thanks for that! That brings my fire calculated number from 1.1 million to $800,000, which seems a lot more doable.
Now, I have $1400 in my TFSA through Wealthsimple, but haven't done much more than that, as I was paying off a CRA debt. I just cleared that debt this week, so all future $1000 cheques from the gov't will be invested, along with whatever I can save from my regular cheques. I have been curious as to why so many people balked at my grocery bills, so today, when I went grocery shopping $140, I went through the receipt to consciously pick out areas that I will be able to save in. The first purchase that I made today that I normally wouldn't make was for a tshirt from Superstore. It was $15 versus the $60+ that the only other store in town I can shop at would be able to offer (it's a weight thing), so I considered it to be a hell of a deal. The other place was definitely my face wash. At $7/pop, which is actually $4 cheaper than the old brand I used to use, either I need to see if the dollar store sells the same kind or something similar, or I need to find a new kind of soap. I have a hard time with regular soaps, as they usually dry out my skin, including Dove. There were 2 other examples of things that I could have bought cheaper or just avoided buying that would have brought the bill down to $100. It still felt gross leaving Superstore with just 2 bags and some TP after having spent that much.
OAS and CPP - yes, that's accurate. I am not counting those until I hit 65 though, so these calculations are more about what I can live on between when I retire and when those benefits start coming in, and even then, I want to invest them if I can/am allowed.
Car - Yeah that's the plan. I think if I rounded up the $10k, sold the vehicle for the $17k it's worth, then sent that extra $10k to Scotiabank, where my loan is through, I could clear up that debt completely. But I do need to have a vehicle for a few things, and winter is coming (though it's really not a big deal here on the island), so that's something to mildly worry about as well. I'll keep an eye out on the AutoTrader site and see what max fuel efficiency I can get for what cost, and then do research on how long those vehicles last. In fact, I'll do that after I'm done here.
I am not rent protected. I am going to ask my neighbour when I see her next, whether this rental company tends to keep the rent the same if you're a good tenant. The other 3 units all have people who have been in them for over 8 years, so it can't be that bad, living here. If that's the case, then I'll budget based on that. I believe you're now allowed to raise rent by more than maybe 2 or 3% each year, so it won't be too bad, even if it does get jacked up. And you probably don't know this, but $900 is EXTREMELY cheap for this island. I looked to see what would happen if this apartment burned down, and all I could find was ONE building that offered micro-suites (300sq) for the same $900 I pay now, for my 600sq ft. I am not interested in that, so I'll be checking with the bakery below whether they're on top of their cleaning, so there's no massive grease fires that'll take out this whole block. I do have renters insurance, though.
I do know that about ETFs, and just told one of my pensions to change the way the investing is happening (I never looked into it before last week) and made it super aggressive, weighted 90% ETFs and 10% bonds, for now. That's $15 that should increase nicely over the next couple of years.
I'm curious why you're saying to max out RRSP first? Is that for the tax 'refund' come tax time? And unfortunately, I have 100% of my room available to me.
Very simply, yearly amount you need x 25 = amount you need invested.
You already have 12k free of everything, so obviously the amount you need invested is (12x25 = 300k) less.
Blank sheet - considering your situation you want to use your RRSP room to knock yourself down to a low tax bracket, and then TFSA. Then you can take money out of the RRSP when retired. I assume you have loads and loads of unused RRSP room.
Presumably you've been paying CPP all these years, and have lived in Canada too, so you'll get OAS + CPP - you will be fine regardless.
Car - yeah you just need to find the difference and pay off the loan if you want to sell it. It is easier to pay off the loan completely first, you will almost certainly get a better price for it privately. Then just buy a 10 year old Hyundai Elantra or whatever. If it is 11 blocks to work, can you just walk?
Are you rent-protected (ie, the yearly increase is capped)? I mean.. $900 CAD isn't that bad. Considering the costs of owning (maintenance, property tax, repairs... heating systems aren't cheap).
I think you just need to buckle down and get on with it. Open an RRSP (Questrade are good and simple, I haven't looked at other options for a while though). Start paying in every paycheque or at least once a month. ETF buys are commission free.
