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My recommendation is that you take the plunge and get your retirement fund invested in super-low-cost ETFs with a discount brokerage like Questrade. Tangerine and eSeries are great for starting out, but you've got a considerable portfolio now and it will really benefit from optimizing costs.

Here's your breakdown with Management Expense Ratios and US Foreign Withholding Tax:

Fund|Assets|MER|US FWT

--|:--|:--|:--
Tangerine Balanced (TFSA)|$30k|1.07%|.04%
Tangerine Equity Growth (RRSP)|$38k|1.07%|.07%
TD e US equities (RRSP)|$55k|0.5%|0.22%
TD e CDN equities (RRSP)|$12K|0.33%|N/A

Weighted average MER + FWT: 0.89%
Amount paid in fees over 25 years of growth: $149,860 (assumes annual contributions of $5K and growth rate of 6%)
Value after 25 years: $698,864
Amount paid in fees over next 25 years of withdrawals: $172,287 (assumes withdrawals of $41.6K and growth rate of 4%)
Retirement income: $41,597

Now, if you were to move all your funds to Questrade and buy ETFs that track the same (or similar) indexes as you currently have:

ETF|Assets|MER|US FWT

--|:--|:--|:--
VAB: Canadian Aggregate Bond (TFSA)|$12k|.13%|N/A
VCN: FTSE Canada All Cap (TFSA)|$30.5k|.06%|N/A
VTI: US Total Stock Market (RRSP)|$73.5k|.05%|Exempt
VEA: FTSE Developed Markets (RRSP)|$18.5K|.09%|Exempt

Weighted average MER (no FWT): 0.065%
Amount paid in MER fees over 25 years: $11,931

Cost to transfer RRSP from Tangerine: $45
Cost to transfer TFSA from Tangerine: $45
Cost to transfer RRSP from TD: $75
Cost of Norbert's gambit on $92K: ~$194
Initial investment after fees: $134,641

Cost of Norbert's gambit on $3400 annually (68% of $5K contributions): ~$17/yr
Annual contribution after fees: $4890
Value after 25 years (after fees): $830,869

Cost of MER fees over next 25 years (assumes withdrawals of $54.1K and growth rate of 4%): $15,303
Cost of commissions to sell holdings in retirement annually: $40/yr
Cost of Norbert's gambit (back to CAD) on $37K (68% of retirement income): ~$84/yr
Retirement Income (drawdown over 25 years) after fees: $53,994/yr

One thing that isn't taken into account is that as you age, you'll want to shift the allocations more into bonds to protect the capital, but it won't make a huge difference to the fees and costs. What will make a difference is changes to the MER costs of each fund, but there's no way to predict that. I'm also assuming that Questrade continues to provide commission-free purchases of ETFs, and that their sell commission remains maxed at $10 (probably will go up, but who knows when or how much).

Basically, for a little extra effort, you can cut your $322K in costs down to about $27K! Let's say it takes you an extra ~5 hours of time spent learning how to use Questrade and learning about Norbert's gambit, and it takes an extra 4 hours per year to do the gambit and execute trades. Then you're spending 205 hours over 50 years to earn $295,000. That's like getting paid $1439/hr! And that's tax-free, because it's paid to you in the form of increased earnings in your TFSA and RRSP. Another way to look at it is in terms of retirement income: $41.6K/yr with your current portfolio vs $54K/yr with ETFs. What would you do with an extra $12,400 per year? A trip to Africa? A month-long Caribbean cruise?

I really don't know how much you're setting aside for retirement, $5K was just a guess. If you instead contributed $10K/year, you'd be looking at retirement income of $55.6K for the current portfolio vs $71.6K using ETFs.

So where do you start? Well, I recommend you read The Value of Simple, which you can get from Chapters, Amazon, or from the author's website. It's a great eBook that will teach you what you need to know, and guide you through the steps of DIY investing using Questrade. If you need further assistance setting up Questrade or anything else, I'd be happy to help. I went through the transition from eSeries to Questrade just a couple years ago, and am on my way to a much richer retirement!

tl;dr, my advice would be to take 3 deep breaths and not be in a huge rush. Don't dilly dally for no reason, but take a little while and educate yourself on what options you have. The reading list in the sidebar is a very good start. Stuff like Millionaire Teacher(new version just came out this year) will help you understand what you're investing in, why you would chose one method to invest over others, etc... Spending a few bucks on those books(or better yet, get as many as you can from a local library) will save you a heck of a lot over the course of your life.


You certainly can invest through CIBC. Either through an advisor there, or a self-directed system where you control things more directly.

But just because you have a savings account with CIBC doesn't you don't need to invest with them though! You have a few different options besides them.

An increasingly popular method is to use a roboadvisor like Wealthsimple. They charge a % of the value of your investments as their take, but they also do all the buying and selling and whatnot for you which might help keep you from doing something Silly(a lot of folks do). Silly things might include putting all your money into whatever country/sector/company has been really hot lately under the assumption that it'll keep going up forever(it probably wont!)

Or to save a bit more money you can open an account with TD and invest using their e-series mutual funds. They're quite cheap in terms of fees(for Canadian mutual funds anyway, we're used to paying through the nose for stuff like this).
Once you have that account set up you just pay your TD account number through CIBC's bill payment just like you would a phone bill or whatnot. Then once they money is in your TFSA/RRSP/Taxable account you use them to buy the appropriate funds.

Then if/when you want to really save some cash, and can be online during 'market hours' going to Questrade is a popular choice. That way you can use rock-bottom cost Exchange Traded Funds(think mutual funds, but they trade like individual stocks) and you aren't paying any significant fees to buy those.

But seriously, read a couple of those books(and make one of them Millionaire Teacher). If the how-to of investing with TD or Tangerine or Questrade is confusing to you, or you want more info on that sort of thing, The Value of Simple is a good book to get too. The e-book version gets more updates due to the realities of printing costs, but the author has a bunch of new/edited info on their website.

Finally, as to WHAT to invest in, most folks in here follow something along the lines of a Couch Potato strategy.

it all depends on the bank and individual, every bank has both good and bad financial planners, unfortunately the only way to find out is trial and error.....FP's quite often also wont take customers that dont have investment money, their main purpose in the banks is to deal with higher dollar value clients and help them come up with a plan for retirement and other major life events like kids college, starting a business, purchasing a vacation home etc....they are supposed to look at your entire financial situation and help you develop your financial strategy as it were.....typically every financial planner I have ever known in the bank (myself included) didnt work with beating debt for clients....reguar financial advisor (account manager or whatever they are called at your FI) should be able to do this for you, unfortunately the quality of a lot of them is even worse than the FPs.....if you want to try a financial officer go ask the receptionist to book an appointment, try to find who is booking the furthest in advance because they are most likely going to be the most experienced/longest tenured officer there and going to know more (assuming they are willing to help)......

 

I would highly highly recommend you check you a guy named Dave Ramsey he is one of the best resources I have ever seen and he lives for helping people get out of debt and build wealth the smart way....he is pretty extreme in some of his strategies but they do work! and if you dont want to follow exactly to the letter it just takes a little longer (eg. he says no going out to eat until you are outta debt, but my wife and I did while we were climbing out, we just made sure we budgeted for it elsewhere and it just made it a little longer getting out, but not by much if you stick to the budget)

 

This is the link for one of his best selling books, the link is amazon but you can get an e-version as well, its cheap and pretty entertaining and a great read cuz it walks you through the "baby steps" of getting out of debt and building wealth....he also does a daily radio show/podcast that is excellent to listen to and its free!

<https://www.amazon.ca/Total-Money-Makeover-Classic-Financial/dp/1595555277/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469806019&sr=8-1&keywords=the+total+money+makeover>

this is the hardcover and its only 20 bucks, i think the softcover is a little less...they carry his books in chapters and any major bookstore

Partial kit: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01NANUWT9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (will admit, the brush isn't great, but is pretty good for a starter)

Razor: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01M1VGXT1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (chose because it is easy to change the blade, I've had no problems and is great for travel but cheaper ones are available)

Razor blades: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00P8NXAG0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I got them for $1.99 on sale, and they're great

OPTIONAL shaving cream: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07N6H79HG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It's good but nothing special. I don't have to use much cause it lathers really well. Cheaper options available

OPTIONAL Razor disposal cartridge: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00DWGEY1K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 only got it cause I didn't want to throw old razors out in the trash, however you can just keep the packaging and repackage them for safe disposal

​

after the initial purchase you only need to buy razors every so often (75 days for daily shavers, 1 year for me) for $2 and cream about once a year ($10)

You mentioned a deadline. How much time do you have to absorb this and do some more thinking?

>All that matters is getting concrete reasons for why people think RE will not appreciate in the future.

Here's a couple:

1. Interest rates. They're currently at record lows. If the economy recovers and the central bank raises interest rates to prevent inflation, mortgage payments will go up, and real estate prices will go down. I'd suggest checking what your mortgage payments would be at 5% and 7%. (My first mortgage was at 11.75%.)
   
   
2. For this condo in particular, cash flow is negative, In other words, the rent isn't high enough to cover the mortgage and other expenses, even with interest rates at record lows and a 20% down payment. Even with stable interest rates, it won't be an attractive investment for other buyers unless the price was considerably lower. I'd suggest calculating how much lower the price would need to be to reach a cash flow of zero.
   
   So there's pretty sizable risks here.
   
   Plus there's a risk-magnification factor: When you invest in real estate, you're highly leveraged (because you're borrowing 80% of the money from the bank), It's great when prices go up, but leverage cuts both ways. If the price drops by 10%, you've lost 50% of the $60,000. If the price drops by 20%, you've lost all of it.
   
   Honestly, this thread is educational for me, in the sense that I can see what people are thinking when they buy new condos at inflated prices. (Prices have been going up, so it's natural to think that they'll keep going up.)
   
   If you don't want to tackle the risks of investing in equities (and I understand that), my suggestion would be to save your money in GICs instead. Low return, but also much lower risk of losing your money. "Live in a hovel for 10 years, then buy for cash." You're paying rent, but then you don't need to pay interest (which on a 25-year mortgage is huge).
   
   If at some point in the distant future you change your mind and decide you'd like to learn about equities, Andrew Tobias has an excellent explanation in The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need:
   
   >What a stock is worth depends at any given time on the alternative investments that are then available. It is a question of relative value. Think of investments as wallets. A 5% savings account, if you can find one, is a wallet that you can buy for $20 that miraculously fills up with $1 (5%) by the end of every year. It is safe and convenient - you can "sell" it whenever you want and be sure of getting back your full $20 if, when savings accounts are paying 5%, you can buy other "wallets" that fill up with $1 just as fast, not for $20 but a mere $15. For example, high-grade corporate bonds that pay 6.7% interest.
   
   Similarly, when you buy a share in a company, you're buying a share of its earnings, and you can tell if it's cheap or expensive by comparing its earnings per share to current interest rates. When interest rates are at 5%, the price/earnings ratio on the savings-account "wallet" is 20, so a stock with a price/earnings ratio of 20 would be very expensive. (You want it to be considerably less than that, to compensate you for the risk that the company's earnings might drop, or that it might lose money.)
   
   You can also evaluate real estate this way: after expenses, what's your return on your investment, and how does this compare to current interest rates? In this case, your return is negative, which is why everyone's telling you it's too expensive.

You have a few things going for you:

1. you acknowledge you made a mistake
   
   
2. you asked for help
   
   
3. your ready willing and able to learn.
   
   Give some poor advice (like buying whole life insurance :p ) and you will see just how unpolite this sub can be!
   
   It isnt just about finding a low cost option but a fundamentally different investment approach called indexed investing. The average canadian who pays 2.5% MER is invested in an actively managed approach (they try and beat the market average, but after fees a vast majority are unable to). The indexed approach can range in cost from 1.07%mer to as low as 0.15% mer depending on how hands on you want to get (and there is nothing wrong with paying a slightly higher mer to keep things simple). The indexed approach: own every stock in the market and guarantee the average return of the stock market. No expensive research into which stock will outperform = low fees. After fees, over a 10 year period, indexed investing consistantly beat 85% of investors. So for 1/7 people, paying the high fee pays off. Obviously there is no way of picking the fund that will do this in advance, otherwise everyone would.
   
   I recommend you start reading the wealthy barber returns. Tangerine bank was giving it away for free until december 31st 2016 but it looks like it isnstill free on their website. It is a book more on basics of personal finance.
   
   https://www.tangerine.ca/en/landing-page/wealthybarberreturns/index.html
   
   
   The canadian couch potato blog is like the bible of this subreddit.
   
   http://canadiancouchpotato.com/
   
   If your looking for another more advanced book (more on the investing side), try the millionaire teacher
   
   https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/0470830069
   
   
   Highly recommended books.

I highly recommend reading The Wealthy Renter: https://www.amazon.ca/Wealthy-Renter-Choose-Housing-That/dp/145973646X

Re: "paying rent for nothing" - You're always paying some form of 'rent'. To be super simplistic "Rent" is payment made for the use of something.

1. If I'm renting a house, the math is pretty obvious... my rent is whatever rent I pay, plus any utilities or insurance. My principle form of rent is the literal rent and is paid to the landlord.
   There's no investment I get from it, it's just money I pay to use the space.
   
   
2. If I'm buying a house, the math is less obvious. My rent is a combination of the financing interest, utilities, taxes, and maintenance+condo fees. Usually for schmucks like us the principle form of rent is financing interest (and condo fees) and is paid to the bank (and condo corp).
   There is also an investment I get from it - the mortgage principal payment, and any gain/loss in the value of the home.
   
   
3. If I own a house with no mortgage, I'm still paying rent. In this case, I'm paying the same utilities/taxes/maintenance fees as in #2, and I have another primary rent cost: opportunity cost.
   So for example, if my house is worth $300K, instead of having that $300,000 in an investment account making a conservative 5% annual compound return, I have it tied up in an asset (the house). The math is complicated and assumption laden, but in this scenario the simplest calculation of my opportunity cost rent is ($300,000 x 5% return / 12 months = $1250 per month).
   The investment I get from this is any gain/loss in value of my asset (aka house).
   
   Sorry if that seems a bit pedantic, but I think it's an important linguistic distinction because we're always told (usually from our parents' generation) "don't pay someone else's mortgage with your rent". But the reality is that we always pay rent no matter what. What actually matters is being smart about the numbers and understanding your own assumptions and risk tolerance/comfort levels. I find most people who own really don't know their actual full cost of ownership or their 'rent' cost, but think it's worthwhile information to figure out and think about.

I suggest you start by not asking for stock tips on Reddit, or anywhere else for that matter. If you don't have your own very good reasons to invest in a specific stock, you should not be investing in individual stocks at all. Investing is a game of risk vs reward, of the mathematical properties of diversified portfolios, and of mastering one's own behaviour. It isn't about getting the scoop on the next winner, nor is it really even possible for retail investors to have an information advantage over the rest of the market.

In my opinion, literally everything you need to know about being a successful long-term investor can be found in the friendly, fun and Canadian book Millionaire Teacher.

1. Set up a self-directed RRSP (SDRSP) account with TD Discount Brokerage.
   
2. Set up automatic withdrawals from your chequing account to your RRSP account using a TD systematic investment plan (SIP).
   
3. Set up a balanced investment portfolio. My preference was the Canadian Couch Potato Global Couch Potato - Option 2.
   
   At $120,000/year pre-tax, you should be saving a significant portion of your income. I'd suggest reading:
   
   

• I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. It's about automatic savings and conscious spending. It's aimed at a US audience, but the lessons apply.
  
• The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley. It discusses millionaires: who they are, how they look, and how they think.
  
  Edit: It really depends on what your financial goals are, and the time horizon on each. My advice would be to save and invest much of what you make today.
  
  

1. Time value of money is on your side. Don't wait.
   
2. At $120,000/year, you're approaching the highest marginal tax rate. Contributing to your RRSP now will make the most use of the tax deferral.
   
3. Setting up an automatic savings or investing program now will help prevent the urge to splurge on things you may not need. Such is the nature of having free cash on hand.

Sounds like you're trapped by your house rather than your job, to be honest. And "trapped" is the wrong word as it's a decision you've made and something you've decided to prioritise. Which is okay! I like being a homeowner!
But you can choose to live differently too, you know; I'm not one to advocate escapist bullshit like running off to southeast asia or whatever, as I work a job I don't love too and would obviously rather work less. But I get paid rather a lot so that allows me to dwell on the positives rather than the negatives. And I have an exit plan which provides the that control and calm we all need, psychologically.

Pick your cliche - Mindset is everything; What you focus on becomes your reality; The grass is always greener. They are all basically true.

Anyway, suggest you read over the FAQ and sidebar links at /r/financialindependance (don't just jump into the threads read the curated stuff first). Or buy the excellent Building Wealth and Being Happy by /u/grahamcpa

Either will provide food for thought and may allow you to plan something that will make you happier either short or long term, rather than wishing your life away.

Do a tonne of reading. A lot of things are US based but the principles apply to Canada too. Read the investing for beginners info at about.com to get a grasp. Joshua Kennon is a pretty smart guy when it comes to investing and business but he really just follows the principles of Benjamin Graham (Warren Buffet's mentor). Security Anaylsis is very good as well as The Intelligent Investor.

Hey! I just started investing as well. I jumped straight into ETFs for various reasons.

I think your idea is great. I wanted to mention that when you start nearing $10,000, take a look at this book: https://www.amazon.ca/Value-Simple-Practical-Complexity-Investing/dp/0987818910

You can find the PDF version online if a library doesn't have a copy. The only part I looked at is how to invest in ETFs using Questrade. I was intimidated by the Questrade platform and trading on a real stock exchange network. This walks you through how to buy and sell ETFs on Questrade which is perfect. You can also open a practice account on Questrade to try all of the buttons they have on their trading platform website. One thing to note is that the book is a little outdated as the user interface has changed. Regardless, you'll definitely find your way around easily.

Good luck!

This reddit discussion from around a year ago is somewhat informative. It's all about credit unions in Toronto.

I like some of the credit unions that discussion talks about, but the closest one to me is a Meridian branch. I looked at their rates, and it looks like I'd still be paying around $9.00 a month for a similar account.

It's not a lot of money, but I'm on a mission to stop paying for banking. Mostly because I liked reading Ramit Sethi's I Will Teach You To Be Rich and he emphasized choices like that a great deal.

You mentioned that you're married. My wife & I read Smart Couples Finish Rich when we were first married and found it very helpful. It's a good overview of all the major financial topics for a couple (financial planning, retirement, insurance, buying a home, etc). It doesn't go too deeply into any of them, so it's a pretty easy read. We read that book first then a couple of books that go into more detail on individual topics where we felt we needed more detail.

The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing was one of those other books and it was very helpful when setting up our retirement savings, investing, and planning for the future.

Finally, I found that I Will Teach You Too Be Rich by Ramit Sethi was also very good. It's aimed at people in their 20's & 30's so the style & tone of the book is very different from other finance books. It focuses on money management skills & systems. It also covers topics like negotiation that most other books don't mention very much.

Dan from CCP has some suggestions for low cost ethical investing but the article is from 2010 and may not be current info. One of the commenters who says he's a fee-for-service advisor has created an Organic Couch Potato Portfolio that uses some of Dan's suggestions. I dunno about those solar bonds.. might not be super liquid.

Rebalancing is not that complicated. The Value of Simple by /u/HolyPotato explains exactly what to do (and has lots of other good information), otherwise there are some great blogs like Canadian Couch Potato and Canadian Portfolio Manager that can help.

I think everyone has to learn this for themselves, but don't overthink it. When I launched my passive portfolio I was checking on it every day, I was keen to reinvest my first dividends as soon as they were paid out, and I spent a lot of time researching, tweaking and convincing myself that what I was doing was right.

A year later I'm checking less and less, I have a 'meh' attitude towards doom and gloom in the financial news and I'm just gonna rebalance when I contribute to my portfolio once a year and leave it alone unless there's a crash.

So if the Wealthy Barber and Millionaire Teacher are the why, I would say The Value of Simple is the how.

Its a great book with step by step guides that are an excellent compliment to the info found on the Canadian Couch Potato site.

I would suggest starting with index funds, such as vanguards Canadian s&p 500. Get your TFSA contributions and RRSP contributions filled up, and in the mean time learn as much as you can. I would suggest reading The Intelligent Investor. http://www.amazon.ca/Intelligent-Investor-Definitive-Value-Investing/dp/0060555661/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408572453&sr=8-1&keywords=the+intelligent+investor

Then you can decide if you want to try valuing companies for yourself, or if a more defensive approach is better for you. Good luck!

Could check out: https://www.amazon.ca/Wealthy-Renter-Choose-Housing-That/dp/145973646X

TLDR: renting is typically cheaper in the long run than purchasing a home/condo, with greater freedom. Theres more to it than that, definitely give it a read.

I'm personally living at home just because my family home is better than anything I could afford.

I enjoyed reading Beat the bank as an intro to mortgages and what to look out for: https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/099385513X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Haven't read this one but the reviews are pretty good: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MZCG926/?coliid=IOPLWJZG3Y032&colid=X9MXFRGDM1J9&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Hey dude, kind of in a similar position as you. Started reading about PF a little more than 2 months ago and wish I had started 10 years earlier, haha!

Take some time and read before jumping into anything! Here's what I started with:

Wealthy Barber

then read

Millionaire Teacher

and now I'm working through

Guide to Investing

and

Random Walk Down Wall Street

You will learn a crazy amount about investing with these few books.

I also keep my eye on the RFD Personal Finance forum along with Canadian Money Forums, the latter being a lot more mature.

Cheers!

No worries! Learning this stuff can be fun so I do encourage you to read, at least the CCP website and guide. It's easy to get lost in a lot of the finance noise on the Internet so the CCP site is about all you need for basic knowledge of getting started. For books, Millionaire Teacher was the first book I read and it provides a solid understanding of passive/index investing (I actually gave a copy of this book to a friend today and she's loving it so far). The Value of Simple is the next book I read, which provides a straightforward description of the technical aspects of investing. When you get to the end of The Value of Simple, you'll make an investment plan, open a DI account, and you're off to the races. If you don't know the answer to something, search the CCP website or this sub and you'll probably find an answer (or an entertaining discussion thread).

These few websites and books are the totality of what I had when I got started. Now I also read Garth Turner and Mr. Money Mustace pretty regularly, partly for the finance talk but mostly for the entertaining writing styles. I've adopted a variation of Garth's millennial portfolio for myself but it's arguably more complicated than it needs to be: a CCP portfolio covers you globally and for fixed income and equities.

Wow you're knowledge is at zero. An RRSP is an investment vehicle, unless it's a special kind offered by a bank you won't even get anything if you let it sit there as cash.

I'd try to explain things but it would take me forever.

.

1. Read up on RRSP and TFSA
   
   
2. Realize you need to buy Index Funds or ETFs
   
   
3. Open a brokerage account with Questrade or a bank.
   
   .
   
   To get the above answered I recommend looking through this sub or buying this book (It's not mine but it is very easy to read in a weekend and gives you an explanation for everything).
   
   http://www.amazon.ca/Value-Simple-Practical-Complexity-Investing/dp/0987818910/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420877097&sr=8-2&keywords=simple+investing
   
   

1. Couch potato investing is an investment strategy that favours passive longterm sustainable growth of your investments through a buy-and-hold strategy. Eiiy-2 already linked to the definitive blog for doing Couch potato investing as a Canadian.
   
2. I think that the best introduction to life insurance is Stop Over-Thinking Your Money! by Preet Banerjee. The first and last chapter give you a great overview of the why and the what of insurance. Borrow it from the library if you have to (that's what I did), but I strongly recommend this book for those who have no idea about insurance.

Which is based on the book Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Fisker. A really great read. He has a whole section with the derivation of this early retirement formula with the assumptions and the graphs, it's pretty neat.

Chinese phones with the proper bands purchased through any of the Chinese retailers online is your most cost-effective in terms of bang for the buck, but you need to make sure your frequencies match... since you use Fizz that's a lot harder than if you used say Zoomer Wireless (which is on the Rogers network).

Some phones are also available via Amazon.ca, e.g. the Xiaomi Mi A2 https://www.amazon.ca/Xiaomi-64GB-Camera-AndroidOne-Smartphone/dp/B07FMPVBQR which is a great high mid-range phone with dual SIM card trays, fast Snapdragon 660 processor and Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

Those are good funds. Your asset allocation seems fine.

Once you've chosen that asset allocation, you don't need to further analysis to find out what is good and bad. You should just rebalance back to your targets through new money addition or through sales.

It doesn't matter that it's all in TD funds.

Read [The Value of Simple] (https://www.amazon.ca/Value-Simple-Practical-Complexity-Investing/dp/0987818910/188-2447184-6532411?ie=UTF8&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=0987818910&linkCode=as2&redirect=true&ref_=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl&tag=blesbythepota-20)

Watch this [video] (http://www.moneysense.ca/save/retirement/retire-rich-dan-bortolotti-on-index-investing/). Your index funds serve the same role as ETFs.

>I use her car for work

Shouldn't you have some sort of insurance then?

>(down approximately 6% on the year)clearly i suck at that game.

I recommend you read up on some books! (An index of stocks are up 7.69% in Canada so far this year and 4.16% in the USA)

A good one about investing is "The millionaire teacher". It's a good book for everyone.

Another more 'general' one about finances is "The Wealthy Barber Returns".

Also a general website: http://canadiancouchpotato.com/

MMM forums. Here.

But honestly as someone else pointed out, once you have the plan, the basics down, there isn't much to say.

I spend too much time on this 'stuff' when you could easily write out all you need to know on the back of an envelope.

I enjoyed ERE's book, https://www.amazon.com/Early-Retirement-Extreme-Philosophical-Independence/dp/145360121X/

Read some books like millionaire teacher. It's easy to read and it will give you a good place to start

https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/0470830069

Hi Azsune. I think going with a robo or buying balanced ETFs like the Vanguard products are great ways to Beat the Bank! The choice between the two depends on your personal preference. For additional reading, I would suggest Jack Bogle's Little Book of Common Sense Investing.

Read this book first: "Millionaire Teacher." Seriously, run, don't walk, to the nearest Chapters and buy it. GO. NOW. Before the internet hoards descend on you! ;)

Next book: "The Wealthy Barber Returns." (skip the first "Wealthy Barber" book which, having been written in the 1980s, the author admits is out of date)

Those books will give you the "what" and "why." The Canadian Couch Potato website will give you the "how."
http://canadiancouchpotato.com/couch-potato-faq/

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios-2/

Hi, just came across your book browsing this subreddit. Looks great, and I ordered it on amazon.ca

Just wanted to let you know that the availability is showing as 1-3 months. I ordered from amazon anyway because I'm hoping that's just an error and it will ship sooner. But you might want to look into it; at the least it's probably deterring orders.

Looking forward to reading it! I'm about to start using RRSPs and wanted a primer for the whole system.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0987818910?

I only bought them in December, but all of them track only one index (except the bond one), so it would be rather simple to calculate.

I'm guessing they are e-series versions of their regular mutual funds, I would stick with the indexes - lower MER and minimum investment.

Here's a great link:

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios/

Global Couch Potato option 2 is basically what I have with a lower bond allocation (I hold ETFs/Stocks in a BMO account).

This was also a really good read:

http://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/0470830069/

Since you're just starting out, highly recommend you read Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School.

Depends, but basically you should try to balance through contributions rather than sales. If the TFSA is your only account:

• if it's already full, balance with your contribution next January (the proportion of each fund you buy will bring it back in balance);
  
  
• if it's not full, you can balance with each contribution by focusing on the underperforming assets at the time of your contributions.
  
  It's not crucial that you stay in balance all the time, especially if you're doing automatic contributions. One of the selling points of the couch potato is that it's easy and you only need to spend a few minutes, once per year, to bring it back into balance.
  
  More details found down this rabbit hole. (Also, read Millionaire Teacher if you haven't already.)

Sorry for your loss..

Given your financial position (able to support yourself through school without borrowing) I would invest in ETFs, something like a Vanguard ETF with a minimal MER. I'd also transfer that mutual fund over to the same ETF as the management fees are typically too much, eating away at your returns. Even though the management fees may seem small, compounded over X years to retirement at age 21 is seriously significant..

If you invest this inheritance at your age and follow something like the 4% rule, you'll be retired before most people even start saving for retirement..

If you don't really follow what I'm saying, I highly suggest reading Millionaire Teacher.

https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/0470830069

Pl read. Worth the money

Beat the Bank: How to win the mortgage game in Canada https://www.amazon.ca/dp/099385513X/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_api_i_CU4PDb51J7ZCP

https://www.amazon.ca/Reminiscences-Hedge-Operator-Julian-Klymochko-ebook/dp/B07ZQVF6BP/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=reminiscences+of+a+hedge+fund+operator&qid=1573750993&sr=8-1

IMO, this book gives the best, most practical advice on alternative investments coming from a Canadian investor and an experienced hedge fund manager himself.

The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. Written by an investing titan for a lay audience. He also wrote the more advanced Securities Analysis, and was the mentor of Warren Buffett. I suggest the latest edition as the commentary by Jason Zweig does much to update the examples, and shows how timeless the advice really is.

I bought the Xaomi A2 a few months ago and love it.

https://www.amazon.ca/Xiaomi-64GB-Camera-AndroidOne-Smartphone/dp/B07FMPVBQR/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2NAV72NYJJ9KG&keywords=xiaomi+mi+a2&qid=1557238225&s=gateway&sprefix=Xiaomi+%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-3

I personally say yes.

Quite a few chapters were revised with current market conditions e.g. like you said the old one says Vanguard isn't in Canada yet, but new one talks about them. There's also a chapter about robo-advisors.

He also updated a lot of data so it's more recent.

Amazon has a look inside feature so you can see what's in the new version and compare it to your current copy.

https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/1119356296/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497407433&sr=8-1&keywords=millionaire+teacher

Take some of that money and invest it into some good books because Redditing will not give you anywhere near the amount of information a well thought out book will.

The one listed below covers a ton of information everyone should know involving the stock market, including mutual funds, bonds and etfs

https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/0470830069

Stop Over-thinking Your Money!: The Five Simple Rules Of Financial Success by Preet Banerjee

To be an investor, you first need to be a saver.

I've enjoyed this one. The book contains a lot of good arguments for renting and discusses buying vs renting in major Canadian cities

Check out the Money Steps and then go to Indigo and buy The Millionaire Teacher. 20$ very, very well spent.

https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/1119356296

also

Stop Over-Thinking Your Money by Preet Banerjee

There are a bunch of good Canadian finance reads but I would start with those 2.

https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/0470830069

invest $30 in this first. https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/1119356296/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=millionaire+teacher&qid=1569609307&sr=8-1

If you go to

https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/1119356296/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481859413&sr=1-2

Click on Look Inside, click on Index and then scroll down to the eSeries.

https://www.amazon.ca/Wealthy-Renter-Choose-Housing-That/dp/145973646X/ref=asc_df_145973646X/?tag=googlemobshop-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=292905515425&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9132666439524070042&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001444&hvtargid=pla-436372549143&psc=1

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/couch-potato-faq/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/actively-managed-funds-vs-the-index-once-again-no-contest/article21580578/

http://canadiancouchpotato.com/model-portfolios-2/



Start by reading these,

https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/0470830069/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465920829&sr=8-1&keywords=millionaire+teacher

Then pick up a copy of this book.

Dont feel like you need to manage your own funds...this is a personal choice that a lot of people here like to do (you can make your expenses 0.17-0.2%). If you are not comfortable managing your own funds, there is nothing wrong with sticking with Tangerine's Indexed mutual fund (1.07%).

On a portfolio of 30k, tangerine would charge $321/year. If you took on DIY investing in ETFs, you could get this cost down to $60 per year + trading commissions. There is nothing wrong with paying a bit extra to keep things simple.


The Canadian Couch Potato blog puts some guidelines on how much you should have invested before switching to ETFs, but this info is outdated. Questrade (a discount brokerage) came to Canada since 2014 (I believe). With questrade you dont have to pay any fees to purchase ETFs, you can start low cost ETFs with a portfolio as small as $1000. ETFs are the cheapest form of indexed investing


Some other terms you might want to understand:

Dollar cost averaging http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dollarcostaveraging.asp?layout=infini&v=5B&adtest=5B&ato=3000


Investment re balancing
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rebalancing.asp?layout=infini&v=5B&orig=1&adtest=5B
http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2011/02/24/how-often-should-you-rebalance/

> the first book contains some obsolete information.

Millionaire Teacher was just updated for 2017: https://www.amazon.ca/Millionaire-Teacher-Wealth-Should-Learned/dp/1119356296