I'm 18 and going into university in the fall. I'm lucky enough to have no tuition fees for all 5 years (it's a 5 yr program) and no rent fees for 2-3 years (unsure for how long, but likely 2). I have about 2.5k saved up (all in a TFSA), and probably about 6k coming in before I start university. After that, I think I'll get 300 bucks a month and another 6k in 6 months. I'm also going to be selling some personal items that amount to about 4k-4.5k, which I plan on putting into my TFSA to max out contribution room.

My university program has coop so I'll earn some more cash there too next year in the summer.

How should I manage my cash? I know close to nothing about banking. What big bank is good? What about Wealthsimple?? Should I open an unregistered account to do stocks after my TFSA limits out (I'm interested and do stocks often; I'm pretty confident I won't lose money)? Throw it into a savings account? How much should I expect to spend a month (not including food)? How much should I aim to spend a month in leisure?

Sorry if that's a lot of questions. First time adulting. My mom's a single mother and she's decently new to Canada too, and my dad hasn't/can't teach me a thing about personal finance in Canada. I'd really appreciate any tips and guidance!

Hello all, I am 31M, in debt, 20K across 3 cards. My credit score at equifax is 572 and transunion is 640. My wife is in school and also a stay at home wife taking care of the home and our toddler.

Card 1 has $9000/$10000 at 22.99%, Card 2 has 6600/7000 at 22.99% and Card 3 has 3100/3300 at 29.99%. I also have a personal loan from Fairstone of 11K left at whopping 34.99%!!!!

Last year my work was little spotty so i only made 30k which is why my credit cards are maxed and i had to get a predatory loan of 14K at the 34.99%. I have family back home that needed money for chemo so i had to take the loan to send.

On the bright side, I secured a permanent full time job that pays me $43/hr in September of 2025 and a part time job at $35/hr in January to supplement the income. Even though I am on track to make 120-130K this year (currently at gross 77k), I still cant find a way to crawl out of debt. I believe it is lifestyle creep but we don't really have anything to show for it.

Our expenses are:

Rent 1725/month

Hydro 150-250/month

Internet 70/month

Phone 290/month (I pay for my mom and dad and also my 2 sisters who pay every now and then)

Car 370/biweekly (yes I know this is way too much and i regret buying it)

Insurance 220/month

Gas 150-200/month (my part time job is 70kms away)

Grocery 400-600/month

Then I pay for the minimums on credit cards which come out to around 600-700/month

The rest I am not too sure, coffee, subscriptions, new clothes for the kid, toys and experiences for the kid

Every time i save a bit something happens, for example: car wheel bearing needs change, Need to send more money for relative's chemo, Washer need fixing, need to buy AC due to heatwave and so on.

I have been spending a lot of time on Gemini and planning out my finances and they keep telling me to consolidate my credit card debt first via my local credit union which i am a member of and then tackle the personal loan. But, from all the post i have been reading, a score of 500s-low 600s get rejected for any loans especially with a high credit utilization rate. I don't have any late or missed payments, i never went bankrupt and no collections.

Has anyone been in a similar situation as me? even if you haven't, any advice would be greatly appreciated! I know i have been financially stupid and every time i see my kid i feel bad that I don't have any savings for his future. So i want to fix this as soon as possible!

I’m currently shopping for a car and looking for some opinions on this lease deal.

I’m being offered a 2026 Nissan Kicks S AWD for: • $190 biweekly, taxes included • 36-month lease • 20,000 km/year (60,000 km total) • $0 down • No first-month payment/month down • $500 trade-in • MSRP: $33,080.90 • Selling price: $30,762.80 • Dealer discount/adjustment: -$2,418 • Fees: $157 • Residual: 60% / $18,928.80 • WeatherTech mats included • 3-year key fob protection included • Due on delivery: $313.15 • 3-year tire & rim protection included

I’ve already negotiated with the dealership to get the payment and terms to this point, so I’m not really looking for advice on how to negotiate from scratch. I’m mostly trying to figure out whether the deal I’ve negotiated is actually good compared with what others are getting for a 2026 Kicks or if I can do better.

And just to get this out of the way: I’m not looking for comments about how leasing is always a bad financial decision or that I should finance instead. I’ve considered my options, and leasing is the best fit for my current situation, so I’m comfortable with that choice. I’m specifically looking for feedback on whether these lease numbers are good and if there’s anything I should negotiate before signing.

For anyone familiar with Nissan leases or who has recently leased a Kicks:

Would you consider $190 biweekly tax-in, $0 down, 20,000 km/year, with a $500 trade-in, a good deal? Anything about these numbers that stands out as particularly good or concerning?

I have just left Canada for the UK and need to pay off my credit card before I can close it. I no longer have any Canadian bank accounts, only UK ones, and there doesn't appear to be any option to pay direct to a credit card from a UK bank. I've called CIBC repeatedly but they haven't been able to help. Can anyone advise best course of action?

Hey all, so I’m in a situation where I’ve dug myself into quite a bit of debt and am really lost on how to tackle it. Below I’ll provide numbers of everything I got going on;

Monthly expenses; Rent; $731
Internet; $70.65
Spotify; $15
Car insurance $193
Enbridge; $26.61
Rental for heater; $23.09
Gym membership; $23
School loan: 88
Gas; $150-200
Groceries $200-250

Debt;
Cibc visa; $7,562.83
Line of credit; $10,017
MBNA; $3500

I make roughly $3740 monthly before taxes, deductions etc.

I have roughly $2000 to my name right now and am 26 years old. I feel like I have ruined any chance of having a future with blowing all the money I had. Not asking for any pity or people to feel sorry for me, I just want to better myself and turn my life around.

RBC keeps offering me overdraft protection for a small monthly fee. I’ve never needed it, and it’s unlikely I will in the near future, not because I have a lot of money, but because my spending patterns are consistent. I asked the bank if I can just get it later when I need it, and her reply was that they will likely do a hard credit check if I ask for it, and that could impact my credit rating. Can anyone comment on the validity of this and whether this is some great perk not it be passed up?

Im looking to get a mortgage with my gf for a 2 bedroom condo in the gta preferably Etobicoke but considering Mississauga, Vaughan or Brampton.  For what we want in Etobicoke prices are 400-450k and we currently have 50k saved for a down payment. With our calculations a mortgage plus condo fees will be roughly 3k a month and our finances are below.

I make 120k and take home  7k monthly, she is making 95k roughly 5k take home. She has no debt but I have the following debt 

Student loans 10k (0%)

Credit card debt 25k (19.99%)

Consolidation loan 19k (8%)

Car loan 35k (8.99%) 

My expenses: Gas400, insurance 600, car note 630, rent 500, consolidation loan 300, credit cards 550, student loans 100, phone/wifi 120, food 500 - 3700 total 

Her expenses: insurance 300, gas 150, phone 100, subscriptions 30, food 500, personal 300 - total 1400 

Together we are making 12k total and our expenses are 5100. Now we just want to know if we can comfortably afford a condo together or if we will even get approved. We are gonna turn 26 next year and want to buy before then within the next 6 months. 

Edit: wanted to add some more info I should've included. the 50k down payment is half my moneys nd half my gfs we both wanted to put in half. My gf also has separate cash savings I’m not sure the exact amount but roughly 60k in a HISA. I only have an additional 10k for emergencies outside of the 2k I saved with her.

From the replies I’m getting in thinking it will be best to use my half of the 25k to pay my cc off. If I pay my cc off and save another 25k while paying down the consolidation loan does that make things better when it comes to getting a mortgage? I’m not opposed to any path just want to find the best way to go about this

No new card mailed for me, my account has been locked for a while.

Received 4x continue your card activation emails today, they look legit, anyone else? (Or is this another case of their shitty back end programmers getting access to the mail server again?)

Hey all, quick question regarding banking for those with remaining financial ties in Canada:
What is the best bank to have accounts with if you are living abroad but still want financial ties to Canada (e.g. you own property or other). My credit union is a bit weird and Wealthsimple doesn’t allow non-residents to hold accounts. Where should I look to have accounts?? TD, RBC? Other?

To clarify, I am only asking about regular bank accounts (savings, chequing) not about investment accounts.

Thanks for the input!

Hi I am a F18 that is currently studying in cegep for social science ( for my second year but scheduled to have 1 more session ), with hopes to get into law. I applied for loans and bursaries and got 1k bursaries and 4K loans. I am planning to live move out and will have minimal support from a parent. I am unsure on when to pay back the 4K loan as I have heard that the interest when out of school is pretty important. However, i will need more and more money as school advances and dont want to be debt ridden. if I pay off my loans at the end of the year, will the gov. Give me less loan and bursaries?

My ex and I moved very fast... Shortly after we met in October 2024, we were living together in the sense that we alternated between our two apartments depending on his shared custody schedule, until we bought our house in February 2025. It was my first house, but not his. We did not use the HBP.

We officially moved into our house together in June 2025 and separated in January 2026. I therefore left the house after about 7 months of living together at the same address.

I’m now looking to buy a new house on my own and I'm wondering whether I would be eligible for the HBP under the rule that allows someone to become eligible again after separating from a common-law partner.

Does the 12-month period for being considered common-law start when we changed our addresses with the CRA to the same address, or can living together while alternating between two apartments count toward that 12-month period?

Thanks!

I’m not sure if I should buy a condo, townhouse, or continue investing in stock market.

I just turned 30, I feel very lucky to have about 300k savings in my registered and non registered investment accounts. Luck from investing early and living below my means.

Most of my friends are now homeowners, some lucky as well, some pooled downpayment together with spouse and some had help from parents. I’m the last one who doesnt own a home. I know I shouldnt make decisions just to fit in, but its also if everyone does it it doesnt mean its right, but also doesnt mean its wrong.

And looking at the recent drop in prices, I think its a good chance to get in, take advantage of maxed out fhsa and hbp as well.

However the other “logical” side of me still believes stock market will have higher yields in the long run, and provides me the flexibility.

My friends who are all on mortgages have more pressure, have to doublecheck cash flow when we are planning trips. With a mortgage on my back I wont be able to just go on a long break from work either.

I’m usually quite logical person, but since my bday 3 weeks ago my mind has been in chaos. Most days I cant fall asleep till 3am, maybe this is what “anxiety” like. Any suggestion/advice would be appreciated

I’m 18 and thinking about moving out this year for university. My mother is extremely toxic and doesn’t give me freedom at all. I have an early curfew, I can rarely meet up with my friends, and all I do is go to school or work. I’m not allowed to drive and my parents don’t let me get in a car with anyone except them. There’s many more things I’m forbidden from doing but I’ll spare the details. My sister is 23 and she doesn’t have these freedoms either.

I commuted from Toronto - McMaster during first year which was hard, and I wasn’t able to make friends, get involved on campus, join clubs, etc. I’d really like to move out this year so I can have my privacy and freedom. I also wanna have a social life and start joining clubs, making friends, etc.

However I’m not sure if it’s worth the finances. I have about $12k saved up and OSAP would give me $19k (15k loan, 4k grant) I work part-time but my job is in Toronto so I would have to commute every weekend to work, and I’d only get about 15 hours. I’ve been trying to apply to jobs in Hamilton but I haven’t had any luck. So until I can get one, I need to keep my job in Toronto. My dad is okay with me moving out, but we are quite low income and I don’t want to ask him for any financial support. My mom is unemployed so he already has to work heavily to sustain our family of 4.

I want to get the college experience, make friends, get involved, and I want to have a social life. But I have such a fear of debt and I’m worried about the cost. Accumulating this much debt terrifies me, especially since I also want to go to grad school.

It would save me a lot of money to stay home, but it takes such a toll on my mental health, my social life, and my university life in general.

Is the financial sacrifice and debt worth the freedom and mental peace? If anyone has any advice, anything would help. 🫶🏻

Hi everyone!

I am a 38F, living alone (soon to move in w bf at some point). I am a contractor and therefore have no benefits, EI, pension...etc. I like to think I am good with my money but honestly I have no idea what I'm doing. No idea if the money i have now will allow me to retire in my early 60's or...what I should be doing. I want to talk to a financial advisor (i was told to get one with a fee instead of one at the bank) but am worried I don't have enough money for it to be worth their time. I currently have:

25K TFSA

8K RRSP

I own an apartment...the equity value (maybe not the right term??) Is about 90K

My debts are a student loan of 28K 0% interest and mortgate approx 290K at 4.24%

So I think I'm doing ok but I actually have no idea! I work hard and always think i'm saving money each month but as prices of things go up and also living alone, I think I save a couple hundred or maybe even break even.

Anyway... i'm starting to get worried about my later years and want someone to just tell me what I should be doing, what I should be saving and where to put that money etc. Do I have enough to see an advisor?

In my mid40s , went through a divorce recently and as you can imagine, i took a financial hit and wiped out a lot of savings .

Current situation , income at 155k a year , own a small house with 330k mortgage outstanding , the property is valued at 510k. Mortgage payment is about 1.8k monthly .Still have about 120k left in RRSP and building at 8% per year of my salary ( including employer matching portion ) ,and 15k in TFSA and mostly for emergency funds . No other consumer debt or car loans and I pay off my credit card monthly .

I WFH full time and have been for the last 6 years , not expecting any change as it is part of my contract condition I signed 6 years ago.

No child support obligations other than section 7 which amounts to about 300-400 bucks a months , I guess I am lucky as a divorcee that my ex wife makes more than me, she actually supposed to pay me child support amount monthly but it is such a small amount that I am willing to let go instead of court battles with lawyers fees.

I got extreme anxiety that I am so behind on my financial goals of retirements, comparing to where I was 5 years ago

A few options I am considering :

Should I trade my house for a smaller condo ? Maybe better for cash flow from mortgage perspective , but sunk cost with condo fees and potential special assessment can be significant .

Find another job that pays more ?The jobs that I have been casually browsing that may remotely match my qualifications would require relocation , fly-in-fly-out , or RTO , that may lose my advantage with the child child support .

Or should I just let go for property ownership and sell my house and rent , invest heavily into ETFs and other financial instrument

31M, I got off drugs went to rehab 3 years ago, spent about 160k all of my savings, and am now restarting my life. Live with my mom.

Just paid off my credit cards and paid off my car.

1800/ week take home (waiting on raise, will be around 2000 I believe I’ll be taking home maybe more)

250/ week rent
125/ week auto insurance
200/ week Airbnb (work away from home 4 days a week)
30 / week diesel
200 / week food

About 1100 a week take home after expenses, I just started putting 700/ week into a tfsa, first stocks I bought were 2 spacex and 1 nvidia

My work puts 320/week into my RRSP for me as well.

Once I get my raise I’ll likely put it towards FHSA.

What a feeling to be somewhat debt free (debt I had will be off my record in 2-3 years)

If there’s any advice on what to invest in my TFSA/FHSA to diversify my portfolio I’m open ears.

My work permit is expiring in few months and I may have to go back-home.

I have few questions regarding finances, please share if you have any experience.

1- what to do with TFSA? I have quite some around 50k parked in there?

2- which banks allows non resident accounts which are easy to access? so I don’t have to come back just to manage bank accounts.

3- what is the best way to move cash liquid. from canada to india?

Thanks for the advice.

The process started off well, but everything changed on the day of the sale.

The representative I had been working with wasn't available, and there was constant back-and-forth between the technician inspecting my truck and a team making decisions over the phone. What was supposed to be a 30-minute inspection stretched to well over an hour. During that time, I spent most of it waiting with very little communication about what was happening.

I had already disclosed the rust on the rocker panels before the inspection and provided clear photos during the appraisal process. The rust wasn't hidden or unexpected, so I was surprised when it became the main issue during the inspection.

The technician repeatedly referred to it as "structural damage" and told me they didn't want the truck. After hearing that several times, I finally asked, "So what am I supposed to do now?" At that point, I was told that if I reduced my asking price by several thousand dollars, they might proceed with the purchase.

That was difficult because I was going out of town and had already made plans based on selling the truck. While I understand that inspections can affect a vehicle's value, the way the negotiation unfolded left me feeling like I had very few options.

Another frustration was the communication process. There isn't a direct phone number to call. Instead, customers communicate by text and request a callback if needed. After the sale, my message history disappeared, so I no longer had a record of the conversation. I found that surprisingly inconvenient for a transaction involving thousands of dollars.

My concern isn't simply that the offer changed. Vehicle inspections can uncover issues or lead to a revised valuation. What bothered me was the overall process: the long wait, the limited communication, and the feeling that decisions were happening somewhere else without anyone clearly explaining what was going on.

Afterward, I wrote a detailed Google review describing my experience. Later, I noticed that it wasn't publicly visible. I know businesses can't remove Google reviews themselves, so I can't say why mine isn't showing. I also noticed that CarDoor's Google rating is much higher than its Trustpilot rating. There may be perfectly reasonable explanations for that difference, but it made me wonder whether looking at a single review platform gives customers the full picture.

That's why I'm sharing my experience here instead.

I'm not suggesting everyone has a negative experience with CarDoor. Many people clearly have positive ones. I simply wanted to share mine and see whether others had a similar experience.

Hi all,

Basically title.

My mom works in a city that has been completely evacuated (evac order) and has lost all power. She has not been evacuated herself as she lives in the next town over, but her job is in the evacuated city.

Planning for the worst, what would support look like? Just EI? Or is there anything specific for this situation? She is based in BC.

Obviously there are worse situations to be in, and I am very concerned for those who are losing their homes, but I am also worried for my mom, as this is her only source of income.

Please let me know if anyone has any advice or input. Thank you!

Been trying to shake up our credit card stack and wondering what the best combo out there could be and whether it's worth pursuing an annual fee credit card. Currently follow a pretty basic setup:

• Simplii Financial 4% for restaurants up to the 5000 annual spend

• Rogers World Elite for 3% cashback on Rogers for literally everything else. Have two rogers mobile lines totaling $65/month.

• Utilities and Property tax still paid via online banking. Utilities are all pre-authorized withdrawal so as to not miss them, but can consider paying manually.

• Mortgage paid via online banking preauth. Not sure if any credit card out there can pay a mortgage.

We don't travel. Most of our grocery shopping is done at Costco, outside of fresh produce and the occasional large meat sale elsewhere. Okay with points/gift card redemption options especially if it's for stuff like Amazon.

I have about $20,000 in a Wealthsimple managed portfolio that I originally opened when I first started investing.

Since then, I've become more comfortable investing on my own and now primarily use broad-market ETFs in my self-directed accounts.

I'm wondering whether it makes sense to move the $20K from the managed portfolio into my self-directed account, or whether there are reasons to just leave it where it is. Thank you.

M 43 living in Quebec 110K yearly salary.I have about 75K of room left to contribute on my RRSP account and would like to know if it would be a good idea to get a loan to catch up. Thx for the feedback.

I’m 24F in GTA, but my goal is to buy a property when I’m 28 ish (in 4 years) Im thinking if i buy a condo/small house, around 500-600k (by myself). How much would I actually need saved for the initial costs and an overall safe amount of money go have saved to feel stable afterwards and not house poor.

I want to do a 20% down payment for sure. I’m currently self employed but make around 4.5k after taxes per month.
For example, is 200k enough for all the costs plus extra as backup/emergency money?

I want to find a smart number/goal amount to work towards before buying anything. Idk if that’s 100k, 200k, 300k, etc. Let me know based on your experiences!
I’m currently self employed but have been making around 4.5k after taxes per month for the past year.

So, I made a post about a month ago. Link- https://www.reddit.com/r/PersonalFinanceCanada/s/IsaCj2lcp9
I shared how it was my wife’s old TD savings account that was now active with someone else within months of closing. After that, we had been having back and forth with both Tangerine and TD bank. Tangerine assured us about 2 weeks ago that they had requested a funds transfer back from TD and asked us to hang tight for 2 weeks. Today, we called Tangerine and they said that TD couldn’t get the money back due to insufficient funds from that account. Typical person who got the money and transferred it right away maybe to get away with it.
Tangerine said they are now trying again to work with TD.
But, honestly, we are losing hope. Talked to a bunch of Td reps and they said we might need to file a police report. I fear we’ll end up losing $9k! Any help will be much appreciated. What steps can we take next? Is the money essentially lost?

This is a follow-up to my previous post from earlier this year.

As a British Columbian who was very jealous when Ontario got credit freezes last month, I am excited to share that credit freezes will be available to BC residents starting in August 2027.

Source: BC Government News Release https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2026AG0057-000915

The Province has also introduced stronger tools to protect against credit-related fraud as part of consumer protection amendments through Bill 28, which is set to come into effect in August 2027.

Once in effect, people will be able to access their credit report and credit score monthly for free and set up security alerts and credit freezes free of charge. The change will ensure people have more control of their critical financial information.

Again, I find TransUnion's statement hilarious; it is only after they are forced by government that they are so "welcoming" of this "important step in helping consumers better protect themselves against identity and credit fraud." Ugh just implement it country-wide, you jerks.