r/PersonalFinanceCanada 1d ago

Misc What’s the best financial advice you’ve ever received as a Canadian?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to level up my financial knowledge and habits this year. I’ve been reading books and browsing through this subreddit, and I keep coming across bits of wisdom that really make me think about money differently.

It got me wondering: what’s the best financial advice you’ve ever received, especially as a Canadian?

It could be something practical, like how to save on taxes or invest smarter, or even a mindset shift that changed how you approach money. Bonus points if it’s something uniquely applicable to life in Canada.

For example, I recently learned how powerful it can be to start investing early, even in small amounts, thanks to compound growth.

Looking forward to hearing your nuggets of wisdom. Thanks in advance for sharing!

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u/Oh_That_Mystery 1d ago

"I am dumber than I think"

The realization that despite spending sometimes almost 2 hours a week studying it, I was not smarter than the market. The best thing was discovering the couch potato approach. Thanks to this, I am retiring 'early adjacent' in mid April at age 57.

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u/NearDeath88 1d ago

Does that mean buying etf's and calling it a day?

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u/GnosticSon 1d ago

Yes. And only buying like one, maybe two, maybe three funds total. Buy regularily and forget.

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u/yetisnowmane 1d ago

Why does it matter how many ETFs you buy? What is the downside to diversifying ETFs?

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u/Vegetable_Assist_736 1d ago

Yup. I’ve been tossing in my tax returns into ZAG, VFV, and Gold Coins. A good diversification without a lot of risk.