lizzie, you say you wish you had saved some of your severance. Did you use it to pay off your house, or did you use it for CC debt or something like that? If so, than you did fine with your money.
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@lizzie bargain that is a good point. In fact this worked for us. DH had a significant severance in 2017 and he had carry over room and the company was still matching his rrsp despite the termination so we put a huge chunk into his RRSP. we had the carry over from earlier years of marriage and kids when there was more month than money.
I actually invested all my severance money and it is still in the bank. I meant I wished I had saved RRSP room.
remember the guy who paid off his Toronto home in 3 years, before the age of 30?
he lived in the basement, rented the upstairs, rode his bike, ate KD, worked a finance job and a side hustle working at No Frills too
now he's travelling across Canada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMXD86We5Jg
Hmm...I'm all for saving money, but I'm not sure I could advocate a diet of KD. I think there was another guy who just ate PB sandwiches every single day and he made them in monthly batches.
And as for renting, my parents have rented out their properties for nearly 60 years now, and the trouble the tenants have caused (including burning a three-storey apartment building to a crisp, rent arrears, drunken brawls, etc.) are not really my cup of tea. A good tenant is golden, a bad tenant is like having rodents who bring friends. What we paid in mortgage interest was peanuts compared to what my parents had to pay to repair damages over the years, or lost from people unwilling to pay their rent.
Side hustle, biking - thumbs up! Kudos to him, but I don't think I could do what he did.
My first thought is to be sure you have 3 to 6 months worth of income in accessible savings. If that's a TFSA, then that's fine. RRSP's are taxable when withdrawn, so a financial advisor would be best to help you plan the best strategy.
Rates are continuing to go up, so as far as a mortgage is concerned. . .while it's true the rates are and will continue to increase, it's still relatively cheap money. Debts should be paid first and foremost (higher interest) If you really want to make it less painful, you can likely increase your mortgage payment amount. The nice thing about that, is it helps pay down faster BUT if you ever run into trouble, you can drop it back down to regular amount.
I also think if you're financially stable. . . don't forget to live and enjoy life. Take a meaningful trip (not just fun in the sun, but maybe Europe or somewhere you'll have an "experience"). Life is short. Don't forget to make some great memories for your old age!!