r/CanadaFinance

I keep $3000-$5000 in my chequings account at all times. Every paycheque i’ll add a couple thousand to my savings, pay off both my credit cards, and maintain this “float” amount in my account.

No one has ever told me to do this but i think coming from being super poor at one point i just need to see that number there for comfort. Is doing this pointless? The money isn’t doing anything if it’s always there and never moving. Or is this a good practice?

I’m 49 years old, wife and I (mostly me) have over 1.2M invested, ~$820k in RRSP overweight due to employer matching; free money is free money, $220k in tfsa’s (working diligently to max this out in the next 2 years) and $160k in savings/emergency fund non registered accounts (also aggressively building these holding and evaluating smith manoeuvre/cash dam). We have 2 rental properties (~1.45M value/$1.03M in leverage) and primary residence —small remaining mortgage of $240k against value of $1.2M. Now that you have the picture, $770k of investments are currently managed through a boutique financial advisory firm at 1% aum. We’ve used this advisor for years and while the returns have been decent (6-13% return net of fees annually) in my own self managed portfolio I’ve seen average returns over the last 5-10 years of 7-27% annually across the usual suspects (vdy, vfv, xic, xec, xef, veqt and a spattering of individual tech/growth, bank, energy stocks). For years I’ve been questioning my advisor relationship, returns and fees but I guess lack the confidence to go fully self managed given my age and proximity to retirement. Should I fire the manager and go it alone? What else should I be thinking about?

I’m a 34-year-old woman living on my own in downtown Toronto, and I’m looking for some advice on how to invest responsibly and build long-term financial security.
I’ve finally reached a point where I expect to be able to save and invest approximately $4,000–$6,000 per month. I work a full-time job, do freelance work on the side, and also have a part-time job at a wellness bar. I’m working quite a bit right now because I want to take advantage of this stage of my life to build a solid financial foundation for my future.
A little background: Until recently, I was heavily involved in supporting my family financially and contributed a significant portion of what I earned toward them. Thankfully, I have a good relationship with my family, and I don’t view that money as necessarily lost forever. I may eventually inherit some assets, although I don’t want to rely on a potential inheritance when planning my own financial future.
I’m now trying to prioritize my own financial well-being, retirement, and quality of life. I want to be financially secure enough to travel, enjoy my life, handle unexpected expenses, and eventually retire comfortably without constantly worrying about money.

Here’s where I currently stand:

I’ve been contributing to my FHSA and RRSP.
I’ve also been contributing approximately $1,000 per month to my TFSA since June.
I currently hold some XEQT.
I’ve also invested in DMG Blockchain Solutions and previously made some money on blockchain-related stocks, although my recent experience has been much less positive.
I realize that individual stocks and speculative investments can be risky, and I’m increasingly interested in taking a more disciplined approach rather than trying to pick winners.

My questions for those of you who have experience investing in Canada:

If you were in my position, how would you allocate $4,000–$6,000 per month between your TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, and a non-registered investment account?
Would you focus primarily on broad-market ETFs like XEQT, or would you allocate a smaller portion of your portfolio to individual stocks?
Are there particular ETFs or investment strategies you would recommend for someone with a long-term retirement horizon?
How much would you keep in cash or a high-interest savings account before investing aggressively?
If you were starting over at 34 with a good savings rate, what would you do differently?
I’m not looking to get rich overnight or gamble my savings away. I want to make smart decisions, take advantage of the fact that I can save a meaningful amount right now, and give myself the best chance of building wealth over the next 20–30 years.
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, mistakes, and lessons learned. Thank you!

Bonjour à tous !

J’ai environ 75 000 points sur ma carte avion de RBC. D’après vous, quelle est la meilleure façon de les utiliser ? Beaucoup de gens recommandent de les échanger contre des billets d’avion, mais même avec ce nombre de points, je dois souvent débourser des milliers de dollars pour la plupart des vols.

Que me conseillez-vous ? Y a-t-il des astuces pour maximiser la valeur de mes points ?

Bonne journée à tous !

edit: merci à tous!

51m living in Calgary. I’ve never thought about
Money, savings, investments. Ive basically lived hand-to-mouth for most of my life. I’ve recently had a come to Jesus moment around that. I don’t own any assets, have no investments, minimal savings. I need to unfuck myself. What is the best way for me to salvage my financial life so I don’t have to work until I die? I work in a low wage industry.

I went to my local branch and was introduced to RBC PH&N by my advisor. In the initial discussion, they focused on how they actively manage assets and how they think about investments holistically (alternative assets, international markets…) in addition to tax implications to save me money.

I’m not a financial expert and currently just purchase XEQT in TFSA and RRSP from every paycheque.

I will be purchasing a house in the next 1.5 - 2 years. My wife does not presently work and I bring in about $300k gross. I don’t intend on retiring for the next 20-25 years minimum.

Is having wealth management involved for a 1.5% annual fee worth it? It’s a considerably higher amount in fees vs. the MER that the “all-in-one” ETF charges.

Want to hear from folks that actually went down this wealth management route (even with a different firm) and why they did so. Thanks!

51m making about CAD 75k per year. I have no savings, pension or investments. I’ve maxed out my earning potential in my field. Should I be planing on working until I die?

How do you think about the “right” amount of life, CI and DI insurance?
I’ve spoken with a few insurance advisors/brokers and found that I’m often the one pushing on the numbers and trade-offs vs. their guidance/advice. I’m trying to understand how people actually think about this rather than just follow rules of thumb.

For those who’ve figured this out themselves or are expert in this area, I’m interested in you approached this and what you ultimately decided

CI: How much is actually enough/useful in Canada? Given we have public healthcare (vs. private).

DI: If you already have employer LTD, how much additional individual coverage makes sense? And which features (own occupation, waiting period, benefit period, etc.) actually matter? Would it make sense to give up optional workplace benefits as they are tied with employment?

Insurance vs. investing: At what point would you rather invest the additional premium than buy more coverages?