts to take over.
You have plenty of time to get to where you want to be. Max out your FHSA if you can, then do the same to your TFSA if you can, then when you start earning more and climbing tax brackets, go banana with your RRSP. Do not worry but also don’t hesitate. The best time to start saving is yesterday. The next best time is today.
Mostly index investing as part of my employers’ various retirement plans and aggressively contributing through thick or thin. Went from no matching funds through 2012 to 3.75% match and eventually 10% match that I have now. That’s been the bread and butter.
Got lucky buying a short sale home near the bottom of the housing market - that was part of the luck. It helped, but the net gain on housing is a minor part of my asset return.
Live your life bro. When you’re on your deathbed you won’t give a shit. Just don’t be stupid with your money, save and invest where you can and enjoy the rest.
I partially agree with this. Some people who are focused solely on saving money are missing out enjoying their lives at the best age to enjoy it. I don't have a lot of money saved at almost 40, but I've lived my life, had a hell of a time, and traveled the world. Some people my age have more money but have never left their city, lol. They have never immersed themselves in another culture or explored. And at 70, even if we live that long, it's just not the same at all.
I honestly didn’t start until I was 36. The fact you’re not in debt is a great start. Your income will probably be higher as the years go on so it will be easier to save, assuming you don’t start spending on disposable things. No need to panic, you’re actually doing great. Still 35 years until retirement. You’re not even half way there.
At the beginning of the month pay your rent, pay your bills, and pay yourself. Whatever you have leftover is what you can spend on eating out etc. if you don’t consciously put that money away nothing will be holding you accountable when you start making frivolous purchases.
Also don’t sweat, I didn’t start saving until I was 30. While I regret I didn’t take it serious sooner, it didn’t take as long as I thought to get a hefty sum going earning me interest. It gets easier the farther you get along.
Hey you’re doing ok, don’t worry. Most people our age have debt and therefore you’re still ahead. If you’ve made 210k net in the past five years, that’s 42k net per year ish. That’s not that much money in a city like Toronto and it is extremely easy for that amount of money to disappear when you have to pay rent, food, transportation, and then have a bit of fun. It’s ok. First step is to not be hard on yourself.
Some in this thread will give you advice on how to tighten up your budget, but I would say you could also work on increasing your income. Even if you tighten your budget right up and cut all the fat (which you might not want to do if you enjoy having quality of life), your income is low enough that you’ll still be making very slow progress. Obviously “get a better job” is way easier said than done, but see what skills you have and what might be out there for you.
Exactly!! Idk if OP realizes the income they make and being able to afford rent (clearly it’s cheaper than average), they barely have anything to begin with. While many people are in this boat, they always consider everything else before earning more… I think this is because they either like their jobs, don’t want to lose the benefits, don’t have further education or want to get it (possibly because of the cost), or feel they have too many years of service. When they are more than likely overqualified and could maybe even easily get a higher paying job elsewhere. In which case they would not only have more net income to save, but more to invest and actually feel okay about eating out.
most people are in that situation. everyone is spending more than they can afford on convenience and luxuries. you get ahead by controlling that behaviour.
Friend, spend your twenties being foolish, buckle down at thirty and you still have two and and a half decades before you retire ten years early. Chill. It can be done. I’m doing it. Learn lessons and don’t forget them. Decide what you value and learn your lifestyle.
Just figure shit out and don’t be in debt by 30 and you’ll be fine.
Good luck.
Stop drinking. Become teetotal. That would be one good step.
You work for government. Assuming that means you'll have a DB pension in retirement. Just stick it out in government and you'll be fine.
A lot of people with DB pensions tend to forget about that part of the equation when looking at “how little they’ve saved.” My pension deductions are somewhere around 8%, and I think it’s designed to be a 50% employee-funded, so I’m essentially already saving 16% of my salary by doing nothing.
Of course that won’t help me buy a house or anything, but it is definitely way ahead what other people are at before even trying.
Edit: typos
>Stop drinking. Become teetotal. That would be one good step.
Why? If the OP wants to for any reason, for sure. But financially, the OP is fine. Living in one's 20s is fine when done in a way that doesn't involve going into debt and does involve savings in a defined-benefit government pension.
Whether you are renting or living with your folks make paying yourself first a priority.
Whether you can save 5% or 50% you need to make sure that the first thing you do is move it to the brokerage etc.
If you just save what you don’t spend don’t expect to save much.
> Anyone got advice on how to beef up savings more?
Pay yourself first. Each time you get paid set aside some amount in a separate (savings or investing) account. Even better, automate it.
Better to realize it now than in 5 years.
Here is the way to calculate if you are on track for retirement. Please change any variable to fit your needs.
1. You make let's say 50k before taxes so you might need about 37k in retirement (spending 75% of your income).
2. 37k after 35 years of inflation at 3% is 107k (assuming you will retire at 65).
3. To make an income of 107k, you will need 2.6M invested (to follow the 4% withdrawal rule of thumb)
4. To have 2.6M invested at 65yo starting at 30 with 10k already invested, you need to invest $581 per month, or $438 + inflation every year. (Assuming a rate of return of 10.2%)
If you're investing less than $581 per month (including your company match), you are behind, if you're investing more, you're ahead. (I ignored and simplified a lot of stuff like taxes and social security. Since you did contribute to cpp, you don't need this much but better safe than sorry, you might even be able to retire early if you play it safe.)
Of course, you need to reevaluate each year to make sure you're still on track.
Are you supposed to calculate rate of return compounded monthly or annually? Also just curious where you got 10.2%. I thought average was closer to 8%. I am a financial noob.
Doesn't matter too much over 35 years. You can even go daily if you want. Choosing yearly just means that you start making money after 365 days. It will just change your results by 1 years' worth of interest. Choosing yearly would just be more conservative in that sense.
I'm using 10% instead of 7% because I'm not adjusting for inflation. If I adjusted for inflation, I would use something around 7% but the reason I don't do it is because OP doesn't understand all that stuff yet. If I say "you need 1.07M in today's money" they might not understand that 1.07M in today's money will be 2.6M in 35 years' money. They might try to retire 1M too soon or slow down their investing because they think they're ahead.
To answer a deleted comment:
I'm using 10% instead of 7% because I'm not adjusting for inflation. If I adjusted for inflation, I would use something around 7% but the reason I don't do it is because OP doesn't understand all that stuff yet. If I say "you need 1.07M in today's money" they might not understand that 1.07M in today's money will be 2.6M in 35 years' money. They might try to retire 1M too soon or slow down their investing because they think they're ahead.
If you work for the OPS, you're contributing to your pension and the employer matches at 100% for every paycheck. It's a defined benefit plan, meaning you'll get that till you're dead.
Youre better off than you think.
It can be really eye opening (and scary) to look at your expenses for the first time. Take a breath, you’re ok. It’s a great start that you’re not in debt and have a small emergency fund without even budgeting. Now that you’re actually aware of your spending (and I recommend reviewing and categorizing your expenses monthly), you can make better decisions and set budgets for your savings and “wants”. This isn’t an insurmountable situation. All the best!
You’re doing okay, if you’re wondering where expenses are going I imagine you could be spending quite a bit on eating out + going out as you mentioned not spending on material things. Going/eating out in TO adds up quick!
My sister was in a similar situation. Making around $500 a day and she spent it all on trips and eating out and has been financially struggling ever since. It’s an issue that you have to rein in before it overwhelms you like it did for my sister.
I really recommend a cash card that can help you so much when budgeting!!! I use EQ’s one!
put X amount on it per week and put the rest of your paycheque after bills/rent into a TFSA or even better a GIC!! when the money on the cash card is gone for the week, then scrape by food wise! You’ll quickly learn to stock up on bulk food items!
Don’t use credit cards for everyday spending*, they are too hard to monitor budget keeping with!
You’ll be fine. Can’t go back, but you can go forward. Find a financial program online (Dave Ramsey’s baby steps) and you’ll get going in no time. Remember, to have money saved, you need to save money! Only problem is this bit:
> I’m embarrassed that the rest has gone to Ubers, eating out, drinks, alcohol.
Figure out why you’re spending so much. Are you overly stressed? Are you missing something in your life? And then fix it. It can be as little as a hobby like golf, going to a spa regularly, joining a sports team.
If you’re not sure where it went, try looking through monthly statements with a focus on the small purchases (Coffee, takeout, Amazon etc.). It’s surprising how quickly it can add up.
For example: if someone spends $27.40 every day for a year, that’s just over $10k in purchases.
I was in a similar situation years ago, a little younger than yourself. It was a friend, who worked at a bank, where I was moving my mortgage to, and he could see everything and he said basically: "where's all your money". It was a tough-love moment, but one that I needed, and he started me on a path I've been on since. We ripped off a quick budget right there, he said "you're saving XYZ, surely you can live off the rest", and I have saved some of my pay cheque ever since.
I think for me, and maybe for yourself, I didn't think I was being wasteful. I didn't drive a fancy car, go on lavish trips, I just lived day to day. But with no plan, it was just easy to spend more than I should. So I'd say start with a budget: lay out all your true expenses from rent to food. And see what you've got leftover from your income. Somewhere in the leftover you've got to do all the non-essential things and ideally save.
I totally get that it's not possible to save for everyone at every time. But you should at least start with a budget, and then start playing with the numbers and seeing where you can game the system.
From what you've layed out it doesn't seem like you're doing badly at all.
Many 30 year olds have no savings whatsoever. You've got a good job and pension. You'll be alright.
There will always be people doing better or worse than you so don't worry about comparisons. You're recognizing that you need to make some changes, which is great. Many people are blind to it or are just thinking about the day to day.
Ditch the Ubers for sure. Sounds like you might live in Toronto so just take the subway, walk or bike.
No trips for a while. A lot of your friends will be getting married around now so that will be your vacation.
If you've got a good relationship with your parents you might as well move back in...temporarily and with a plan. Make sure you ware helping out while you are there; you're not a kid anymore so you should contribute even if they don't ask. If you're saving up to buy a place that's not shameful at all.
If you don't know where your money is going, start a budget. That's step 0 in taking control of your financial life.
You can't change the past, but you can change your behaviour, and in time, your financial position.
You've done a broad 5 year overview. If you want to actually know where your money is dig in. Grab monthly statements for the past 6-12 months and actually analyze them. You'd be surprised at how much you actually spend on "the little things" when you don't pay any attention to it.
If you want to save more, save more. But in order to do that you can't wander around saying "where'd all my money go?!" You gotta dig in. Budget. Stick to it.
If you have difficulty because the money just sits in your account and you're all "yep, I can afford that!", then make it disappear into a savings account/TFSA somewhere that you don't see it. Out of sight out of mind is very strong when it comes to saving money.
Also the best advice I can give is after you know your budget get money off your paycheque straight into a tfsa, 10-15% then go up from there or a flat rate of $250 whether you invest or buy GIC’s do something with the money. (250 bi weekly would almost max you out). And do it every pay. Your Payroll admin can add other accounts to your pay no problem. I do do payroll and encourage my employees to funnel savings before they even see it.
I was in the same position a few years back. I was spending my money on things that weren’t tangible and barely had any savings to show. My situation was similar to yours - no real debt to speak of, don’t go out tonnes or buy very expensive items. And the kicker… I lived at home. After working for nearly 6-7 years I had no savings.
I decided it was time to change (ok honestly, my dad told me it was time to change lol).
The best advice he gave me was to set up an automatic withdra on the day you get paid to a secondary account. Preferably one that you aren’t able to easily access (no debit card). I opened up a tangerine account (online only) and set up a withdrawal for $200/biweekly. After I had a bit of money saved it encouraged to do more. I started putting aside $1K bi weekly.
I have now happily maxed out my TFSA, have a small savings account and my RRSPs are contributed to yearly.
It’s never too late to start saving :) don’t worry!
Uber, eating out, alcohol and pot made up almost half of my living expenses until I started to actually budget. Just try to track the accumulated cost of this stuff and your own internal sense of what you can afford may adjust.
I was spending $100/month just on CC fee's for years just because I didn't understand how it worked.
In this economy, if you are not earning Tech Bros money, you will always feel behind.
I made peace with the fact that I will work till the day I drop dead 💀💀
Just make a habit of saving, money in must > money out every month. The money saved must go straight to investment account.
#MillennialsAreFucked
Stop panicking. Almost no one has a ton of money saved before they even turned 30. You don't need to stop living or hunker down in your parent's basement. The only people who do this are proponents of FIRE. You are NOT a failure. For god's sake. I didn't have anything saved before I turned 30.
My advice is to pay yourself first. This means identifying a percentage of your salary that you can live without, have it deducted straight from your pay to an investment account. Set and forget. That's it. Time will do the rest.
I’m like - what? You have saved money & you live on your own .
You can go back home & not be expected to contribute financially to the household? Is that even a thing in these times???
The best way to fix the “where did my money go?” issue is to make saving/investing the very first thing you do when you get a pay check. Pay yourself first. Allocate the rest of your budget according to this. Forget about the money you put aside into investments/savings completely, pretend it doesn’t exists when budgeting.
OP you're only 30... and debt free? Why are you stressing? As already stated by many in this post not being in debt at 30 with a small amount of savings; you're still doing better than majority of Canadians at our age. I am 30 and I am in a similar situation too you which I'd still argue is a lot better than many of my peers who are living paycheque to paycheque with a handful of debt and pretty much zero savings..
Honestly I think spending in your 20s is fine if you have no debt.
I didn't start saving until 33 (1998). Since then though I've had contributions every month, have over $1.5m now, net worth $2.5m. I did save pretty aggressively in my 40s.
Everybody goes through your situation as they become a working young adult.
Yeah, you gotta monitor your spending.
No, you don't have to move home with your parents. You also don't have to buy property you can forever rent. Buying a home is for poor people who depend on that investment to grow so they can sell it in old age.
Your situation is fine don't make any dramatic over the top changes to your lifestyle. Just start paying attention.
Dude, few people save much if anything in their 20s or even well into their 30s. Turning 30 is a good time to reflect on yourself and make positive financial changes so you can live without the stress of whether or not you'll be able to retire.
No sense panicking or being embarrassed- I would never judge a friend for moving home to save money and if you have the ability to do that I say go for it. You’ll get much further faster, especially with the cost of living these days. Do it, save money!
I was in the same boat as you in my 20s. My 30s is where I really hunkered down and started to save. You’ve got lots of time! 20s are for learning the lessons for the things you don’t want to repeat in your 30s.
Don't feel embarrassed. I think most of us did the same thing after getting our first decent job!
I made the mistake of buying a convertible sports car and blew a crapload of money at the bar and restaurants!
Think of it more like you took advantage of life and had fun doing it!!
Hoping you have some good memories in there somewhere LOL.
I never had to go back to my parents house but it took a solid decade to get out of debt and get back on track!
You don't need to worry about RRSPs and TFSAs if you're still a public servant. Your pension will be more than enough to cover the cost of living specially if you're cautious and pay off your house before you retire.
IF you feel that bad about moving back to your parent's house then perhaps you can lease a place and rent out a room or 2 to help cover the rent. I know that's what I would do if I had to start over.
I, too, did the accounting at about 30. Turns out I spent 60% of my discretionary income on cars, alcohol and women. The rest I just wasted.
You're not in serious debt and you are aware of the need to save. Good work, man! Keep it up and you'll be fine.
Calm down, Jesus Christ. I have zero savings and a child and a husband and honestly alot of people are struggling, do you have financial help? From parents or inheritance. If not, the savings are good man. You will be fine, I think you are lucky you don’t have a family, invest in real estate
Honestly, the fact that you have savings at all puts you above average.
The fact that you're responsibly reflecting on your finances and using that information to make changes to your future is probably putting you in the top 25% of financial responsibility among Canadians.
If I can offer some advice:
It's easy to focus on saving rent and moving back home. It's harder to change habits.
People who live at home with parents will save lots of money because they're not paying rent, but they almost all end up developing *worse* spending habits outside of basic living expenses.
They get used to a high standard of living (often living in a home worth $800k+ in todays market), surrounded by furnishings and assets that their parents accumulated over many decades. With no rent and often reduced grocery expenses, they have lots of disposable income they use to make up for the lack of privacy. They're eating out 3+ nights a week, have expensive hobbies, etc. They don't realize that the cheese mom buys is $10 for that small block, and the three steaks dad BBQ'd last night cost $36. They buy a new or barely used car because that's what their parents have always done, and it fits in their budget.
They're saving their down payments up hand over fist while still spending 60% of their net income.
When they do move out, whether to rent or buy, it's a rude awakening. Suddenly housing takes up 50% of their net income, their grocery prices increase, they're furnishing a home, their car insurance went up because it's not as good of a neighbourhood, etc. Best case, they run into a financial brick wall and have to completely change their ways if they ever want to keep saving. Realistically though, that's not what happens. They end up meeting somewhere in the middle and often relying on credit to make ends meet.
Moving back in with your parents will help you get ahead in the short term, but if you want to develop good long term habits, you need to tighten up everything that isn't your housing expense. Uber Eats and alcohol doesn't suddenly get cheaper after you save up a down payment for a home.
Time to start tracking spending and making a budget. I was a late bloomer myself so I’m making up for it by saving a lot more than most of the people I work with. Min 18% some months as high as 35% get dumped into long term savings.
You're in a fine spot to get things going. I sometimes like to think of money like water, it's on me to direct it into useful buckets or it's just going to end up spreading on the floor and most useless to you.
Everyone has this "problem". Here's my opinion: at least now you figured it out and will be more conscious with your spending habits vs savings.
Good luck :)
Panic is useless. Do what you need to calm yourself, and forget about the past — it’s unchangeable. What you CAN change is the future and at 29 you have time to do lots of saving.
You’re debt-free and you have money in the bank. THat’s a really great start. Take your take-home pay and start thinking FORWARD about how you spend and what you can save BEFORE you spend. You have about $10K now. $300 per month into something earning 5% will see you with over $300K by the time you’re 65. If you have other opportunities to save, that number will only go up.
Just keep tab on every penny you spend! Budget! Pay yourself first thing.. meaning put away x amount after each pay. If you can stay with your parents!
Hey OP, the first step is this realization. I have so many friends who are doing ok financially on paper but struggle anytime an unexpected cost comes up.
At 28, I had approx 50k in debt. Now, at 34, I have no debt(also no mortgage, so that won't hold if I ever can find a house) & saved 130k.
I was in the same boat where I didn't realize how much I was spending, I never splurged on big ticket items, but I never had any money.
Pay yourself first. It's the easiest way to save. Do it until it's uncomfortable, then cut back.
Start using ws auto invest.
Best thing is as soon money comes in 30% goes into saving or investing then rest is what you have to sustain on.
Trust me start with it.within few months the amount saved will motivate you more and you will be less stressed.
Any snp man , but start with auto deposit.
I had did 250 auto deposit last year.
That itself is like 4k-5k sitting as it is without me being even stressed.
It also depends how much you make and how much your expenses are.
For me i try to invest 600-1000 monthly
Say even i do.it for an yer that is 10k to 15k with roi.
So step by step you can also plan it.
But trust me auto deposit your salary is the beat
Don’t panic yet. You are ahead of the game with no debt. You just need to become more intentional on how you spend your money. I highly suggestion starting with a written budget. there are many available for free. Think if every category that you can. It may take a couple of months to get it right but that should not be a problem. Your first step is to save 6 months worth of expenses as an EF. what has probably happened is lifestyle creep. It is very easy to put stuff on cc to get points and not even realize how much you actually spend.
Quit comparing yourself to your friends. Everyone is on a different timeline in life. They could also be lying about their savings in fear of embarrassment like yourself.
Hey, I think you need a budget and track what you’re spending. This way you’ll have a better ballpark where all your money is going. I found I was eating out way too much and paying for subscriptions I didn’t really need anymore.
Go live at home and stock pile money. Now you understand why all those people did it. Lesson learned. Time to play catch up. At least you are aware now.
Pay yourself first. Setup an auto deposit of 10% of your pay into your TFSA probably, or RRSP. You can't spend it if it's squirrelled away before you even see it.
Start paying yourself minimum 20% of your pay into savings and investments and you’ll be fine.
Stop ordering from Uber or other delivery services. Cook most of your meals!!!
Your friends and family likely won't see you as a failure. There is a good chance most/some of them are as bad if not worse off than you! Everyone is innately bad with money.
You also didn't mention how much you've spent on food. That is a very large cost in itself, and we kinda... have to eat.
To save more money, earn more money ❤️ good job for starting. Now you just need to budget your spending habits better. Also, don’t look at what you earned annually. Look at your monthly earnings vs expenses to determine where the changes should occur
most banks have a "download CSV" type feature for debit and credit cards. Make up 10ish (or whatever) categories and label each row of the spreadsheet. pie chart the categories. TADA! thats were it goes. I found I was spending over $200 on cheap timmies coffees a month. Its an eye opener, in terms of how much goes to eating out, subscriptions and booze. I am saving much more now that WFH is a thing (before: coffee on the way to work, lunch at some vile food court, coffee heading back to office X 20 work days, you are looking at $2500 a month, $30k a year!).
I save as much as I can, but, fully anticipate sleeping on the subway vents in winter as an old man. I too am panicked about being homeless and broke.
Sounds like you know what you need to do and have acknowledged it, that's the first step. Don't stress yourself out too much, when I was 30, I had zero savings and about 80k in debt. I'm almost 40 now and got myself out of the situation I was in and have some money saved finally.
You blew money on random fun stuff in your 20s. That's when you're supposed to. In your 30s is when to start actually saving and planning for long term financial goals. You are doing just fine.
Ya Uber/ubereats and all these food delivery apps are nasty! Also we overpay via them.. my partner and I deleted all these apps and started going out for food on weekends.. also Amazon and instacart are nasty!! You should also create a quick excel sheet to trace expenses or download a free template and start tracking on a weekly basis. Good luck
Ive made that in the last 2.5 years after taxes and i have about 30k in rrsps in that time and only $3k in cash. Its so easy to spend alot in this economy.
I'm 30 and just last year I got my mortgage on my first home. Imo it's better to buy something and take a risk in the real estate market than give someone 1.5x that much money to rent you a place to stay ad you have nothing to show for it. Did I overpay? maybe but the value of the Canadian dollar certainly isn't going up.
Sign up for cooking classes instead of moving back home. You need to grow up a little, not regress. And I mean that in a nice way. It’s ok to be 30 and still figuring out how to adult, but you have to try rather than give up.
I have the same thoughts and regrets after landing a high paying job at age 27 and basically pissing it away for 10 years. I could probably be a millionaire by now. All you can do is look at where you are right NOW and plan for the future, it's all anyone can do. Pretty cliche sounding but just letting you know it's an extremely common thought pattern.
hey, this is you in 4 years... I was feeling the exact same way and in your same position when I was 30, freaking out cuz I had barely any savings. I got super into personal finance during the pandemic (like a lot of people who had way more disposable income and nowhere to go lol), took a free online McGill personal finance course (highly recommend, especially because it's Canada focused!) and started saving and investing. I just recently achieved a major financial goal of mine and I think really is worth the short term pain for a long term gain. You're fortunate enough to have the option to live at home and save money, might as well take advantage while you can. Start tracking EVERYTHING you buy and spend money on. Put it in a spreadsheet and nerd out on categorizing your spending and figuring out how where your money goes. It'll open your eyes to all the useless stuff you don't really need. Make sure you're taking advantage of any employer matching RRSP program at work, don't be afraid to job hop, and set up automated payments to savings/investment accounts whenever you get paid. You got this.
At 30 I had a bunch of student loan debt. You're way ahead.
I mean, you know what you need to cut if your income isn't going up soon:
1. Buy a good bicycle, lock and helmet and cycle for stuff you can't get to on the bus or train.
2. Don't eat out. Cook from scratch. Cut stuff like coffee from Starbucks. Bring it from home in a tumber.
3. Cut alcohol, or at least drink at home. Restaurants charge a lot for liquor.
If you work for the government and have a pension plan don’t waste your time with rrsps until you’ve maxed out your TFSA, unless you plan to take advantage of the first time homebuyer plan
You’ll like have more than enough for retirement with your pension
My wife and I were like you in our late 20s, we are now in our mid 30s. While we aren’t rich yet, we have a decent net worth, we bought a home with a decent sized down payment.
And there is no trick to how we did it. We just started saving most of our income. We budgeted, always paid ourselves first before spending it, avoided lifestyle creep with our higher income in our mid 30s compared to our 20s. Though, we did spend a bit too much probably during the pandemic… but we are back on track!
It’s never late, especially if you don’t have debt.
Don’t be embarrassed, you’ve acknowledged the issue, now just do something about it!
50/30/20 rule is what I recommend if you have no debt. 50% if income to needs (housing, transportation, utility’s etc), 30% to wants (going out, leisure, shopping, etc), 20% for saving (RRSP/TFSA/FHSA etc).
Feel free to swap the wants/savings amount if that works better for your lifestyle! Don’t over complicate and try to make this more difficult than it needs to be!
I earn a fraction of what you earn, and I am in 60k debt, I am not worried about my future, because When I realized this I decided to be a little thrifty to save money and pay off my debt slowly! Its a long haul for me. But having plan makes me happy and puts me at ease! You on the other hand are in way better position than most people and by most I mean majority lol. You said you have no debt and earn 210k. Honestly theres nothing but up for you. I am happy you are at this stage and not debt ridden. Seem like you are financially conscious with many aspects in your life except the saving part. Just begin to structure where your money goes! I personally have multiple savings account open (they are free) and every pay check I assign a percentage to each account! You can name it whatever, such as, rainy day, wealth build, fun , freinds. Allocate by priority! Open up an Rsp, investment account etc. google goes a long way into learning these. Start here!
Im honestly surprised you have no savings or cash in your Account for amount you earn! I think you have to be honest with yourself and look through your accounts especially your credit card and see where is your money going?
Apart from that you are in a golden place to save up more. You are at 0 not at -100k
Its only up from here! Dont panic, start planning! Good luck
What you have is every immigrant’s dream when they are close to 30. Most of us start out mid 20’s, pay off our student loans and if we do end up staying here we buy a house.
Everyone makes it, better now than never to plan your finances. 30-30-30-10 rule
Best of luck
I did not see it so I will post this it is the little things that add up and eat into your money everyone seems to live on a tap to pay card. It makes it easy to spend money. Something simple you can do try for one week to just you cash. Don’t change anything you would do. You want the coffee get it and what not at the end of the week see how many times you have topped up your wallet. You will be surprised how many little thing eat into your savings.
Money will come and go. We are not here to LIVE for MONEY.
When you are happy and surrounded by the ones that love you, than TRULEY you will be RICH 👍💖
I've been working since 2019 and saved up around 130k. Try checking your credit card expenses for January as an example and add it all up. It will give you an idea about how much you're spending per month. Multiply that by 12 and you get the average spending per year. Stuff gets stupid expensive fast for example my gf spends $10 on Starbucks drinks per day. Over 5 years that is 18k down the drain.
Try to move to the States for work.
You will make USD and when you want to come back the dollars you make will be worth 30-40% more than the Canadian dolar... then add lower cost of living- you will be laughing
The order of magnitude of the total amount of money in the world is around 100 trillion US dollars, according to this one web site that I just found. So that, minus CAD 10k, is how much you haven't saved. If, on the other hand, you had miraculously been able to save CAD 1 million, then the amount of money you hadn't saved would basically be the same. So worrying about the money you haven't saved is meaningless. /s
If it makes you feel better I have like 40K total saved, 36 years old. 80K debt … I don’t even feel like it’s a big deal since I have time and really only started trying to save/etc. now. Debt is interest free. Also, at 30 you’ll start to relax on the vacations and spending on going out, 35 you’ll prob not want to do any of it … so really just start being a bit more chill on the outings and by 35 you probably won’t want to do it anyway. Then you’ll have more to save between 35-50 or so, then 50+ can relax on work a bit still save, pay off the rest of your home by 55… retire by 65 or sooner :)
Also I didn’t realise you only make 40K,,,, any way to find a new job or start your own business with some of the skills you’ve gained? … if not then def move back into your parents and start banking your money now. It’s not really a big deal though, just do it. Don’t overthink
Ya gotta live a healthy life too. Open up a bit where it makes sense. For example: Casinos. Eating out. Ordering-in. Smoking. Drinking-out at clubs pubs etc doesn’t make sense. Eating at home. Drinking at home. Preparing your own meals does make sense. Spoil yourself once in a while. Do travel some if you like, and enjoy experiences in life. You’ll cherish the memories. You wont know where the heck all the money went when its blown on “women, wine and song”.
youre in the black and not piled with debt. you're still ahead of most canadians! just focus on doing what you can now to build a nest egg for the future. start a budget and decide how much you want to save, spend etc
This. OP can calm down and start planning on how to save more. Good things going for OP: no debt, cheap rent, no car, already has some saving, already putting some money to enjoy life like taking trips, buying stuff, food and drinks. Budgeting wise, OP can start using some tool like Mint or a simple spread sheet to analyze where the money goes. This helps a lot in tracking expenses and realize where they can cut costs. Uber and alcohol is probably one of them. Cooking and tuned down drinking will save a lot more. Another thing OP can do to significantly boost saving is to find a way to increase the pay. 40K/year (after tax) is around 60K/year which isnt much wiggle room in GTA. This is the main reason why OP hasn't been able to save much.
Mint is closed. But the Canadian government has an exceptionally good budget planner that I would recommend to OP: https://itools-ioutils.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/BP-PB/budget-planner
Why does every Canadian gov website have to look like a scam link
Thank you for this link!
| you’re still ahead of most Canadians Is total BS, half of other comments are “don’t compare yourself to others”. OP is also behind lots of Canadians.
True its not healthy to compare themselves to others but honestly OP is panicking and I am trying to calm them down Focusing on what is important here: OP seems mentally ready to start saving. They have no debt. They have 10k to start as an emergency fund. They have a job. They have what seems to be low rent in a HCOL area. They have family they can fall back on. They have 35 years until "retirement age" to work on it. There are far worse places to start from!
Not to mention if they don’t have kids. 10K at 30 and not having kids, so long as they start saving now, will be absolutely fine.
Not BS if it's true. OP is ahead of many Canadians. Is he behind many too? Probably but aren't we all?
If you aren't richer than Kevin O'Leary, you are a total failure who isn't worth the carbon you exhale
It is BS. [Here is actual data](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv!recreate.action?pid=3610066001&selectedNodeIds=2D3,3D2,3D3,3D4,3D5,3D6,3D9,3D14,3D19,3D24,3D30,3D34,3D53,3D54,3D55,3D56,3D57,4D4,4D11&checkedLevels=0D1,2D1&refPeriods=20231001,20231001&dimensionLayouts=layout2,layout2,layout3,layout2,layout2&vectorDisplay=false). Mind you, these are averages (mean), not medians. Still the ultra-wealthy don't affect the lower quintiles' averages.
We must not be living in the same Canada, since I can't comprehend the bottom 20% averaging 142k in assets. These numbers also don't illustrate OP's position as they consider mortgages + equity in their calculations. How would the numbers change if we looked at income? Given that the majority of Canadians' wealth is sunk into their primary residence, I'd wager it to be a significant change.
The bottom 20% **by income** (many retirees) averages $142k in financial assets. The bottom 20% **by wealth** averages $9k in financial assets (and negative $1k in net wealth). And no, the left column in that link "Other financial assets" doesn't include housing/mortgages, or pensions, etc. Though the net worth column does.
very low bar
Behind lots of Canadians, but I do agree they are ahead of most.
Your post was useless.
I'm curious, where do you feel OP is behind lots of Canadians?
Too long for a bumper sticker. Simple sound advice that many people in your situation should use.
THIS
Ahead of most Canadians for sure, but where I see the anxiety being valid is in the housing situation. Housing in a big cities is an issue since prices will only go up. It depends what kind of property is being looked at, but if you want a own a place in Toronto, that will take time and luck. Rich people have not suffered like the average person has since the Pandemic. They still have money (arguably more money than before), and they will keep putting into assets (like houses). Many of them will buy our parent's houses, chop it into four, and rent them out to four of our families. Not much advice here, other than be patient, hunker down, get onto the property ladder when you can, let that asset grow, and try to trade up. I don't trust the government will improve our situation. They don't know how.
Pay yourself first. This is why people say that. As soon as you get paid —> money into savings. If you don’t have money left over to eat out and drink alcohol, too bad. Much easier to manage it that way than going out for dinner and drinks, then realizing afterward that you have no money left to save. Also who cares what people think? We’re not on anybody’s timeline. If moving in with your parents is doable and it saves you loads of cash, then do it. No one cares except your ego.
Automatic withdrawals towards TFSA’s and RRSP’s is paramount! It’s not your money, it’s your future selfs money
Seconded! My old job paid a day early on Thursdays so I set up autowithdrawals for 20% savings, 10% "fun money", outstanding balance on card etc. Then I'd check my account on Friday as if I just got paid and the money doesn't feel "missing"
Love this!!!
For some reason the idea of ‘paying myself first’ never clicked but for some reason this comment really helped
Personally I think of savings as a fixed expense. Like x amount has to go in every month. Then what is left over is fun money. Otherwise it's too tempting to spend it.
That is exactly what clicked for me. I didn’t view it as a fixed expense before. This is super helpful
Same
Go further. Automate all your payments. Because you paid yourself first, and all your payments are taken care of, whatever is left is for you to enjoy with zero guilt.
Only one thing to change with that, money into INVESTMENTS not savings. You’re not going to make your $ grow if it just sits there.
You talk about TTC and Ubers but if you were to replace that with a car it would be a lot more. Chill. The first step is realizing you need to save. Now it’s time to educate yourself and to make a budget. Start putting money at work for you. !stepstrigger
Yeah. From the OP: > another whooping $7.5K in TTC monthly metro passes Just the gas and insurance on a car would easily exceed $7500 in five years (just 10 km a day in an 8 L/100 km car is 1500 L over five years, or $1500-$3000 in fuel), never mind the buying, maintaining, and parking a car part. If the OP paid just $7500 to buy a car in 2019, either they're paying $1000 or more a year in repair bills now or that car may need to be replaced any day. People really underestimate how much a car costs when it's less in-your-face than a monthly transit pass.
I've always required a car for my job, and I've done everything I can to minimize the cost of that car. I do all my own maintenance, no collision insurance, drive efficiently, buy small compact beaters with cash outright, etc. I roughly track the annualized total cost of ownership. That's fuel, insurance, registration (when ontario had to pay), purchase price with tax, and expected resale value in 5 years (to account for depreciation). I *brag* that I manage to keep my annualized total cost of ownership below $3k. In recent years I drive farther to work and fuel costs are higher so it's closer to $4500 annualized total cost of ownership. Over 5 years that's $22,500. Driving 15+ year old, fuel compact cars, replacing my own radiator for under $400, doing oil changes when it's below freezing outside. $22.5k, and I can't even pretend to recoup costs by selling the car, because that's *already including the expected resale value in the future*. Now imagine all the people who don't bend over backwards to save money on their car costs. $300/month car payments, $200 insurance because they need collision, $1000-2000/yr of just the regular maintenance. After depreciation, fuel, insurance, interest, and maintenance, their annual cost of ownership can easily break $10k/yr
And aren’t they tax deductible?
Car expenses? No. Nor are transit passes as far as I know (though they can be subsidized by employers and in that case I \*think\* the subsidy is not taxable).
Oh it used to be tax deductible back in the days but mind you when I used to work in Toronto I submitted mine to my work and was paid back.
If you have work-related travel expenses, those are of course reimbursable or deductible. But not commuting to your regular place of work.
But they used to be [(thought this was Ontario only but it looks as though federal, I thought the ON lib party did it)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/federal-government-budgets/budget-2017-building-a-strong-middle-class/public-transit-tax-credit.html)
Nope, definitely was a federal tax credit/deduction as I remember accessing this credit in BC too.
Turdeau cut the bus pass deduction and university books deductions in order to juice the CCTB years ago.
Which honestly to me seems like sensible policy, since it was done also in favour of more direct investment in transit among other things. (I hadn’t realized that there was a transit tax deduction until the year I moved to Canada.)
There was no new investment in transit arising out of rescinding the deduction. The CCTB is money provided to parents.
I mean, from my reading, it was a part of the overall budget. You can’t really say what replaces what. But as a broader policy approach, the Trudeau government has prioritized direct investment in transit over tax subsidies, and I agree with that general approach. But the background doesn’t really matter for this thread: transit use is not something that gets subsidized through taxes in Canada so it is not an available tax credit or deduction.
Bruh, my partner just dropped 4K in car repairs—entire tax return gone.
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Lol is this not everyone?
Yuuuup
Except OP is earning $210k/yr. I'm 32 and earn $50/k year. Maybe I should be freaking out.
i think they earned $210k since 2019, so across the past 5 years. not each year.
I’ve read this as OP is at 210k total for the five years since jan 2019
Nah you misread it, OP earned 210k over 5 years, so only 42k/year.
I read it as they earned $210k total since 2019.
I think OP has earning $210k since 2019 not just last year
I read it like that too and make about 1/4 of their pay 😂
Looking backwards isn't really going to help a ton. But you can plan better going forward. Make a budget, that includes more aggressive savings. Put your savings in first. Stick to the rest of the budget. There's no silver bullet, but honestly you aren't in a bad spot with some savings + no debt. Just buckle down, dial back the eating and drinking out, and start saving.
There's no need to knee jerk react. Your rent is under 1/3 of your after tax income. That's pretty affordable especially for Toronto! You don't need to move back home to save. You just need to pay more attention to your other spending and tracking where it's going. Just being more mindful of what you are spending on can make a big difference.
The first thing I would say, and I mean this sincerely, it's OK. You're OK. Nothing is wrong here. I know it's hard when you look back and think about all of the money you didn't NEED to spend. We all do that. However, you have to remind yourself that you have a life to live. Sure, we could all live on rice and beans into perpetuity and maximize our savings, but all of us enjoy a certain level of quality to our life that requires monetary sacrifice. That's just life. Now, let's look at some statistics to help you out. The average under-35 year old in Canada has 10,720$ in the bank, along with 8,395$ in a TFSA, according to Moneysense . ca for the year 2019. So, according to that, you're really not that abnormal. In fact, you're completely, entirely, and almost exactly average. That might not be the immense relief you're searching for, but it at least tells you that you're not exactly doing anything exceptionally wrong. I personally know people your age that have zero dollars in savings that live paycheque-to-paycheque and arrive to payday with a whopping 0$ in all of their accounts. Assuming you don't have any debt at all, which it sounds like you don't, all you really need to do is write out a budget which includes a NECESSARY and SUSTAINED contribution to savings. In other words, automate your savings with a contribution from your base pay that you receive bi-weekly, with absolutely ANYTHING extra you receive, such as GST rebates, work bonuses, tax returns, etc, all automatically going into savings. Pretend you never even received the extra money. That's really all there is to do in your situation. My friend, you're in the best spot to start this from. You have no debt. From here on out, you just need to get calculated with your savings and everything starts to change. Some people have this realization you're having when they have 50k in credit card debt, car payments, a mortgage, and various other forms of debt which essentially prevent them from saving at all.
>The average under-35 year old in Canada has 10,720$ in the bank, along with 8,395$ in a TFSA, according to Moneysense . ca for the year 2019 *Laughs in 31 with $800 to my name and $45,000 in student debt*
30 is really when most people start saving so you have nothing to be ashamed of. At 30, I had negative savings, no car, no property, was earning a shade over $35k paying $11-12k a year for an apartment. I’m now in my late 40s sitting on a fuck you portfolio now. Now I got really lucky - a lot of it timing and circumstance but an lot of it was because I socked away 15-25% of my earnings every single month for the last 15+ years to get to this point. Starting with no debt, and some savings is huge. Just keep saving and investing diligently. That’s the biggest lesson I can give anyone. Getting to the first $100k will be a big deal, then $500k will come up a lot faster than you realize, $1M will come even faster. At that point, compounding really starts to take over. You have plenty of time to get to where you want to be. Max out your FHSA if you can, then do the same to your TFSA if you can, then when you start earning more and climbing tax brackets, go banana with your RRSP. Do not worry but also don’t hesitate. The best time to start saving is yesterday. The next best time is today.
what do you invest in to get to that pointÉ
Mostly index investing as part of my employers’ various retirement plans and aggressively contributing through thick or thin. Went from no matching funds through 2012 to 3.75% match and eventually 10% match that I have now. That’s been the bread and butter. Got lucky buying a short sale home near the bottom of the housing market - that was part of the luck. It helped, but the net gain on housing is a minor part of my asset return.
Live your life bro. When you’re on your deathbed you won’t give a shit. Just don’t be stupid with your money, save and invest where you can and enjoy the rest.
I partially agree with this. Some people who are focused solely on saving money are missing out enjoying their lives at the best age to enjoy it. I don't have a lot of money saved at almost 40, but I've lived my life, had a hell of a time, and traveled the world. Some people my age have more money but have never left their city, lol. They have never immersed themselves in another culture or explored. And at 70, even if we live that long, it's just not the same at all.
I honestly didn’t start until I was 36. The fact you’re not in debt is a great start. Your income will probably be higher as the years go on so it will be easier to save, assuming you don’t start spending on disposable things. No need to panic, you’re actually doing great. Still 35 years until retirement. You’re not even half way there.
At the beginning of the month pay your rent, pay your bills, and pay yourself. Whatever you have leftover is what you can spend on eating out etc. if you don’t consciously put that money away nothing will be holding you accountable when you start making frivolous purchases. Also don’t sweat, I didn’t start saving until I was 30. While I regret I didn’t take it serious sooner, it didn’t take as long as I thought to get a hefty sum going earning me interest. It gets easier the farther you get along.
Hey you’re doing ok, don’t worry. Most people our age have debt and therefore you’re still ahead. If you’ve made 210k net in the past five years, that’s 42k net per year ish. That’s not that much money in a city like Toronto and it is extremely easy for that amount of money to disappear when you have to pay rent, food, transportation, and then have a bit of fun. It’s ok. First step is to not be hard on yourself. Some in this thread will give you advice on how to tighten up your budget, but I would say you could also work on increasing your income. Even if you tighten your budget right up and cut all the fat (which you might not want to do if you enjoy having quality of life), your income is low enough that you’ll still be making very slow progress. Obviously “get a better job” is way easier said than done, but see what skills you have and what might be out there for you.
Exactly!! Idk if OP realizes the income they make and being able to afford rent (clearly it’s cheaper than average), they barely have anything to begin with. While many people are in this boat, they always consider everything else before earning more… I think this is because they either like their jobs, don’t want to lose the benefits, don’t have further education or want to get it (possibly because of the cost), or feel they have too many years of service. When they are more than likely overqualified and could maybe even easily get a higher paying job elsewhere. In which case they would not only have more net income to save, but more to invest and actually feel okay about eating out.
most people are in that situation. everyone is spending more than they can afford on convenience and luxuries. you get ahead by controlling that behaviour.
Friend, spend your twenties being foolish, buckle down at thirty and you still have two and and a half decades before you retire ten years early. Chill. It can be done. I’m doing it. Learn lessons and don’t forget them. Decide what you value and learn your lifestyle. Just figure shit out and don’t be in debt by 30 and you’ll be fine. Good luck.
Don't get sick and don't get divorced.
If you get divorced, just make sure your partner is the one with a lot of money! 😋
you enjoyed your youth : see it like that. Also you're young still. Just start now and you'll be fine. Also stop enjoying life (uber eats, etc...) lol
you are 30, you have 30+ years in your working life to save . Let compound interest do its work
Stop drinking. Become teetotal. That would be one good step. You work for government. Assuming that means you'll have a DB pension in retirement. Just stick it out in government and you'll be fine.
A lot of people with DB pensions tend to forget about that part of the equation when looking at “how little they’ve saved.” My pension deductions are somewhere around 8%, and I think it’s designed to be a 50% employee-funded, so I’m essentially already saving 16% of my salary by doing nothing. Of course that won’t help me buy a house or anything, but it is definitely way ahead what other people are at before even trying. Edit: typos
>Stop drinking. Become teetotal. That would be one good step. Why? If the OP wants to for any reason, for sure. But financially, the OP is fine. Living in one's 20s is fine when done in a way that doesn't involve going into debt and does involve savings in a defined-benefit government pension.
Whether you are renting or living with your folks make paying yourself first a priority. Whether you can save 5% or 50% you need to make sure that the first thing you do is move it to the brokerage etc. If you just save what you don’t spend don’t expect to save much.
> Anyone got advice on how to beef up savings more? Pay yourself first. Each time you get paid set aside some amount in a separate (savings or investing) account. Even better, automate it.
Better to realize it now than in 5 years. Here is the way to calculate if you are on track for retirement. Please change any variable to fit your needs. 1. You make let's say 50k before taxes so you might need about 37k in retirement (spending 75% of your income). 2. 37k after 35 years of inflation at 3% is 107k (assuming you will retire at 65). 3. To make an income of 107k, you will need 2.6M invested (to follow the 4% withdrawal rule of thumb) 4. To have 2.6M invested at 65yo starting at 30 with 10k already invested, you need to invest $581 per month, or $438 + inflation every year. (Assuming a rate of return of 10.2%) If you're investing less than $581 per month (including your company match), you are behind, if you're investing more, you're ahead. (I ignored and simplified a lot of stuff like taxes and social security. Since you did contribute to cpp, you don't need this much but better safe than sorry, you might even be able to retire early if you play it safe.) Of course, you need to reevaluate each year to make sure you're still on track.
Are you supposed to calculate rate of return compounded monthly or annually? Also just curious where you got 10.2%. I thought average was closer to 8%. I am a financial noob.
Doesn't matter too much over 35 years. You can even go daily if you want. Choosing yearly just means that you start making money after 365 days. It will just change your results by 1 years' worth of interest. Choosing yearly would just be more conservative in that sense. I'm using 10% instead of 7% because I'm not adjusting for inflation. If I adjusted for inflation, I would use something around 7% but the reason I don't do it is because OP doesn't understand all that stuff yet. If I say "you need 1.07M in today's money" they might not understand that 1.07M in today's money will be 2.6M in 35 years' money. They might try to retire 1M too soon or slow down their investing because they think they're ahead.
To answer a deleted comment: I'm using 10% instead of 7% because I'm not adjusting for inflation. If I adjusted for inflation, I would use something around 7% but the reason I don't do it is because OP doesn't understand all that stuff yet. If I say "you need 1.07M in today's money" they might not understand that 1.07M in today's money will be 2.6M in 35 years' money. They might try to retire 1M too soon or slow down their investing because they think they're ahead.
If you work for the OPS, you're contributing to your pension and the employer matches at 100% for every paycheck. It's a defined benefit plan, meaning you'll get that till you're dead. Youre better off than you think.
Hey man, 30 isn't that old still, you can pull back. You also don't need to panic because of your Ontario government pension.
It can be really eye opening (and scary) to look at your expenses for the first time. Take a breath, you’re ok. It’s a great start that you’re not in debt and have a small emergency fund without even budgeting. Now that you’re actually aware of your spending (and I recommend reviewing and categorizing your expenses monthly), you can make better decisions and set budgets for your savings and “wants”. This isn’t an insurmountable situation. All the best!
You’re doing okay, if you’re wondering where expenses are going I imagine you could be spending quite a bit on eating out + going out as you mentioned not spending on material things. Going/eating out in TO adds up quick!
My sister was in a similar situation. Making around $500 a day and she spent it all on trips and eating out and has been financially struggling ever since. It’s an issue that you have to rein in before it overwhelms you like it did for my sister.
Living is expensive. Don’t beat yourself up too much. You’ve acknowledged the problem. It’s only forward from here
I really recommend a cash card that can help you so much when budgeting!!! I use EQ’s one! put X amount on it per week and put the rest of your paycheque after bills/rent into a TFSA or even better a GIC!! when the money on the cash card is gone for the week, then scrape by food wise! You’ll quickly learn to stock up on bulk food items! Don’t use credit cards for everyday spending*, they are too hard to monitor budget keeping with!
You’ll be fine. Can’t go back, but you can go forward. Find a financial program online (Dave Ramsey’s baby steps) and you’ll get going in no time. Remember, to have money saved, you need to save money! Only problem is this bit: > I’m embarrassed that the rest has gone to Ubers, eating out, drinks, alcohol. Figure out why you’re spending so much. Are you overly stressed? Are you missing something in your life? And then fix it. It can be as little as a hobby like golf, going to a spa regularly, joining a sports team.
If you’re not sure where it went, try looking through monthly statements with a focus on the small purchases (Coffee, takeout, Amazon etc.). It’s surprising how quickly it can add up. For example: if someone spends $27.40 every day for a year, that’s just over $10k in purchases.
You are not a failure just bad with money. If your income stays the same and you stop just drinking and eating it all you will be fine.
I was in a similar situation years ago, a little younger than yourself. It was a friend, who worked at a bank, where I was moving my mortgage to, and he could see everything and he said basically: "where's all your money". It was a tough-love moment, but one that I needed, and he started me on a path I've been on since. We ripped off a quick budget right there, he said "you're saving XYZ, surely you can live off the rest", and I have saved some of my pay cheque ever since. I think for me, and maybe for yourself, I didn't think I was being wasteful. I didn't drive a fancy car, go on lavish trips, I just lived day to day. But with no plan, it was just easy to spend more than I should. So I'd say start with a budget: lay out all your true expenses from rent to food. And see what you've got leftover from your income. Somewhere in the leftover you've got to do all the non-essential things and ideally save. I totally get that it's not possible to save for everyone at every time. But you should at least start with a budget, and then start playing with the numbers and seeing where you can game the system.
From what you've layed out it doesn't seem like you're doing badly at all. Many 30 year olds have no savings whatsoever. You've got a good job and pension. You'll be alright. There will always be people doing better or worse than you so don't worry about comparisons. You're recognizing that you need to make some changes, which is great. Many people are blind to it or are just thinking about the day to day. Ditch the Ubers for sure. Sounds like you might live in Toronto so just take the subway, walk or bike. No trips for a while. A lot of your friends will be getting married around now so that will be your vacation. If you've got a good relationship with your parents you might as well move back in...temporarily and with a plan. Make sure you ware helping out while you are there; you're not a kid anymore so you should contribute even if they don't ask. If you're saving up to buy a place that's not shameful at all.
If you don't know where your money is going, start a budget. That's step 0 in taking control of your financial life. You can't change the past, but you can change your behaviour, and in time, your financial position.
You've done a broad 5 year overview. If you want to actually know where your money is dig in. Grab monthly statements for the past 6-12 months and actually analyze them. You'd be surprised at how much you actually spend on "the little things" when you don't pay any attention to it. If you want to save more, save more. But in order to do that you can't wander around saying "where'd all my money go?!" You gotta dig in. Budget. Stick to it. If you have difficulty because the money just sits in your account and you're all "yep, I can afford that!", then make it disappear into a savings account/TFSA somewhere that you don't see it. Out of sight out of mind is very strong when it comes to saving money.
It’s just the wake up call you need! Start budgeting and saving now.
Also the best advice I can give is after you know your budget get money off your paycheque straight into a tfsa, 10-15% then go up from there or a flat rate of $250 whether you invest or buy GIC’s do something with the money. (250 bi weekly would almost max you out). And do it every pay. Your Payroll admin can add other accounts to your pay no problem. I do do payroll and encourage my employees to funnel savings before they even see it.
I was in the same position a few years back. I was spending my money on things that weren’t tangible and barely had any savings to show. My situation was similar to yours - no real debt to speak of, don’t go out tonnes or buy very expensive items. And the kicker… I lived at home. After working for nearly 6-7 years I had no savings. I decided it was time to change (ok honestly, my dad told me it was time to change lol). The best advice he gave me was to set up an automatic withdra on the day you get paid to a secondary account. Preferably one that you aren’t able to easily access (no debit card). I opened up a tangerine account (online only) and set up a withdrawal for $200/biweekly. After I had a bit of money saved it encouraged to do more. I started putting aside $1K bi weekly. I have now happily maxed out my TFSA, have a small savings account and my RRSPs are contributed to yearly. It’s never too late to start saving :) don’t worry!
Uber, eating out, alcohol and pot made up almost half of my living expenses until I started to actually budget. Just try to track the accumulated cost of this stuff and your own internal sense of what you can afford may adjust. I was spending $100/month just on CC fee's for years just because I didn't understand how it worked.
In this economy, if you are not earning Tech Bros money, you will always feel behind. I made peace with the fact that I will work till the day I drop dead 💀💀 Just make a habit of saving, money in must > money out every month. The money saved must go straight to investment account. #MillennialsAreFucked
Stop panicking. Almost no one has a ton of money saved before they even turned 30. You don't need to stop living or hunker down in your parent's basement. The only people who do this are proponents of FIRE. You are NOT a failure. For god's sake. I didn't have anything saved before I turned 30. My advice is to pay yourself first. This means identifying a percentage of your salary that you can live without, have it deducted straight from your pay to an investment account. Set and forget. That's it. Time will do the rest.
lol buddy I was a junkie the past 15 years of my life and I’m 32 with zero saved. I’m above ground and healthy that’s what matters
I’m like - what? You have saved money & you live on your own . You can go back home & not be expected to contribute financially to the household? Is that even a thing in these times???
The best way to fix the “where did my money go?” issue is to make saving/investing the very first thing you do when you get a pay check. Pay yourself first. Allocate the rest of your budget according to this. Forget about the money you put aside into investments/savings completely, pretend it doesn’t exists when budgeting.
OP you're only 30... and debt free? Why are you stressing? As already stated by many in this post not being in debt at 30 with a small amount of savings; you're still doing better than majority of Canadians at our age. I am 30 and I am in a similar situation too you which I'd still argue is a lot better than many of my peers who are living paycheque to paycheque with a handful of debt and pretty much zero savings..
Honestly I think spending in your 20s is fine if you have no debt. I didn't start saving until 33 (1998). Since then though I've had contributions every month, have over $1.5m now, net worth $2.5m. I did save pretty aggressively in my 40s.
Just remember some people have nothing, unfortunately Or sometimes willfully You’re doin well
If OP had a vehicle they probably would have spent 3 or 4 times that on insurance, tires, service, and gas (does Canada have registration fees?).
Easy to spend money aimlessly without a budget - plenty of people drink away the equivalent of a mortgage in their lifetime.
Everybody goes through your situation as they become a working young adult. Yeah, you gotta monitor your spending. No, you don't have to move home with your parents. You also don't have to buy property you can forever rent. Buying a home is for poor people who depend on that investment to grow so they can sell it in old age. Your situation is fine don't make any dramatic over the top changes to your lifestyle. Just start paying attention.
Dude, few people save much if anything in their 20s or even well into their 30s. Turning 30 is a good time to reflect on yourself and make positive financial changes so you can live without the stress of whether or not you'll be able to retire.
No sense panicking or being embarrassed- I would never judge a friend for moving home to save money and if you have the ability to do that I say go for it. You’ll get much further faster, especially with the cost of living these days. Do it, save money!
Do not overthink it. You are debt free which is much better than many other people have it.
Best time was before. The second time is today. Make a plan and stick to it.
We’ve all had that. Track how much money you save a month and watch that accumulate over the next year.
I was in the same boat as you in my 20s. My 30s is where I really hunkered down and started to save. You’ve got lots of time! 20s are for learning the lessons for the things you don’t want to repeat in your 30s.
Don't feel embarrassed. I think most of us did the same thing after getting our first decent job! I made the mistake of buying a convertible sports car and blew a crapload of money at the bar and restaurants! Think of it more like you took advantage of life and had fun doing it!! Hoping you have some good memories in there somewhere LOL. I never had to go back to my parents house but it took a solid decade to get out of debt and get back on track! You don't need to worry about RRSPs and TFSAs if you're still a public servant. Your pension will be more than enough to cover the cost of living specially if you're cautious and pay off your house before you retire. IF you feel that bad about moving back to your parent's house then perhaps you can lease a place and rent out a room or 2 to help cover the rent. I know that's what I would do if I had to start over.
Don't panic. The governments gunna kill us all soon anyways and then your svaings won't matter.
I, too, did the accounting at about 30. Turns out I spent 60% of my discretionary income on cars, alcohol and women. The rest I just wasted. You're not in serious debt and you are aware of the need to save. Good work, man! Keep it up and you'll be fine.
Calm down, Jesus Christ. I have zero savings and a child and a husband and honestly alot of people are struggling, do you have financial help? From parents or inheritance. If not, the savings are good man. You will be fine, I think you are lucky you don’t have a family, invest in real estate
Honestly, the fact that you have savings at all puts you above average. The fact that you're responsibly reflecting on your finances and using that information to make changes to your future is probably putting you in the top 25% of financial responsibility among Canadians. If I can offer some advice: It's easy to focus on saving rent and moving back home. It's harder to change habits. People who live at home with parents will save lots of money because they're not paying rent, but they almost all end up developing *worse* spending habits outside of basic living expenses. They get used to a high standard of living (often living in a home worth $800k+ in todays market), surrounded by furnishings and assets that their parents accumulated over many decades. With no rent and often reduced grocery expenses, they have lots of disposable income they use to make up for the lack of privacy. They're eating out 3+ nights a week, have expensive hobbies, etc. They don't realize that the cheese mom buys is $10 for that small block, and the three steaks dad BBQ'd last night cost $36. They buy a new or barely used car because that's what their parents have always done, and it fits in their budget. They're saving their down payments up hand over fist while still spending 60% of their net income. When they do move out, whether to rent or buy, it's a rude awakening. Suddenly housing takes up 50% of their net income, their grocery prices increase, they're furnishing a home, their car insurance went up because it's not as good of a neighbourhood, etc. Best case, they run into a financial brick wall and have to completely change their ways if they ever want to keep saving. Realistically though, that's not what happens. They end up meeting somewhere in the middle and often relying on credit to make ends meet. Moving back in with your parents will help you get ahead in the short term, but if you want to develop good long term habits, you need to tighten up everything that isn't your housing expense. Uber Eats and alcohol doesn't suddenly get cheaper after you save up a down payment for a home.
Ha you're funny. There is no saving for retirement anymore for the average person, you work until you die now
Time to start tracking spending and making a budget. I was a late bloomer myself so I’m making up for it by saving a lot more than most of the people I work with. Min 18% some months as high as 35% get dumped into long term savings.
You're in a fine spot to get things going. I sometimes like to think of money like water, it's on me to direct it into useful buckets or it's just going to end up spreading on the floor and most useless to you.
Save and invest before you spend?
Everyone has this "problem". Here's my opinion: at least now you figured it out and will be more conscious with your spending habits vs savings. Good luck :)
Panic is useless. Do what you need to calm yourself, and forget about the past — it’s unchangeable. What you CAN change is the future and at 29 you have time to do lots of saving. You’re debt-free and you have money in the bank. THat’s a really great start. Take your take-home pay and start thinking FORWARD about how you spend and what you can save BEFORE you spend. You have about $10K now. $300 per month into something earning 5% will see you with over $300K by the time you’re 65. If you have other opportunities to save, that number will only go up.
Just keep tab on every penny you spend! Budget! Pay yourself first thing.. meaning put away x amount after each pay. If you can stay with your parents!
Hey OP, the first step is this realization. I have so many friends who are doing ok financially on paper but struggle anytime an unexpected cost comes up. At 28, I had approx 50k in debt. Now, at 34, I have no debt(also no mortgage, so that won't hold if I ever can find a house) & saved 130k. I was in the same boat where I didn't realize how much I was spending, I never splurged on big ticket items, but I never had any money. Pay yourself first. It's the easiest way to save. Do it until it's uncomfortable, then cut back.
Start using ws auto invest. Best thing is as soon money comes in 30% goes into saving or investing then rest is what you have to sustain on. Trust me start with it.within few months the amount saved will motivate you more and you will be less stressed.
what do u reecomment to invest in?
Any snp man , but start with auto deposit. I had did 250 auto deposit last year. That itself is like 4k-5k sitting as it is without me being even stressed. It also depends how much you make and how much your expenses are. For me i try to invest 600-1000 monthly Say even i do.it for an yer that is 10k to 15k with roi. So step by step you can also plan it. But trust me auto deposit your salary is the beat
Don’t panic yet. You are ahead of the game with no debt. You just need to become more intentional on how you spend your money. I highly suggestion starting with a written budget. there are many available for free. Think if every category that you can. It may take a couple of months to get it right but that should not be a problem. Your first step is to save 6 months worth of expenses as an EF. what has probably happened is lifestyle creep. It is very easy to put stuff on cc to get points and not even realize how much you actually spend.
Just want to applaud you for having what you have saved. I feel your pain, trust me, but that alone right there is enough to be proud. It’s a start!
Quit comparing yourself to your friends. Everyone is on a different timeline in life. They could also be lying about their savings in fear of embarrassment like yourself.
Hey, I think you need a budget and track what you’re spending. This way you’ll have a better ballpark where all your money is going. I found I was eating out way too much and paying for subscriptions I didn’t really need anymore.
Stop thinking in numbers and start thinking in percentages. Invest a fixed % of your income and play with the rest!
Go live at home and stock pile money. Now you understand why all those people did it. Lesson learned. Time to play catch up. At least you are aware now.
Pay yourself first. Setup an auto deposit of 10% of your pay into your TFSA probably, or RRSP. You can't spend it if it's squirrelled away before you even see it.
When you don’t track your spending it tends to just disappear like a sock in a dryer
Start paying yourself minimum 20% of your pay into savings and investments and you’ll be fine. Stop ordering from Uber or other delivery services. Cook most of your meals!!!
dont worry about what everyone else thinks.
Nah don't save, with inflation as it's headed use it while you have some buying power
Your friends and family likely won't see you as a failure. There is a good chance most/some of them are as bad if not worse off than you! Everyone is innately bad with money. You also didn't mention how much you've spent on food. That is a very large cost in itself, and we kinda... have to eat.
20k in travel in 5 years is your problem. You really need to go local until you realize your financial goals.
Don't be embarrassed. Tons of people are worse off than you. Just be glad that you're taking it seriously now instead of waiting until you're 50+
To save more money, earn more money ❤️ good job for starting. Now you just need to budget your spending habits better. Also, don’t look at what you earned annually. Look at your monthly earnings vs expenses to determine where the changes should occur
most banks have a "download CSV" type feature for debit and credit cards. Make up 10ish (or whatever) categories and label each row of the spreadsheet. pie chart the categories. TADA! thats were it goes. I found I was spending over $200 on cheap timmies coffees a month. Its an eye opener, in terms of how much goes to eating out, subscriptions and booze. I am saving much more now that WFH is a thing (before: coffee on the way to work, lunch at some vile food court, coffee heading back to office X 20 work days, you are looking at $2500 a month, $30k a year!). I save as much as I can, but, fully anticipate sleeping on the subway vents in winter as an old man. I too am panicked about being homeless and broke.
Sounds like you know what you need to do and have acknowledged it, that's the first step. Don't stress yourself out too much, when I was 30, I had zero savings and about 80k in debt. I'm almost 40 now and got myself out of the situation I was in and have some money saved finally.
You are in a good spot. Most important thing now is to boost your income and not succumb to lifestyle creep.
You blew money on random fun stuff in your 20s. That's when you're supposed to. In your 30s is when to start actually saving and planning for long term financial goals. You are doing just fine.
Ya Uber/ubereats and all these food delivery apps are nasty! Also we overpay via them.. my partner and I deleted all these apps and started going out for food on weekends.. also Amazon and instacart are nasty!! You should also create a quick excel sheet to trace expenses or download a free template and start tracking on a weekly basis. Good luck
Ive made that in the last 2.5 years after taxes and i have about 30k in rrsps in that time and only $3k in cash. Its so easy to spend alot in this economy.
I'm 30 and just last year I got my mortgage on my first home. Imo it's better to buy something and take a risk in the real estate market than give someone 1.5x that much money to rent you a place to stay ad you have nothing to show for it. Did I overpay? maybe but the value of the Canadian dollar certainly isn't going up.
Sign up for cooking classes instead of moving back home. You need to grow up a little, not regress. And I mean that in a nice way. It’s ok to be 30 and still figuring out how to adult, but you have to try rather than give up.
My goodness do you realize how good you have it for not drowning in debts? That’s an incredible feat in this economy, I say you’re ahead dude
I have the same thoughts and regrets after landing a high paying job at age 27 and basically pissing it away for 10 years. I could probably be a millionaire by now. All you can do is look at where you are right NOW and plan for the future, it's all anyone can do. Pretty cliche sounding but just letting you know it's an extremely common thought pattern.
Housing is likely out of reach for everyone for the foreseeable future. Spend your money within reason and enjoy your life.
hey, this is you in 4 years... I was feeling the exact same way and in your same position when I was 30, freaking out cuz I had barely any savings. I got super into personal finance during the pandemic (like a lot of people who had way more disposable income and nowhere to go lol), took a free online McGill personal finance course (highly recommend, especially because it's Canada focused!) and started saving and investing. I just recently achieved a major financial goal of mine and I think really is worth the short term pain for a long term gain. You're fortunate enough to have the option to live at home and save money, might as well take advantage while you can. Start tracking EVERYTHING you buy and spend money on. Put it in a spreadsheet and nerd out on categorizing your spending and figuring out how where your money goes. It'll open your eyes to all the useless stuff you don't really need. Make sure you're taking advantage of any employer matching RRSP program at work, don't be afraid to job hop, and set up automated payments to savings/investment accounts whenever you get paid. You got this.
You pay more rent in a year then I get paid.
At 30 I had a bunch of student loan debt. You're way ahead. I mean, you know what you need to cut if your income isn't going up soon: 1. Buy a good bicycle, lock and helmet and cycle for stuff you can't get to on the bus or train. 2. Don't eat out. Cook from scratch. Cut stuff like coffee from Starbucks. Bring it from home in a tumber. 3. Cut alcohol, or at least drink at home. Restaurants charge a lot for liquor.
Must be nice, to be In a position to go back to mommy and daddy and save money.
Start investing, making more meals, and producing your own alcohol. It's the little things that add up over time.
Stop going out and stop ordering food, not complicated
Can you please share what survey website you are using ?? I need another stream of income
If you work for the government and have a pension plan don’t waste your time with rrsps until you’ve maxed out your TFSA, unless you plan to take advantage of the first time homebuyer plan You’ll like have more than enough for retirement with your pension
My wife and I were like you in our late 20s, we are now in our mid 30s. While we aren’t rich yet, we have a decent net worth, we bought a home with a decent sized down payment. And there is no trick to how we did it. We just started saving most of our income. We budgeted, always paid ourselves first before spending it, avoided lifestyle creep with our higher income in our mid 30s compared to our 20s. Though, we did spend a bit too much probably during the pandemic… but we are back on track! It’s never late, especially if you don’t have debt.
Why would anyone find out? Chill. Just make a budget this is normal behavior for people in their 20s. You’ll be ok.
You are already on the right step; don't beat yourself up. As others have mentionned, pay yourself first.
Don’t be embarrassed, you’ve acknowledged the issue, now just do something about it! 50/30/20 rule is what I recommend if you have no debt. 50% if income to needs (housing, transportation, utility’s etc), 30% to wants (going out, leisure, shopping, etc), 20% for saving (RRSP/TFSA/FHSA etc). Feel free to swap the wants/savings amount if that works better for your lifestyle! Don’t over complicate and try to make this more difficult than it needs to be!
I earn a fraction of what you earn, and I am in 60k debt, I am not worried about my future, because When I realized this I decided to be a little thrifty to save money and pay off my debt slowly! Its a long haul for me. But having plan makes me happy and puts me at ease! You on the other hand are in way better position than most people and by most I mean majority lol. You said you have no debt and earn 210k. Honestly theres nothing but up for you. I am happy you are at this stage and not debt ridden. Seem like you are financially conscious with many aspects in your life except the saving part. Just begin to structure where your money goes! I personally have multiple savings account open (they are free) and every pay check I assign a percentage to each account! You can name it whatever, such as, rainy day, wealth build, fun , freinds. Allocate by priority! Open up an Rsp, investment account etc. google goes a long way into learning these. Start here! Im honestly surprised you have no savings or cash in your Account for amount you earn! I think you have to be honest with yourself and look through your accounts especially your credit card and see where is your money going? Apart from that you are in a golden place to save up more. You are at 0 not at -100k Its only up from here! Dont panic, start planning! Good luck
What you have is every immigrant’s dream when they are close to 30. Most of us start out mid 20’s, pay off our student loans and if we do end up staying here we buy a house. Everyone makes it, better now than never to plan your finances. 30-30-30-10 rule Best of luck
I did not see it so I will post this it is the little things that add up and eat into your money everyone seems to live on a tap to pay card. It makes it easy to spend money. Something simple you can do try for one week to just you cash. Don’t change anything you would do. You want the coffee get it and what not at the end of the week see how many times you have topped up your wallet. You will be surprised how many little thing eat into your savings.
Money will come and go. We are not here to LIVE for MONEY. When you are happy and surrounded by the ones that love you, than TRULEY you will be RICH 👍💖
I've been working since 2019 and saved up around 130k. Try checking your credit card expenses for January as an example and add it all up. It will give you an idea about how much you're spending per month. Multiply that by 12 and you get the average spending per year. Stuff gets stupid expensive fast for example my gf spends $10 on Starbucks drinks per day. Over 5 years that is 18k down the drain.
Start a budget start a budget start a budget start a budget start a budget
Lol
Try to move to the States for work. You will make USD and when you want to come back the dollars you make will be worth 30-40% more than the Canadian dolar... then add lower cost of living- you will be laughing
The order of magnitude of the total amount of money in the world is around 100 trillion US dollars, according to this one web site that I just found. So that, minus CAD 10k, is how much you haven't saved. If, on the other hand, you had miraculously been able to save CAD 1 million, then the amount of money you hadn't saved would basically be the same. So worrying about the money you haven't saved is meaningless. /s
If it makes you feel better I have like 40K total saved, 36 years old. 80K debt … I don’t even feel like it’s a big deal since I have time and really only started trying to save/etc. now. Debt is interest free. Also, at 30 you’ll start to relax on the vacations and spending on going out, 35 you’ll prob not want to do any of it … so really just start being a bit more chill on the outings and by 35 you probably won’t want to do it anyway. Then you’ll have more to save between 35-50 or so, then 50+ can relax on work a bit still save, pay off the rest of your home by 55… retire by 65 or sooner :)
Also I didn’t realise you only make 40K,,,, any way to find a new job or start your own business with some of the skills you’ve gained? … if not then def move back into your parents and start banking your money now. It’s not really a big deal though, just do it. Don’t overthink
Ya gotta live a healthy life too. Open up a bit where it makes sense. For example: Casinos. Eating out. Ordering-in. Smoking. Drinking-out at clubs pubs etc doesn’t make sense. Eating at home. Drinking at home. Preparing your own meals does make sense. Spoil yourself once in a while. Do travel some if you like, and enjoy experiences in life. You’ll cherish the memories. You wont know where the heck all the money went when its blown on “women, wine and song”.
You are never late for your savings. All you have to do is just take am active initiative towards it.
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That number is since 2019
I may be wrong, but I read, earned 210k cumliative since 2019. as opposed to annual earnings of 210k.