r/FIRECanada

36F and 40M married with two young kids. We recently crossed a $1.85MM net worth milestone and honestly it still feels a bit surreal.

For income, I make around $120k and my husband makes around $100k from his full-time job. He also has a small business on the side that brings in roughly another $100k-$140k in revenue depending on the year, though we generally try not to touch that money and mostly leave it invested or within the business.

We also own two rental properties in addition to our primary residence. One is a condo, which honestly hasn’t really helped much with equity growth, but the other detached house has done quite well. It has probably appreciated around $200k since we purchased it, plus we’ve been steadily paying down the mortgage over the years, so there’s now a decent amount of equity built up in it.

We’re by no means ultra-frugal and definitely still spend on things that matter to us. We plan to send both our sons to private school, which will be around $10k/year per child. Not an elite or ultra-expensive school by any means, but we value the smaller class sizes and feel it will be a better fit for them.

We also prioritize travel and family experiences. Typically we do one international trip a year,
one trip within Canada/US/Mexico, plus a few smaller road trips throughout the year.

We eat out occasionally, spend on our kids, and try to enjoy life while still being intentional with money. This definitely wasn’t achieved through extreme FIRE-style deprivation. More just consistent earning, investing, and avoiding major lifestyle inflation as income increased.

At this point, we’re still trying to figure out how aggressive to stay with investing, whether to continue building real estate exposure vs index funds,
and what “enough” actually looks like with young kids.

Curious for others a bit further ahead…. Did your 40s become the decade where wealth accumulation really accelerated?

Also, as a woman, I honestly don’t have many people in real life to talk to about personal finance/investing. Most of my friends just aren’t really into this stuff, so it’s nice being able to discuss it somewhere.

Hey everyone,

Over the last year, I’ve been building a Canadian personal finance platform called Finnomia, and we’re getting close to opening a closed beta.

The original goal wasn’t really “build another budgeting app.” What I actually wanted was a better way to clearly understand:

• where money was going
• how spending habits were affecting long-term goals
• how quickly debt could realistically be eliminated
• how savings and investments were trending over time
• and whether I was actually moving toward financial independence or just feeling productive

A lot of existing tools felt either:

• too focused on simple transaction tracking
• too US-centric
• too cluttered
• or too passive

I wanted something that helps people actively improve their financial position:

• track net worth growth
• forecast cash flow
• set meaningful financial goals
• understand spending trends
• reduce debt intentionally
• and build real long-term wealth

So that’s what I started building.

Finnomia is designed specifically with Canadians in mind and is focused on making financial progress feel clearer and more actionable instead of overwhelming.

We’re opening a closed beta soon and I’m looking for people who are interested in trying it early and giving honest feedback.

Site is here if anyone wants to check it out:
https://finnomia.ca

Also curious what people here think is still missing from most finance tools when it comes to pursuing FI in Canada.

This post was deleted from Personal Finance Canada, so hopefully I can get some better advice from this subreddit.

I'm a mid 30s male and on paper I am rich but my lifestyle doesn't feel that way. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I am doing wrong or what I can improve in my budget?

My long term goals are to buy a home and eventually retire.

Income: 170k gross. Approximately 7500 a month (includes deductions for CPP, Pension, health care, dental, etc).

Monthly Budget:

*Mortgage basic (1 bedroom condo in Toronto): 2700 (I have essentially zero equity in my condo since similar units are selling for 150k less than I purchased 6 or 6 years ago).

*Condo Fees: 770

*Food: 400-500$ (incl Uber eats)

*Going Out/Dates: 250-300$

*Insurance: $250

*Car Payment: 0 currently (was 600)

*Gas: 250-300 (need to drive to see family and care for them plus I like having a car for road trips, convenience when leaving Toronto)

*Clothes: around 2000 a year (so I'd say $200 per month - includes shirts for work, suits, dry cleaning, etc).

*Internet: 60

*Streaming: 50

*Phone: 40

*Barber: 80$ (haircut twice a month - need to look professional)

*Miscellaneous: 200 (deodorant, random purchases, etc)

*Travel: 4000 per year - 350 per month (what I've got planned and booked currently, two trips, economy flights, hostels, food, etc).

Quick math: I spend around $6000 per month. Leaving me with approximately 1500 a month to save for retirement and invest.

I have just over 120k saved and invested (EDIT: In my TFSA). 10-15k in my bank account. 8k in CC debit, but it's 0% interest until December.

My life consists of me working from 8:30 to 6:30-7. Going to sleep and repeating. Luckily weekends are a little better.

It's tough for me to ask these questions to my friends group, as they can barely afford to travel. I know I can save a lot by cutting out Uber eats, travel, but honestly when I'm not at work I'm too exhausted to do anything and my kitchen is small so cooking isn't too convenient. Travel is my reprieve and keeps me sane.

It feels like unless I get married, home ownership is basically out of the picture.

What an I doing wrong?

Hi folks, like the rest of us looking for advice and opinions. Please, for my sanity.🙏

41m, 3 kids preschool. Busy times. L to MCOL. Have both a real world career, and a "side" business that is seasonally busy with family. About 1M in market investments. Wife SHM.

Real World Career- 150K/yr , Business- 100K /yr

The dream: decent house, some travel. But we don't have any expensive tastes, no debt, pretty simple people. More into outdoors then toys.

Option A- Leave real world career now, receive immediate pension around 75K. Business fairly consistent income for next 6 years (solid contract.)

So, 175 as ball park. Half the stress. Room for growth in business. More time at home.

Option B- Stay for up to 5 more years. Each year adds about 5K pension. So 250 a year for up to next 5, then 100 a year pension after.

Right now all business income is just invested. Budget for year right now is about 100k, and mortgage is done this summer which frees up 25K a year... Figured I'd keep in budget for surprises or purchases.

I value time, kids, and reducing stress now more than anything. I should also mention I have lots of skills, project work and things here and there would easily be an option if needed, just have had to turn most down now due to time. Seems crazy to leave at peak of career, but, I don't enjoy much of it anymore and have worked hard to save.

TIA

🙏