u/TheBrownBat-Man

Few days back I posted my doubts about claiming work experience points while we were on study permit. https://www.reddit.com/r/OINP/s/IkCy36uu2K. And mentioned that I had raised a webform as well for the same. Today I got a response, attaching here as jpg. Let’s decode it 😅😂

Warning: Long-ass story ahead!!!😅😂

So my story is, I moved to Canada in September 2023 (28yo). Like many others, I quit my job and came here with the dream of settling down, eventually building a family, raising a kid, etc. You know how it goes.
But the way I immigrated was as an international student. I paid around $43,000 CAD in tuition, out of which $10,000 CAD was mine + my parents’ life savings. (Well, we had more than this collectively, but then my sister’s wedding happened and this is all we were left with😂). I took a $10,000 CAD education loan back home, and the remaining $23,000 CAD I earned here in Canada by working part-time.

I graduated in September 2025, but I only considered myself as a struggling student limited by my working hours until April 2025. Because for the following 4 months, I had a paid internship, so I was working 40 hrs/week at my internship while keeping my part-time job for another 20 hours a week.

My savings/investments back home were things like recurring deposits and SIPs. I’ve never been well-versed in investment strategies or anything, but I’ve always been very good at being consistent and setting a goal.

My Wealthsimple journey started in January 2025 when someone made me download it because of the referral thing. I ended up opening a TFSA, FHSA, and RRSP to get $25 in promotion😂.
But then I told myself, “Soon my studies will be over. I need to start saving for my future and pay off my debts,” and started putting money into my TFSA. I was only doing like 100 bucks a month😅.

Once my internship started, my income increased significantly. Between my internship and part-time job, I was bringing home around $4,200/month after taxes. I kept doing the $100/month in my TFSA, sometimes even $200 or $300 or even more, but everything else was going toward paying off my loan back home.

By December 2025, I had repaid my loan completely😎.
This was really a proud moment for me because my monthly installments for the loan weren’t even supposed to start until September 2026, but I paid it off way before they started. I was putting around $2,000 toward it every month and ended up making total payments of around $12,000 for a loan that was originally $10,000😭.

Then, starting in January 2026, I suddenly had this extra $2,000 CAD every month that I used to use to pay off my debt. I started channeling it into Wealthsimple instead.
At this point, I had no idea what a TFSA, FHSA, or RRSP really was. I didn’t even know that you actually needed to invest the money for it to grow. I had literally just been depositing 100 bucks into my TFSA😭. That’s it.
So I researched (YouTube videos😂), and decided I would buy 70% VFV and 30% ZCN. All I started doing was depositing equal amounts into all 3 accounts — TFSA, FHSA, and RRSP — and then buying 70% VFV and 30% ZCN in each.

Then I did my taxes this year on my own using Wealthsimple and educated myself more about all of these accounts. This is when I learned about contribution room, the different tax benefits of each account, etc.
Once I understood these accounts better, I set myself a few goals: build a $7,500 emergency fund, use my $16K of available FHSA room, and eventually catch up on my TFSA. Since moving to Canada in 2023, I’ve accumulated $27,500 in total TFSA contribution room, minus whatever I’ve already contributed.

For now, I’ve paused my TFSA, RRSP, and emergency fund contributions and I’m directing the full $2,000/month toward my FHSA. Hopefully, by the end of this year, I’ll have the full $16K in there.

But here’s where things changed.

Until April this year, I was working two jobs: one full-time ($26/hr, 40 hrs/week, the same place I did my internship, they hired me once I graduated, but on contract, so no benefits nothing😭) and one part-time ($23/hr, 20 hrs/week). I was working around 60 hrs a week, and it was taking a serious toll on my physical and mental health.

In April, I finally landed a salaried job in my field paying $60K/year. I decided to quit the part-time job and focus on one career — become more competent in my field, get certifications in my field, and eventually work my way toward higher-paying positions.

Financially, though, I started feeling the difference around May.
Putting away $2,000 every month suddenly became much harder without that second income.

I’m still somehow managing to continue my $2,000/month streak, but it definitely doesn’t feel as easy as it did before. At the same time, I don’t want to go back to working 60 hours a week just for the sake of saving more. I’d rather focus that energy on getting better at my actual career and increasing my income that way.

I’m still following the 70/30 split of VFV and ZCN, but I know I probably need to correct this. I’m thinking I need more international diversification instead of being almost entirely Canada + US. Maybe pause VFV and ZCN and start just XEQT?

So that’s basically where I’m at.
How would you guys approach this from here? Would you change the 70/30 VFV/ZCN portfolio? How would you prioritize FHSA vs TFSA vs RRSP at my income?

And would you keep pushing for the $2,000/month savings goal, or lower it to something more sustainable?

Any other suggestions are welcome too. I’m still learning.

PS — I see guys here in their 20s with $100K, $500K portfolios, and I’ll get there as well. Maybe not at the same age, but I’ll make it.

And yes, I’m from India, from a state called Bihar — not famous for good reasons😂

For the new WPS, I understand that the safest way is to claim points only for the experience that was gained on a work permit. But OINP wording makes me feel like any paid experience can be claimed. What’s everyone’s opinion on this?

Source: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/170422