I've been doing a lot of retirement planning lately after a recent windfall, and I'm increasingly convinced that my wife and I could retire comfortably in our mid-50s. I'd appreciate some feedback, particularly from Canadians who have already retired early.

Our situation

• I'm 52, my wife is 51.
• Both employed, earning approximately $165k each. My job satisfaction is dropping fast, my wife is more of a Type A, but burning out.
• Two children, one finished university and the other in high school.
• Living in Kitchener, Ontario.
• No defined-benefit pensions.
• Hoping to retire around age 55.

Our finances (CAD)

• Approximately $1.28M invested across RRSPs, maxed-out TFSAs, and ~$100k in non-registered investments.
• Primary residence worth approximately $1.2M.
• Both contributing aggressively to RRSPs, with tax refunds reinvested.
• No debt of any kind.

We have about $50k in the RESP for our younger child's university, and both children have separate, substantial savings accounts to help with future house down payments or other needs. None of that money is included in our retirement figures.

Retirement goals

We're targeting $10,000/month after tax, adjusted for inflation, until at least age 90.

That number is based on our actual spending over the past two years, rather than an estimate of what we think retirement might cost.

Ideally, we'd downsize from our Kitchener house to somewhere with a nice view, perhaps overlooking Lake Ontario or Lake Erie. We'd spend 2-3 months at our cottage in New Brunswick in the summer and perhaps a month each winter somewhere warmer, possibly Europe (never Florida).

We're not pursuing lean FIRE. We want to maintain our lifestyle and enjoy travelling, hobbies, and the freedom retirement provides.

Our plan

I've modelled retirement at ages 55, 58, 60, and 65, using 3%, 4%, and 5% real investment returns.

At 5%, retiring at 55 looks quite achievable. At 4%, the numbers are tighter, but potentially workable if we downsize.

We'd optimize RRSP/TFSA withdrawals and CPP/OAS timing, while keeping the equity in our downsized home as a financial safety net.

I'm also considering whether a joint-life annuity might make sense for part of our portfolio.

One interesting observation from my modelling is that the financial benefits of working longer seem to start diminishing around age 58. So that is my drop-dead date to retire.

Questions for the community

• Does retiring at 55 with $10k/month after tax seem realistic given our finances?
• Is assuming 4% real returns reasonable for a 35-year retirement?
• How would you manage RRSP/TFSA withdrawals and CPP/OAS timing?
• Would you consider an annuity, or stick with investments?
• For those already retired, how did actual spending compare with your expectations?
• How did you decide you had enough?

Ultimately, we're increasingly aware that our healthy retirement years are finite. Accumulating more money is appealing, but so is having the freedom to enjoy it while we can.

I'd appreciate any feedback, particularly from people who have already made the leap.

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35F, Single, don’t want kids and don’t want to own a home. Aiming for a snowbird lifestyle. Currently spend under $3K per month on living expenses and aim to always have a roommate. Have a good inheritance but not considering that in my math. Wondering if I can set $1.2M as my fire number and use a 3.5% swr.

I am fully remote employee. I don’t have a car. Rent and expenses are low. I am able to contribute $500-$700 a month to -EQT. I am neurodivergent so this remote work role is great. Having flexibility and my routine from home. Colleagues are fine. No personality politics or issues. No micromanaging. No hovering by management.

I earn about 50k a year. There are no benefits or pension via employer contributions. I know the first thing people will say is “find another job, retrain, go back to school, side hustle, etc etc”. And sure those are valid options. But none of that is easy. It will take time and money (education route). In the meantime, I’m looking at different roles and exploring options.

From what I’ve read and learned, if I were to resign from this job, I’m basically giving up remote work for a long long long time, and possibly forever. These jobs are extremely limited now. Most employers want hybrid or full RTO. I’ve been seeing this in the jobs subs. Remote work is basically decimated. You likely need to be highly specialized or have a lot of seniority to request it.

In the meantime, staying in this current role, I’m questioning will I be okay when I’m older? Considering health expenses, ailments, personal care needs. Will I have enough to cover myself? I have four months of monthly funds tucked away.

So, I’d like to hear from people without benefits and employer contributions, and who are on the FI path via -EQT investing. But open to all perspectives of course.

Is my game plan okay?

I’m nervous about job prospects, the economy, cost of living, and it’s heightened by the fact I’m neurodivergent with specific needs and barriers. I grew up with a single parent. First generation university student. My family doesn’t have assets.

Lastly, I don’t have a partner and I will not be having children.

I'm new to all the investing part never really thought of it until recently.

mortgage 360k

Salary around 80k

I have 30k in a regular savings account that I'd like to see if I can invest some of it.

what should I do ?

Hi I'm 19 and just started investing last year. I currently just have holdings in XEQT and VFV in my TFSA and then contribute 200 bi weekly(rn less bc I'm working less in school) but I’m honestly looking for something more, something else to invest in too. Honestly I'm only at a little over 9k, is that good? I have no other savings and I feel reckless with my spending habits. I want to open an FHSA (for like a whileee maybe 7 years ish), but I don't know much about investing other than the basic ETFs I use currently. Is there anything I should be changing or adding to my investment portfolio, what tips do people have for new young investors because I feel lost. I also wanna save some money for student loans for once a l graduate but I just don't know how to go about any of this like Do I allocate a specific amount to each account?
Anyways thank you

2M equity, plus 850k left on 1.3m house. Yearly pull 300k combined. We got decent inheritance in our future too when we are in our 55s or 60s ( let’s say about 1m total)

I think we are doing well but I am not sure how and when can we retire. Our expenses are about 10k a month minus mortgage.

Don’t wanna keep working forever, but not sure what can we do that would allow us to FIRE early. Spouse was suggesting we put some of it in a passive low risk brick and mortar business and live off that along with investments? But I am not convinced or comfortable.

Do you suggest we sign up for a financial advisor at this point or are we just overthinking this whole thing and we should just keep working until late 40s?

What's something from your working life that you'll refuse to do again, under any circumstances, once you're financially independent? Here's my list:

1. Commute. No more sitting in traffic or risking a car accident just to get to work. I've been remote since 2019, so it hasn't been an issue lately, but I'll never take a job that requires it again.
2. Overnight or odd-hour shifts. I did five years of them and it wrecked my sleep.
3. Put up with abusive or rude bosses. I had a couple early in my career. Never again.
4. Physical labor. I only did two years at McDonald's in my late teens, so maybe that doesn't count, but I've been in IT office jobs since 2007 and I'm not going back.
5. Overtime, or going the extra mile in general. That might change if the work were something I cared about, but for corporate jobs it's a safe bet.
6. Shovel my driveway. :)

What's on yours?

Married with 2 kids
Renting in Toronto
Working full time 9-5 jobs and making around $180k total
Car paid off
Have $80k in savings

Any advice on how to further save? Have around $2000 in TFSA but that’s about it

Advice on purchasing home? Or investing somewhere? Our company does RRSP matching so there’s that too

Currently looking to balance out my portfolio with a Canadian bank eft. Cornsidering Xdiv, Bank.to,Tbnk or just more XIC directly for my TFSA.

90% invested in Xeqt but my rrsp which is larger holds VOO and SCHD. So I am looking into more direct ETFs for balancing purposes to get closer to a home leaning spread.

The 3 year goal is to begin holding the big 6 and select energy stocks directly in the tfsa , the idea being the bank EFT growth and income will fund those purchases thru dividends or selling.

My math says Xdiv/XIC is better longer term but with the Canadian banking sector expected to cool the leverage and cc in Bank might be better in a sideways market short term.

Any thoughts?

I got laid off from my tech job a few months ago and i’ve been trying out being self-employed, but i keep having the anxiety of running out of money. does anyone else deal with the same thing?

I’ve also been building an app around this that shows me how long my money would last at my current burn rate. And it has an AI chat that answers any questions about my finances and help me run what-if scenarios before making any big purchases.

Just starting my tfsa at 18 and I want to invest in something like xeqt but im worried its too long term, is there a another eft that would be better for the 3-7 year range?

Looking for advice. I will be 52 this year. Currently unemployed, live rurally, and thinking this is my time to retire, but I am also very nervous dealing with anxiety. In the last couple of months a friend convinced me to leave my financial advisor and transfer my funds to WealthSimple to self manage. He convinced me I really only need to buy one or a couple of Etf’s. My registered accounts were transferred as cash. My non reg was transferred in kind. It holds the most of my funds. Although 2 of them I have had to transfer over to Questrade as WS misinformation was that everything could be transferred in kind in that account. During this process my account totals went down. When the money landed in my TFSA I bought XEQT. When the money landed in my RRSP I bought XGRO. I bought high in both. My transfer for my Lira has been sitting in cash last few days. I don’t know what to do with it. I want to unlock the 50% at some point soon and transfer that half into my RRSP. I am thinking I should be withdrawing some of the money in the years where I have low income and before I start collecting CPP and OAS. I want to leave my non reg account as is for this year at least. He had me in 11 holdings. I am not very financially savvy and I worry that I have already started making mistakes with my investments. Can it be that simple to pick an ETF like I have? What about the fact that I am not going to have years and years to leave the money if I will start using it next year to fund my life. In total I have about 1.4 million. My lira and RRSP are almost half a million together. Can I even afford to retire now? My house is paid for and I have a partner who works and pays most of the household bills as the house was my purchase. I feel I can live off of 4% comfortably most years. I know my post is only some information but any advice would be wonderfully appreciated. Thank you

I'm a 28M living in Ontario. I started working in sales about 9 months ago (100% commission) and am on track to make 100-130k a year.

I've been investing on autopilot on Wealthsimple for a while now, taking some money out for a down payment a couple years ago.

I'm wondering if anyone would have any advice on what to invest in and who I should talk to to get some guidance.

I'm looking to invest for my retirement.

Thanks

19M just recently started using Wealthsimple.

Is it worth it to buy XEQT considering my portfolio?

Do you guys recommend other stocks?

How can you use wealthsimple for the most benefit?

Should I be putting money into my Spend & Save as well?

If there’s anything that you guys think would be a good thing to know as a beginner to investing, please kindly share, it will be greatly appreciated.

26M. Started investing this past year, bought the basic ETFs and a few individual stocks but other than that I’ve barely looked into anything else. How does my portfolio look so far? I would love some advice on what to do moving forward, I add anywhere from $10-20k every month to this investment account.

I am a 31M in Vancouver and recently started taking wealth building seriously, as this is my first major career job. I make $85k a year, pay $1200 in all-inclusive rent, and have no cars, assets/debts or dependents. I currently have $3700 in VEQT (within my TFSA) and $3500 in an emergency fund. What should I do for the best long-term success? Should I keep my current strategy of renting while making monthly contributions to my VEQT? Or should I begin investing within my FHSA in order to purchase my own place?

My goal is to hit $100k in invested funds when I am 35. Then potentially consider purchasing a place. What do you guys think? For those who have made it (average people, not those who hit major milestones by 30), what advice would you give? Please keep it simple

Everyone says to forecast 7% long term return, how to factor in bull runs

I'm not sure this will entirely make sense but everyone always says to use 7% returns for a long term portfolio holding something such as xeqt. Meaning you'll have some up years and some down years but over the long term that's what you should expect.

So how do you factor in the past 5 year returns and future returns? For example xeqt 5 year return is 65%. Greater than 7% per year.

If someone looks at their portfolio today and is projecting returns of 7% going forward isn't that incorrect? Shouldn't we expect less than 7% considering the past 5 years has been greater? Like their current portfolio is already inflated above the 7% average yearly return. How do people look at their investments and say ya I can retire. Especially after a bull market where you know eventually the returns need to be a lot lower going forward.

Seeking to retire in 2030 with my self built Canadian Fortress 2030 Fund. For visualization, I asked AI to create my spreadsheet into a visualizer.

Expenses right now around $125k/year. Yes still have a mortgage...

Annual Dividend: $119k/year

Goal: Have $5million portfolio by 2030

All stocks have been dripping since 2010 when I started my investment journey with $105k. I just bought more of these stocks as time went by.

I turned off DRIP recently and started to use all the dividends going forward to buy XAW

I Buy Canada because I believe in long term oligopolies. I believe these companies are going to be still around even after my death. Slow and steady wins the race, I intend to be the Tortoise and not the hare when it comes to investments. KISS- keep it simple stupid

Rationale to the attacks on the portfolio:

Some recommendation assumes my goal is maximizing total return against a global benchmark. It is not. This portfolio exists to fund my life, and it does: approximately $120K a year in dividends, covering my household spending with room to spare. For an income portfolio, risk is not volatility. Risk is an income shortfall. By that measure, this is the low risk option, not the reckless one.

On concentration: the portfolio holds approximately 52 positions across banks, utilities, pipelines, telecoms, railways, waste, groceries, and real estate, businesses whose cash flows come from very different drivers. It is concentrated in one country, and I will come back to that, but it is not concentrated in one business. For calibration, Berkshire Hathaway runs approximately 88% of its stock portfolio in ten names, and it takes only eight positions to reach 80%. Concentration in quality payers is a strategy, not a mistake.

On better returns from global diversification, that claim ignores currency and taxes, which is where most of it falls apart.

First, currency. My spending, my mortgage, and my retirement are all in CAD. A global portfolio pays me in foreign currencies that must be converted at whatever rate prevails when I need the money. Matching the currency of your income to the currency of your liabilities is what pension funds do. It is called liability matching, not recklessness.

Second, taxes. Most of this sits in taxable accounts. Canadian eligible dividends receive the dividend tax credit. Foreign dividends are taxed as full income, and US dividends lose 15% to withholding before I see a cent, with no recovery inside a TFSA. On an after tax, after currency basis, the better returns gap shrinks dramatically, and on an income basis it can disappear entirely.

Third, the payers themselves. The Canadian banks did not cut their dividends during the financial crisis. Some have paid uninterrupted dividends for well over a century. That is the track record I am buying.

As for no investment professional endorsing this, that is an appeal to authority rather than an argument. Professionals endorse concentrated quality portfolios every filing season. See Omaha.

The fair point buried in comments: yes, this is a deliberate Canada bet, and if the Canadian banking system ever faced a true existential crisis, correlations would spike and I would feel it. I accept that knowingly, because my house, my career, my taxes, and my spending are Canadian too. The portfolio matches the life it funds. It also holds some US and global exposure through SCHD and XAW, weighted the way I want them, not the way a textbook dictates.

Diversification is a tool for a goal, not a goal in itself. This portfolio is diversified for its goal.