# 30 year old and zero saving



## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

I am so happy that I find this thread.
I came to Canada in 2008, graduated in 2011. Worked for 2 years and then got laid off. Went on EI for a 6 months...Even though I was on scholarship from 2008 till 2011 and earning decent in job I didnt saved any money.:upset:..Also wasted my last two year saving on Big Fat wedding.

I had to send money to home to my parents for a while and for younger brother education. But Now, I got married and my wife is a saver...she is in school doing her Phd and able to save 20k$ till now. Actually it was 40k but she gave 20k$ to her parents for wedding expenses.
I am 30, she is 27 and she in final year of Phd..She get 1600$ every month as scholarship and I make close to 70,000$..

My Assets:
3000$ in Chequing
2000$ Car

Her assets
20,000$ in saving
500$ in chequing..

Per month
Our house rent: 1100$
groceries:300$
Gas:200$
Insurance car + house:131$ ( Me and by spouse both r listed as drivers on it)
phone bill:22$ mine + 35$ spouse
Netflix:8$
outings:100$
Liabilities:0
Gym:32$ per month
Shaw net:22$
Bus pass:100$
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Total:2000 (Approx)
Future: She is planning to go for MBA next year probably one year MBA COURSE at Richard Ivey. She got 60,000$ scholarship so we have to pay close to 27000$..Also she will be moving to ontario for some time..

First steps for me:
RRSP: I wil start my RRSP contirbution. 
TFSA: 1000$ every month (TD eseries)
Travel fund:150$ every month
Emergency fund:150$ every month
Car fund:300$ per month (Need to buy nissan rogue, cheapest SUV). Thinking of getting it financed, but saving it for two year for it will be a good idea. As it will teach me how to save. Its important to have a good car during winters in Alberta


For her:
SPOUSE TFSA: She want to open TFSA at ing direct and want to put 10000k in index funding. ( she came to canada in 2010 )
And want to transfer 250 every month to this account

Will appreciate your feedbacks. This forum is inspiration to me to work hard and save.
Thanks


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## blueeyetea (Feb 27, 2013)

Overall, I think you're doing pretty well, although you haven't said what your future goals are. What are you plans? 

Off the top of my head, I'm wondering why you're putting $1,000 in a TSFA, while only $150/month for emergency? Why not put $1150 until you have your emergency fund built up. The car I understand you want to save for two years. Once your emergency is set-up, allocate the $1,000 to the car, building up the down payment and reduce the financing. 

Since you're already set-up for the TSFA TD e-Series, it's a small step to set-up an RRSP and have automatic withdrawals every month, which can be as small as $25/month for each fund. To take the full advantage of RRSP contributions, make sure to use the tax refund and reinvest back into the RRSP. 

For your spouse, same for her, what are her goals of saving that money? Since she'll have a $27,000 loan (?) to pay off in a year, I'd put the money aside in a less volatile investment than index funding. By the time she takes out the $10,000 in a year (I'm assuming), there's a 50/50 chance it would be worth less. Safer to put it in a GIC.


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

Yes, you are right about setting goals. I need to calculate numbers.
I am not thinking of buying house in Calgary of next three years plan is too start RRSP and once my wife start working we can take out 50k$ from our rrsp as first home buyer plan. Not sure about rules

Also I am planning to buy property over seas in developing country for 80k$ probably can pay it off in next three years. Rate of return on over seas property is usually 15 percent per annum.

As for emergency fund I am targeting 8k$, tfsa I can start transferring small amounts..for rrsp I will work on calculations ...
Thanks


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

:chuncky:


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

There is no reason why a TFSA can't be an "emergency fund". if part or all of it is in liquid, non-volatile assets.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

Congratulations. It looks like you're doing well and your plans are very frugal. This should allow good savings. Your lady appears to be a good influence and is very motivated. 

I'm wondering though how do you feed 2 people for $300?


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## mind_business (Sep 24, 2011)

Looks like you guys are on relatively good financial footings. I haven't really thought about RRSP vs TFSA strategies for someone at your age, however wouldn't it make more sense to focus on max'ing out your TFSA's before contributing to RRSP(s)? That way you can get the tax advantage of RRSP(s) when your incomes are higher ... assuming they go up in 5 years or so. Again, I'm not an expert, so I'm not sure if that's the right strategy ... but certainly worth some thought.

Another advantage with building up TFSA(s) is that you don't 'lose' the contribution room if you remove any monies. With an RRSP, if you need the money for something other than a 1st time home purchase, you lose the contribution room.


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## Time4earlyretirement (Feb 21, 2014)

PHd and then back to MBA @ Ivey? and 27 years old? I'm assuming the first MA and PHd are non business related then...

Maybe you should tell your wife to work a day of her life in the field of business. Over educated and under experienced is almost never a good thing, especially in business. Not trying to be cold, that is just my 2 cents.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

I think your minimal spending despite a solid income, and your wife's bank account size despite all the schooling, are mighty impressive gladaki!




Time4earlyretirement said:


> PHd and then back to MBA @ Ivey? and 27 years old? I'm assuming the first MA and PHd are non business related then...
> 
> Maybe you should tell your wife to work a day of her life in the field of business. Over educated and under experienced is almost never a good thing, especially in business. Not trying to be cold, that is just my 2 cents.


That is also my first thought Time4earlyretirement, but I feel it rather harsh to say... And we don't know all the info. Perhaps her PHD is in BioMed and they don't want children and the MBA will set her up to become some pharmacutical executive.

But yes, Gladaki, if you are planning on having children, and your wife's PHD doesn't give her a highly in-demand skillset, then I think the MBA is a bad idea that will set you guys back years financially.


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

OhGreatGuru said:


> There is no reason why a TFSA can't be an "emergency fund". if part or all of it is in liquid, non-volatile assets.


Thanks for advice, I really appreciate your time ..I will focus on increasing emergency fund.


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

peterk said:


> I think your minimal spending despite a solid income, and your wife's bank account size despite all the schooling, are mighty impressive gladaki!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


She is finishing her PhD in cancer biology and got 60k$ In scholarship for MBA. There are schools like Calgary where she can finish her business school in 50k$. But Richard Ivey and Toronto is on her list.lets see we are working on numbers. Ivey gives Interest free loans to students.


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

Time4earlyretirement said:


> PHd and then back to MBA @ Ivey? and 27 years old? I'm assuming the first MA and PHd are non business related then...
> 
> Maybe you should tell your wife to work a day of her life in the field of business. Over educated and under experienced is almost never a good thing, especially in business. Not trying to be cold, that is just my 2 cents.


She has a bachelors and now will get PhD.


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

RBull said:


> Congratulations. It looks like you're doing well and your plans are very frugal. This should allow good savings. Your lady appears to be a good influence and is very motivated.
> 
> I'm wondering though how do you feed 2 people for $300?


We buy groceries from superstore and 300 is good for both of us.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

If her PhD is in cancer biology I can't really see how an MBA is relevant. Why does she want to do the MBA? This is a very expensive degree to get.


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## DividendLuvr (Mar 5, 2014)

She could be angling for a senior position in the pharmaceutical industry.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

gladaki said:


> We buy groceries from superstore and 300 is good for both of us.


I believe you. 

We can eat healthy and quality fresh food for 48% again that, and that includes a large home vegetable garden and freezing what we can from it. 

Our diets and intake


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

My base is 75k$ and the Company will match 50% of my
contribution up to a maximum of 3% of my annual salary, I am starting late never contributed to my RRSP..
How much you guys recommend to start my RRSP.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

At least 3% of your annual salary. You need to maximize the company match since that's a guaranteed 50% return immediately.


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## alex52 (Dec 12, 2013)

i am in bio-medical field there are no good pharmaceutical executive jobs in Canada. Also she has no experience.


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

alex52 said:


> i am in bio-medical field there are no good pharmaceutical executive jobs


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

About me:
My company was laying off people, so I made a move to a new firm and got a jump of 5k on my base.
Wages:75k$.
expenses:2000k$ per month 
bonuses:3 - 5k after a year.

My Spouse:
My spouse is in school but she do get a scholarship of 24k$ per year (No Tax on it). she pays 500$ per month fee from it as well. She saved 20,000$ till now for her MBA. Starting MBA next year September.
I was thinking of putting her money in 1 year TFSA GIC or index fund.

Questions About Pay roll deduction:

I just received pay roll deductions forms from them for mentioning two account number with three choices in each. (RSP,NON RSP, SPOUSAL RSP). I dont think my previous companies gave any kind of forms to me. Only option was if I wan to contribute to RRSP. I chcked no.

In pay roll deduction form they also have two options (TD WATERHOUSE & TD Future build mutual fund account)...I am new to all these saving plans, will appreciate your suggestions on it. I have a appointment with TD financial advisor next week but I want to do my homework before that.Company is matching 50% of my maximum 3% salary in RRSP..

My Goals

1.To start building emergency fund of 10,000k$. 
2.Start transferring $$$ in every month in eseries fund. So I can learn how to invest. And Max out my TFSA.
3.Maxing out my RRSP for future saving. (At least start it by contributing 3% of my salary) 
4.opening my WIFE TFSA with Ing direct and contibute maximum to index funds or GIC (I am not able to take decision on it)

Steps 2 and 3 will give me a chance to compare two similar portfolios in end of the year.

I had mutual fund in past attach to TFSA, I think they performed very well in last two years. But I had to redeem it because of Family emergency back home.
Every one whom i meet now days are quite happy with TD mutual funds.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

If it's a TD Waterhouse normal account, then I'd take that, as it will give you the capability to buy whatever you want (including mutual funds). If you go for the mutual funds account, you'll be limited to buying only mutual funds.


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

I am little confused about RRSP. I started working from May 2011 and never contributed to RRSP. Can I use last 3 year RRSP room from next year ?


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

Yes, have a look at your 2012 notice of assessment from the federal government. This will have the information you are looking for. 

Unused RRSP room is carried forward each year and is earned at 18% of your income minus any applicable pension adjustments.


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## gladaki (Feb 23, 2014)

April ...
First major thing ..Applied for MBNA smart cash. I have been using TD Rebate card till now


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