u/Defiant-Following-23

I’m 26, live in Canada, and I originally asked a version of this on the regular FIRE subreddit. I quickly realized a lot of those people are operating on a completely different level than me — much higher incomes, much higher expenses, and much bigger retirement targets.
I’m more interested in the leanFIRE side of things. I don’t need a luxury retirement. I mainly want freedom over my time, the ability to cover my normal life, and maybe some room for travel or hobbies without needing to work full-time forever.
Right now I have my TFSA maxed and invested mostly in broad-market ETFs. My portfolio is roughly:
XEQT: about $58,000 CAD
CAGE: about $5,200 CAD
Small speculative positions: about $2,000–$2,500 total
Total visible portfolio is roughly $65,000–$66,000 CAD
So the portfolio is mostly broad index ETFs, with a small amount of individual/speculative stuff on the side.
What I’m trying to figure out now is less about “which ETF should I buy” and more about the actual retirement planning side:
How do you realistically estimate how much you’ll need in retirement?
I know people use the 25x annual expenses rule, but I’m wondering how leanFIRE people think about housing, healthcare, inflation, taxes, travel, and unexpected costs.
Should I base my FIRE number on my current spending, or assume spending will change once I’m retired?
I live fairly cheaply now, but I also assume I’d spend more if I had more free time.
How much buffer do you think is reasonable for leanFIRE?
I don’t want to overbuild the plan forever, but I also don’t want to cut it so close that one bad decade ruins everything.
For people who reached leanFIRE or are close, what mattered most?
Was it savings rate, income growth, staying invested, keeping housing cheap, avoiding lifestyle creep, or something else?
Is semi-retirement a better target than full retirement?
I could see myself working part of the year or doing lower-stress work while letting investments keep growing, instead of trying to hit one huge number before making any change.
I’m not trying to create a complicated portfolio. I’m mostly trying to understand what a realistic leanFIRE target looks like and what questions I should be asking before I just keep investing and hoping the number eventually feels big enough.
Any advice from people actually aiming for a lower-cost version of FIRE would be appreciated.

I’ve been looking into nuclear related stocks lately, mainly uranium explorers, and came across a few that seem interesting: SYH, STND, and SASK.

Curious what people think about these and are they worth looking at as a gamble

I’m 26, living in Canada, and I’ve fully maxed my TFSA, currently invested entirely in XEQT. I’m focused on reaching financial independence as early as possible and want to make sure I’m optimizing what I do next.

I’m trying to figure out the most efficient next steps and would appreciate some input. Specifically:

1.Should I prioritize RRSP contributions next for the tax rebates.

2.Is sticking with 100% XEQT still the best move, or should I start adjusting allocation as my portfolio grows?

3.Would opening and contributing to an FHSA make sense even if I’m not 100% sure I’ll buy a house?

4.At what point (if any) does it make sense to diversify beyond broad index ETFs?

5.Any other strategies you’d recommend at this stage to accelerate FIRE?

I’m not looking to overcomplicate things, but I also don’t want to miss obvious optimizations.