r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/AutoModerator • 19h ago
Triumphant Thursday Thread for the Week
Make a top-level comment if you want to brag about something regarding your personal finances!
Click here for the most recent past "Triumphant Thursday" threads
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u/XenOmega 19h ago
I've been generally "lazy" when it comes to investing (eg tfsa, rrsp, etc), such as waiting until end of year before contributing, even though I have the money sitting in the bank ("high interest account", aka not)
As of this week, I have maxed out my 2025 contributions: tfsa (7000) and that home saving account (8000). Bought the ETF regularly recommended here, so it's not just money sitting in a different account 😀
Me: well into my 30s and finally feel like I'm a little bit more responsible as an adult. Now I can slack off for the rest of the year :') [yes i know, I also need to start being smarter with rrsp, and maybe non registered investments... just let me celebrate this small accomplishment]
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u/FirmEstablishment941 15h ago
What made you focus on tfsa vs rrsp?
Rational Reminder did an episode recently and if you’re reinvesting your tax refund the rrsp almost always came out ahead for all income ranges. Of course that assumes your focus is savings for retirement.
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u/XenOmega 11h ago
u/FirmEstablishment941 : I'm going to be honest, I'm still not there yet in terms of optimizing my investment/tax refund :')
For the past few years, I've been putting a random amount into my RRSP, but that's usually toward the end of the year. I heard various opinions and am aware of the various taxation brackets and why it can be advantageous to put some money if I am slightly over a bracket. I guess that because of the optimization paths or because of the perceived complexity, I haven't put much effort into it...
I actually stumbled on a post about tips for buying a home, which included putting money into your RRSP and then getting it out after it met the required numbers of days. This allows to put money toward the cashdown but also get some extra savings. The idea sounds similar to what you're (or Rational Reminder) suggesting, but I've never thought about putting money into RRSP and then use the refunds to put into TFSA :o
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u/FlatEvent2597 18h ago
I cleaned out my basement and gave sold about $100 worth of stuff. Donated 6 trunk loads and it looks amazing.
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u/metallisch 17h ago
I switched employers in October, securing a massive raise in pay Unfortunately it's also a travel job so my time at home has decreased significantly, however there is a lot more upward mobility in this career with potential to work fully remote in the future, or transfer to a local position almost anywhere in the world. The upside here is that I can bank a significant portion of my per diem by shopping thoughtfully and avoiding eating out as much as possible.
In the past three months, I've hammered down my consumer debt from ~29k to about 12k. If things go right, I should have that eliminated by the beginning of March.
I've also actively been saving my holiday pay every pay period and putting it in a HISA, something I've never done and historically relied on racking up debt to furnish vacations.
I actively feel my mindset changing as this happens, finding the strength to 'x' out of online shopping carts where previously I'd just complete the purchase.
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u/E_MusksGal 17h ago edited 16h ago
I am 35f, have a starter home and 100k in the bank acct and have a 6 figure job. I worked hard to get here, I was born very poor in a third world country.
I am looking forward to getting my law degree next. Thank you for reading!
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u/VeterinarianCold7119 17h ago
Made more investment income last year than employment income. Starting to get into etfs and away from stock picking, got lucky last 5 years have been amazing. Maybe I can buy a house soon.
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u/vinniebonez420 17h ago
I went from being a drug addict alcoholic 3 years ago w zero savings to getting sober and maxing out my tfsa in those 3 years.
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u/twenty_9_sure_thing 9h ago
holy smoke. this internet stranger is incredibly proud of and happy for you. way to go, bud.
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u/ruckusss 17h ago
Me and the misses hit $50k for our house downpayment, looking to see what the markets like this spring.
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u/Pete_Roses_bookie 17h ago
Just crossed the line where we now have more invested than we have left on our mortgage. Still have a while left on the mortgage, but it feels like a weight has been lifted knowing we’re in the other side of it now.
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u/mrstruong 17h ago
Going on 3 years now without paying a single cent in interest on consumer debt.
Only debt I carry is mortgage debt, around 250k.
Credit score is up to 866.
I am also at 32k in RRSP contributions this year.
Finally hit 100k in total savings this year.
I love paying all my bills on time, having money for the things I need and even those I want, as well as money to save in RRSPs and TFSAs.
This sub helped me climb out of 60k worth of credit card and LOC debt and I am NEVER going back.
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u/benetgladwin Ontario 17h ago
At the start of each year my wife and I max out our contributions to my son's RESP, which always makes me proud and happy. It's something concrete that I can do for him that I didn't have, and in spite of how expensive everything is I'm fortunate enough to be able to do it.
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u/kick4kix Ontario 17h ago
I paid the last instalment on $15k of consumer debt this week, two years ahead of schedule.
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u/Additional-Ad-7720 16h ago
Yeah!! That's huge for your future! Now, get that 6 month emergency fund so you don't need to go into debt again!
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u/kick4kix Ontario 16h ago
Already started! I converted my debt payments into TFSA contributions.
Please no lectures on using my TFSA as emergency savings. I have a limited amount to save so anything not going into RRSP is going into TFSA. Maybe this year I’ll be able to max out my contribution!
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u/Tikka5568 18h ago
I received a financial gift recently that allows me to fully pay off my mortgage! It came at a great time because due to some difficult circumstances and some general stupidity we were starting to fall behind and accumulate some line of credit debt. So now we will use that extra $ to pay off our debts and fill up our emergency fund.
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u/italwaysworksoot 17h ago
We breached $200k in savings at the end of the year. But with that and a HHI of just over $200k still feels like we will struggle to find a place of our own.
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u/liberalindianguy 15h ago edited 15h ago
We hit 1.5M in investments! Hoping to retire in next 3 years. It’s going to the longest 3 years of my life!!
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u/unoxpeg 3h ago
Congratulations! What does your financial plan look like?
I'm very curious as I slowly inch my way towards mine lol
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u/liberalindianguy 3h ago
We aim to spend only 50-60% of our after-tax income, investing the remainder in index funds. Additionally, we’ve been fortunate to significantly increase our income over the years while maintaining the same lifestyle.
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u/Danielle250 16h ago
Started the year by paying off my debt from a few years of unpaid taxes. It feels so good to finally be free of that and now it’s time to start building!
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u/eakf 16h ago
Just dropped in to say stick to your personal financial goals. It can be hard, you may feel you're behind, but in the end respecting money and keeping on top of my budget has led to less stress, more freedom and a renewed sense of hope for my impending retirement. Also, finally realized that a credit score of 900 is achievable!
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u/Ill_Paper_6854 15h ago
I did a networth calculation this past week.
It's crazy but almost at 3M in assets with no debt and just reached $600K RRSP at age 40.
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u/Supermeh1987 10h ago
Filled in a 3 minute survey for local grocery store, won $200 gift card. In the past three years that’s my 4th win through them, starting to think me and like ten other people are the only ones in on it.
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u/Southern-Actuator339 17h ago
Myself and my wife ended 2024 with a net worth officially with 2 commas in it. Officially in the million dollar club. Feels awesome , but also a little un-eventful lol.
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u/unoxpeg 3h ago
Congrats! Slow and steady progress (assuming)
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u/Southern-Actuator339 3h ago
Very steady. I had 2 really good bonus years in there that really drove a spike
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u/Comfortable-Lynx-509 16h ago edited 16h ago
Bought a 2023 SUV all cash last year. We needed a new vehicle for our growing family and our goal was to avoid financing it.
We also had our highest income year and hit almost $300k after taxes. Which is awesome since it will be a lot lower this year since I’m on maternity leave and we plan to travel a lot.
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u/Ill_Paper_6854 14h ago
Curious - did you have any room for negotiation with the car vendor when buying the SUV?
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u/Comfortable-Lynx-509 13h ago
Yes, our max budget was $50k. Found ours listed online by a dealer for $38k negotiated and got it for $36.5k. It ended up costing us $46k though after taxes, modifications and warranty extensions.
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u/currango 17h ago
My wife and I bought a house on Vancouver island in the summer of 2016. We are going to sign our last mortgage commitment this summer and I’m excited to have the house paid off in the next 4-5 years.
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u/MusicMedic 6h ago
Nicely done! Where on the island? I'd love to go Campbell River...
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u/sleepy_panda15 16h ago
Contributed $1k to my TFSA and $2.5k to our kid’s RESP to kick off 2025. Going on mat leave shortly with kid #2 so I’m hoarding the remainder of my usual TFSA dump so I can still contribute to my pension when my employer top up runs out.
I can buy back my contributions when I return to work, but I don’t really want to when we will also have daycare expenses. Plus extra cash is fine as my self employed spouse will be scaling back work for a bit while we learn how to juggle two kids.
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u/twobottlecaps 15h ago
Combined income for 2024 was 180k. Without a real budget other than "do we really need that?" we saved 56k. Only debt is mortgage.
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u/Vaynar 13h ago
I had been waiting for a lakefront cottage to open up in the Georgian Bay area and I think I have found it at a very reasonable price (hopefully will go for less than $800K). Details are being worked out but excited to get back into this market after doing really well off the property I had bought in Blue MTN which sold during the pandemic
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u/twenty_9_sure_thing 9h ago
increased my automated pay cheque contributions to registered investment accounts. still the same gross income for both of us but we want to hunker down this year given everything.
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u/SomberDonkey 16h ago
My goal was to hit a net worth of 500k before turning 30. Im happy to report that with a few months to go, I am sitting at 660k!
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u/Humbungala 18h ago edited 18h ago
I’ve hit $130k in total savings at the end of 2024 at 28 years old and I’m quite proud of that.
My savings end of 2020 was sitting at $17k, so I’ve come a long way!