Investment 101 – Part 5: Tax Advantaged Accounts

We’re now on to part 5 of our Investing 101 Series.  For anyone new here, you can check out the previous posts here:

• Investing 101 – Part 1: Introduction
• Investing 101 – Part 2: Compound Interest
• Investing 101 – Part 3: Accounts You Can Invest In (US Edition) 
• Investing 101 – Part 4: Accounts You Can Invest In (Canada Edition)

So you’re planning for (early) retirement and feeling unsure about which product is the best vehicle to get you there.  These days, few people have access to “defined benefit” plans like the pensions that may have guaranteed your grandparents a certain payout from retirement through the rest of their lives. Instead, most retirement plans are of the “defined contribution” variety, meaning you (and maybe your employer) contribute a certain amount each month, quarter, or year, but the payout you’ll receive during retirement will be based on the market value of the account.

IRAs and 401ks are among the most common defined contribution plans in the States, and both offer tax-advantaged retirement savings. Similarly, it’s the TFSAs and RRSPs that are the tax-advantaged accounts up in the great white north. Another form of defined contribution plans are Social Security in the States and Canada Pension Plan in Canada.

For the sake of not having to keep going back and forth, I will write in US terms first (aka 401k and IRA) but note that a TFSA is the equivalent to a Roth IRA, a Group RRSP is equivalent to a Traditional 401k (funded by an employer), and a RRSP is the equivalent to a Traditional IRA (individual account not tied to an employer).  I will write a separate section for Canadians towards the end regarding TFSAs and RRSPs so it’s clear as there are some differences from the US accounts.

Even though a lot of this post is a recap of what you’ve already learned from the Investing 101 Series, I really wanted to harp on the tax advantaged accounts as these are likely the accounts you should be opening up first and foremost. Any Canadian reading, there is not reason not to focus on our TFSA and/or RRSP before anything else as you can withdraw from these accounts if need be with no penalty (not that we are suggesting you do this unless you’re already retired).

Let’s set one thing straight.  There is a common misconception that a 401k, IRA, RRSP, or TFSA is a type of investment like a mutual fund.  If it’s not clear to you yet, they are not!  They are simply a savings or investing account with certain tax-savings characteristics.  You can CHOOSE what type of investments to fill up these accounts with. Same goes for taxable brokerage accounts.  Those are simply accounts you are opening on your own but then you select the investments that go into those accounts too.  So the questions “Do I invest in a 401k or index fund?” or “Do I invest in a RRSP or individual stock?” do not make sense. You’re comparing an account to a fund within an account.

If you have a 401k/RRSP but are afraid to open up a brokerage account, there is no need to be as you are already investing! Most employee sponsored 401k or Group RRSP accounts have ~10-30 options of investment funds to choose from.  Many 401k plans offer index funds with target retirement dates which consist of a mix of domestic index funds, international index funds, domestic bond index funds etc. which make deciding on which fund to invest in quite easy if you’re looking for a simple way to be in a balanced portfolio.  Or if you are opening up an IRA, RRSP, or TFSA on your own at your bank or discount brokerage, you can put whatever investments you want it in (i.e. cash, individual bonds, individual stocks, ETFs, index funds, etc.). 

We will cover these different types of investments in the next post of the investing series, for now we will focus on the different tax advantaged accounts.

401k vs IRA

There are a few key differences between these types of plans. The good news is that you don’t have to choose one over the other. If you’re planning well for retirement (I sure hope you are!), it’s quite likely that your plan may include both a well-funded IRA and a 401k account.  If so, you’re killing it! If you can really boost your savings rate up, after you’ve maxed out these tax advantage accounts you can then open up a taxable brokerage investment account with a financial institution  (examples include Vanguard, Fidelity, Schwab, etc.) and funnel in any additional money into these taxable accounts. There’s a traditional 401k, a Roth 401k, a traditional IRA, and a Roth IRA.  (There are some other versions too depending on your line of business but these are the main ones).  You can have both a 401k and an IRA but the max annual contribution room in both accounts must be split up between a traditional or Roth, however you choose. 

For both a traditional 401k and traditional IRA, a word “traditional” in this type of account means that you get the special tax treatment the year in which you contribute.  For both a Roth 401k and Roth IRA, the word “Roth” implies that you pay taxes like normal in the year you contribute and you get the special tax treatment down the road when you withdraw from these accounts. It’s a good idea to be informed about the differences so you can make smart choices for your future.  Again, personal finance is not my day job, it’s just a hobby, and I am constantly learning.  So please do your own research or consult a trusted advisor to review your specific situation in detail. However, if you’re nervous, I’d say just pick one and get started!  Sitting on the sidelines is not helping your situation.  

What’s a 401k?

A 401k, as well as a 403b and 457, is a qualified employer-sponsored retirement plan.  If you are self employed, don’t fret.  There’s the solo 401k for you.  If your employer does not offer a 401k or other sponsored plan, you should probably just begin saving in a Roth IRA or traditional IRA.  But if you have access to an employer plan — especially if the employer offers matching contributions — that’s a great place to start. Many employers offer a matching contribution up to a certain percentage of your salary.  For instance, if your employer will match your 401k contributions up to 6 percent of your salary, you should always contribute at least 6 percent. If not, you’re turning down free money! Think of this as part of your salary. Would you willingly give away part of your pay check? I doubt it.

You could also contribute into a Roth 401k in which you pay taxes upfront (if your employer offers it).  If you expect your tax rates to be higher in retirement, if you’re young and have decades of tax-free compounding earnings potential, or if you plan to leave your Roth to a spouse or heirs who can stretch out the tax-free growth this could be an option for you. The decision to choose traditional 401k or Roth 401k is personal (and likely will be a traditional 401k as that’s the account most employers offer). It depends on your current tax bracket and your expected tax bracket when you retire (which is a guess at this point as tax brackets are constantly changing). All the money you contribute to your traditional 401k account is pre-tax money, meaning you will not be taxed on that money during the year you earned it (well you will, but you can claim it when you file your taxes and get it back).  This however does not mean you are free and clear of paying taxes on money in your 401k.  You will pay taxes on it when you withdraw it during retirement.  (Although there is a way around this, enter in long term capital gains taxes.)

What are Long Term Capital Gains?

Long term capital gains are those you earn on assets you’ve held for more than a year.  The long term capital gains tax rates for 2019 are 0%, 15%, and 20%, and they are typically much lower than the ordinary income tax rate. A single person in the States won’t pay any capital gains if their total taxable income is $39,375 or below.  You will pay 15% on those gains if your income is $39,376-$434,550.  Above that, the rate jumps to 20%.  If you are married filing jointly the 0% bracket jumps up from 0-$78,750.  The 15% bracket is $78,751-$488,850 and then it’s 20% if your income is $488,851 or more.  (Short term gains i.e. assets you buy and hold within a year, are subject to the current ordinary income tax brackets.  So for 2019 it would be 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%.)

Capital gains tax is an early retirees best friend.

What do we mean by that?  For most working people, you are likely earning more than $39,375 and so if you withdraw from your capital gains during your working years you will fall in the 15% tax bracket.  However, for us early retirees, if you can keep your spending below $39,375/year if you’re single or under $78,750/year if you’re married, you can live off your capital gains and not pay any taxes on them!  This is why joining team intentionality and team valuist spending is so important.  Cut the fluff out of your spending habits not only to boost up your savings rate during your wealth accumulation phase but to also fall into the 0% tax bracket once you FIRE. Note that if you’re paid dividends from stocks that aren’t in retirement accounts, those are subject to capital gains as well if they aren’t reinvested.  This is why it’s important to re-invest your dividends in your wealth accumulation phase rather than withdraw them.  Let compound interest do its magic for you!

In Canada, only 50% of the value of any capital gains is taxable.  The amount of tax that you actually pay will vary depending on how much you’re making and what other sources of income you have.  There are also eligible Canadian dividends that pay 0% tax thanks to the Canadian dividend tax credit. This dividend tax credit – which is available on dividends paid on Canadian stocks held outside of an RRSP, RRIF, or TFSA – will further cut your effective tax rate. On top of all of that, there’s the Federal Basic Personal Amount which is a tax credit every Canadian resident is entitled to claim on their tax return (as mentioned in Part 4 of the series).  For 2019, it’s $12,069 and will be bumped up to $15,000 – thanks Trudeau!  You’re also entitled to claim a corresponding provincial basic personal amount, which varies by province.  For example, the Alberta Basic Personal Amount is $19,369 for 2019. What this means is that any Albertan claiming $15,000 of income for the year will pay $0 in taxes. You can claim more than $15,000 if you are withdrawing funds that qualify under the Canadian dividend tax credit. And you can also withdraw $30,000 in capital gains as only 50% of this value is taxable thus bringing you down to the Federal Basic Personal Amount. If you have a partner, they can do the same.

401k Contribution Limits

During 2019, employees are allowed to contribute up to $19,000 of pre-tax income to a 401k, and those over 50 can contribute an additional catch-up contribution of $6,000.  In 2020 the limit will go up by $500 from $19,000 in 2019 to $19,500 in 2020.  And for those over 50, the catch up contribution limit will also go up by $500 from $6,000 in 2019 to $6,500 in 2020. Note that the money contributed by your company does NOT count towards you annual contribution limits for the year (this is different compared to Canada).  If you withdraw funds from your 401k before you reach at least age 59½, you’ll owe not only income tax on the amount you withdraw, but those funds are also subject to an additional 10% early distribution penalty tax.  From a surface, it seems like this is a major downer for an early retiree. However, the FIRE community is full of amazingly bright individuals and a completely legal loop hole has been discovered here: The Roth Conversion Ladder.  I first heard about this from Brandon over at The Mad Fientist – so here’s the link to that post to dig further into that concept.  It does require a 5-year window to access the funds so you have to think ahead as to when you will need to access the money and ensure you hand funds in other accounts for those first 5 years.  The cliff notes version is:

• Contribute to pre-tax retirement accounts (401k, 457b, traditional IRA) during your wealth accumulation phase
• Reach that magic point where you can retire early
• Once you leave your employer, roll your employer’s retirement accounts (401k, 457b, etc.) to a traditional IRA
• Convert from your traditional IRA to your Roth IRA (you WILL pay taxes at this point so figure out the best amount to convert at a time to remain in a low/0 tax bracket)
• Wait 5 years
• After 5 years is up, withdraw the money tax and penalty free

Ta-da!  Brandon also covers another popular early-withdrawal method called the 72(t) SEPP.

Personally, we plan to use our cash cushion first, then withdraw from our taxable accounts in Canada, then taxable accounts in the US (dipping Canada first since these funds have slightly higher fees), then withdraw from our RRSP in Canada (since there’s not penalty to withdraw early), and lastly our tax-advantaged US accounts via the Roth Conversion Ladder for our 401k (if we aren’t 59 1/2 by then, but we should be though). The goal is to leave our TFSA untouched until the end if possible to let that tax free money grow grow grow. Or use it if our bank accounts are fat and juicy and we want to take an unaccounted vacation and no end up in a higher tax bracket.

What’s an IRA?

While the opportunity to contribute to a 401k is limited to people employed by companies that offer such plans, anyone can contribute to a traditional IRA (individual retirement account), as long as they are under the age of 70½.  Like a traditional 401k, a traditional IRA offers tax-deferred growth on your investments, meaning the assets in the IRA will not be taxed until they are withdrawn.  A Roth IRA offers opposite tax advantages from a traditional IRA: you pay tax on income before you make contributions to the Roth IRA, but you’ll pay no tax on the earnings when you make withdrawals in retirement. However, not everyone qualifies for a Roth IRA. To qualify, you must have a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) that is less than $137,000 if single, or $203,000 for married couples filing jointly.

In Canada, the Roth IRA equivalent is a TFSA which is accessible to anyone over the age of 18 regardless of your income. 

Similar to the note above on the 401k, the decision to go Roth IRA vs traditional IRA is a personal decision and depends on your current income and tax bracket vs your anticipated retirement income and tax bracket.

IRA Contribution Limits

The limit for annual contributions to an IRA is $6,000 for 2019, and an additional $1,000 for people over 50. That limit is the same for both traditional and Roth IRAs meaning that you CANNOT contribute $6,000 to both a traditional and Roth IRA per year. The same limits apply for 2020.  

Similar to a 401k, generally, early withdrawal from a traditional IRA prior to the age 59½ is subject to being included in gross income plus a 10% additional tax penalty.  There are some exceptions to the 10% additional penalty, such as using IRA funds to pay for your medical insurance premium after a job loss, using the funds to pay for higher education expenses not only for you but also for an immediate family member, if you’re in the military and are called to duty for more than 179 days, or both you and your spouse can each use up to $10,000 from each of your traditional IRAs towards the purchase of your first home. You can take money without penalty from a traditional IRA once you reach age 59½ and you must begin taking money out of an IRA starting April 1 of the year following the year when you turn 70½. But again, there’s the Roth Conversion Ladder which is another way to loop through the tax penalty (again, you do pay taxes based off your income level when you convert from traditional to Roth). 

Withdrawals from a Roth IRA are a bit different. You can withdraw the money you contributed into a Roth at any time and for any reason without paying taxes or penalties since you already paid taxes on the money you used to find the account upfront.  This provides much more flexibility compared to the traditional IRA.  However, different rules apply to taking out earnings from your investments.  If you’ve owned the account for 5 years or more you can avoid the 10% early withdrawal penalty as long as you meet one of the 3 criteria below:

1. You’re 59 ½ or older
2. You’ve become disabled or you’ve died and the money is being withdrawn by your estate or account beneficiary
3. The withdrawal is for a first-time home purchase (up to $10,000 max)

So the withdrawals on the earnings are quite similar to the withdrawals of a traditional IRA but the withdrawals on your contributions can be withdrawn tax and penalty free at any time.  There’s also no required minimum distribution when you turn 70½.

Oh Canada

Thank you Canadian readers for your patience going through the US accounts first.  To quote Quit Like A Millionaire, “But what about Canadians?”, said no American ever.  For Canadians, there are a few key differences compared to what’s offered in the states.  The types of accounts are similar, but the contribution limits are a bit different.

RRSP

The total amount you can contribute to your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) each year is made up of your contribution limit for the current year PLUS any “carry-forward” contribution room from previous years.  This is great news meaning that if you had room to contribute in the past but you didn’t, it’s not too late to catch up.  Likely you are a higher earner now compared to years past, so it may be even more beneficial compared to if you contributed annually in the past.  This is worth repeating: if you don’t make the maximum allowable RRSP contribution in any given year, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) lets you carry forward the unused contribution rooms INDEFINITELY and add this to the amount you can contribute to future years.

All this sounds fine and dandy but how do you find out your contribution limits?

I have found the CRA website to be extremely easy to use and you can sign up via a username/password you already have set up with your bank to figure out your contribution room for your RRSP and TFSA.  Note that the number reported on your CRA account online does NOT take into account anything you have contributed thus far for this current year so if you have contributed some money this year you will have to factor that into your calculations when figuring out how much contribution room you have remaining. (Unless of course you are doing this on March 1 when the clock rests.)

Some Canadian employers offer a group RRSP which you can contribute to which would be similar to the 401k offered in the states.  Again, if there is a matching program in place in which your employer will match up to a certain percentage or amount, do that or else you’re giving up free money! 

An Individual RRSP is a non-employer sponsored RRSP (aka you can set it up yourself in a brokerage account such as Questrade) and this would be similar to a traditional IRA in the states mentioned above. Similar to the traditional accounts in the states, an RRSP allows you to receive a tax deduction in the year in which you contribute but you will be subject to paying tax later on once you withdraw from your RRSP.  A common misconception is that this is tax free money.  It’s not, the government will get its pound of flesh later.  (But again, if you’re a validation and reduced your expenses, you can end up paying 0 taxes.) Again, the idea here is to contribute when you’re in a higher tax bracket and take it out in retirement when you have less income and you’re in a lower tax bracket.

RRSP Contribution Limits

The contribution for any given year is up until the 60th day of the year which is typically up until March 1 (of the following year).  For example, February 29, 2020 is the deadline for contributing to an RRSP for the 2019 tax year (hello leap year!). If you contribute in January or February, you can declare if you want it to count for that current year (2020, in this example) or for the previous year (2109). The 2019 contribution limit for an RRSP is 18% of earned income you reported on your tax return in the previous year, up to a max of $26,500.  For 2020, the upper limit is $27,230 (plus any carry forward room you have).

If you have a company pension plan, your RRSP contribution limit is reduced by the pension adjustment.  The pension adjustment is calculated by your employer and reported to the CRA on your T4 each year.

Similarly, if your company offers a match to your Group RRSP, your RRSP contribution limit is reduced by the amount your company provided.  

You can contribute to your RRSP up until December 31 of the year you turn 71.  Then you must convert to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) or purchase an annuity to avoid having the value of your RRSP fully taxed that year.

Withdrawals of an RRSP can occur at any time but are classified as taxable income, which becomes subject to withholding taxes.  If you withdraw up to $5,000, the withholding tax is 10%; if you withdraw between $5,001 and $15,000, the withholding tax is 20%; and if you withdraw more than $15,000, the withholding tax rises to 30%. However, don’t let this scare you.  Tax withheld at source is not necessarily the amount of tax that is actually payable on your income earned.  Withholding tax is a prepayment of tax only.  Cashflow planning around RRSP withdrawals are important, especially if you owe more than the tax withheld as source on the withdrawal.  If you’re an intentional valuist and can withdraw the Basic Personal Amount from your RRSP and live off of that without bringing in any other source of income, you’ll get a tax refund of the entire amount you withheld upon withdrawal when it comes time to filing your taxes.   Note that once you have withdrawn you will have permanently lost that contribution room in your account.

There is a loop hole to the system.  You can use your RRSP money to buy your first home or head back to school without getting hit with the tax withholding penalty.  Under the federal Home Buyers’ Plan, you can withdraw up to $25,000 from RRSPs without paying tax.  The catch is that you have to repay the full amount within 15 years.  You can also withdraw $20,000 from your RRSPs tax-free to finance your education, though no more than $10,000 in one year.  However, once again, the money has to be repaid.

TFSA

The Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) is another way to shelter your money from the taxman.  TFSAs are similar to Roth IRAs in the states in that with an RRSP you get a tax break when you contribute and are taxed when you withdraw but with a TFSA the process reverses. There is no tax break upfront but when you withdraw from your TFSA down the road the taxman can’t get his paws on this money.  Investment income, including capital gains and dividends, earned in a TFSA is not taxed in most cases, even when withdrawn. Again, don’t be spooked from the name Tax Free Savings Account and think that a TFSA has to be a cash savings account.  Like an RRSP, a TFSA can contain cash and/or other investments such as individual stocks or bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, index funds, or guaranteed investment certificates (GICs). Don’t freak out, we will dig into these investment vehicles in the next part of this series.

A really nice part of TFSAs is when you retire, the money you take from TFSAs isn’t considered income so it won’t result in claw backs to Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement.  The same isn’t true for RRSPs.  This is awesome news as you can “game” the system to deplete your RRSP but have a nice chunk in your TFSA and still qualify for the maximum OAS payment in your later years. (We’re all about gaming life over here.)

TFSA Contribution Limits

TFSAs are not tied to your income.  ANY Canadian resident 18 years and older can save and invest in a TFSA.  Similar to RRSPs, the maximum annual contribution limit has varied over the years and currently the 2019 max is $6,000.  And similarly to RRSPs, any unused contribution room is carried over year over year!  The TFSA was first introduced in 2009 so if you’ve been a Canadian resident and 18 since 2009 and haven’t contributed anything into your TFSA, you currently have a cumulative total of $63,500 contribution room.  And each year you can add more.  That’s nuts!! Get at ‘er! You also can withdraw from your TFSA at any time without incurring a penalty which is another nice perk (more flexible than the Roth IRA in the states where you can withdraw contributions penalty free but not any gains)!

401k or IRA? RRSP or TFSA?

We get this question A LOT!  “I’m new to investing and not sure if we should invest in our 401k/RRSP or IRA/Roth IRA/TFSA?” The simple answer is, just pick one!  Sitting on the sidelines hemming and hawing over what to do is your worst decision out there.  Remember, TIME in the market is your best friend.  But since many people struggle with this, let’s dig in a bit more.

The question ultimately boils down to which registered account will provide you with the most optimized tax situation?

A traditional 401k/IRA in the States and a RRSP in Canada are tax deferral options, whereas if you contribute to a Roth 401k/Roth IRA in the States or TFSA in Canada you are using after tax income.  When it comes time to withdraw from your 401k/IRA/RRSP, the withdrawal will be ADDED to your income in the year in which you are withdrawing funds from these accounts and you will be taxed accordingly.  The exact opposite is true for the Roth 401k/Roth IRA/TFSA since you ALREADY paid taxes. You pay taxes on these upfront and then any money that is withdrawn is done so tax free.

Note that you should be aware that since withdraws from your 401k/IRA/RRSP are considered part of your income once you retire, it could possibly impact any benefits designated specifically to seniors that you would be eligible to receive (I’m looking at you OAS in Canada). For any non-Canadians reading, in Canada we get TWO different payments as we age; the Canada Pension Plan which is like Social Security in the States AND Old Age Security which is purely income based.  Again, be a valuist, keep your expenses low so your income from withdrawals is low, and reap the benefits from OAS.

Additionally, once you turn 71, your RRSP balance will be transferred to a RRIF (Registered Retirement Income Fund) where you are forced to withdraw a percentage of your balance each year.  Similarly in the States, starting April 1 the following year after you’ve reached 70.5, you must withdraw a required minimum distribution (RMD) on all employer sponsored retirement plans (traditional 401k, 403b, 457b, etc) and individual plans (traditional IRA, SEP-IRA, SIMPLE IRA, etc) which were tax deferred.

So, it makes the most sense to contribute in the tax deferral accounts (traditional 401k/IRA/RRSP) if you are in a higher tax bracket now as it will lower your tax burden this year.  If you are not in a high tax bracket, then the Roth 401k/Roth IRA/TFSA makes the most sense to me. But realize the after tax accounts (Roth 401k/Roth IRA/TFSA) have some very nice perks to them too.  Again, back my first piece of advice, just pick one!

Personally, without knowing a thing about you and your finances, my advice is if you’re not going to get much of a tax benefit from the traditional accounts in the States or an RRSP in Canada, I would suggest going the Roth route in the states or the TFSA route in Canada and not have to worry about taxes again in the future and have more flexibility when it comes time to withdrawals.  

Our Game Plan

We are in a unique position in that I (Court) am a dual US/Canadian citizen so all of these benefits don’t necessarily apply to me because I have to file my US taxes every year even though I no longer live in the States (unless I renounce my US citizenship, damn the man!) and Uncle Sam does not treat funds in TFSAs and RRSPs the same as the Canadian tax system.  So our long term plan is to first withdraw from our cash cushion and taxable accounts (in Canada and then the US), withdraw from our RRSP, then tap into funds in my 401k & IRA down the road, and to also max out Nic’s TFSA contribution room each year (since she is only a Canadian citizen, not dual).  

Key Takeaways

• All of the accounts above are simply tax advantaged accounts. What you choose to invest inside of these accounts is up to you!
• If your company offers a 401k/Group RRSP and matches up to a certain percent, you’re leaving money on the table if you don’t contribute at least that much!
• All of the options above are great ways for you to work towards your retirement goals with very little effort.  Since you’re a super smart bad ass saver you should be maxing out your tax deferred retirement accounts!  If you are unable to contribute the max of both tax advantaged accounts offered to you, the decision of how to contribute ultimately comes down to your current income and your projected retirement income. Typical advice would be for higher earners to contribute to your RRSP or traditional accounts and lower earners to contribute to your TFSA or Roth accounts if you could only fund one. However, I see pros to both types of accounts.
• Just because you contribute to an RRSP or traditional 401k or IRA you are not avoiding taxes completely. You are simply deferring when you will have to pay those taxes. The way to maximize these accounts is to put money in when you’re in a higher tax bracket and take it out in retirement when you have less income and you’re in a lower tax bracket.

Hope you enjoyed today’s post! Did you learn anything new? I feel a bit like a parrot repeating myself here but I thought these accounts deserved an entire post for themselves.

Want to check out the rest of the Investing 101 Series?

• Investing 101 – Part 1: Introduction
• Investing 101 – Part 2: Compound Interest
• Investing 101 – Part 3: Accounts You Can Invest In (US Edition) 
• Investing 101 – Part 4: Accounts You Can Invest In (Canada Edition)

Support This Blog

If you liked this article and want more content like this, please support this blog by sharing it.  Not only does it help spread the FIRE, but it lets me know what content you find beneficial.  Writing is NOT my strong suit and it honestly takes me hours to write each post so the more encouragement the better!  Engaging in the comments below keeps me motivated.  You can also support this blog by subscribing to receive emails anytime a new post is published.  Thank you FImily!

We believe in stacking up life hacks to keep your enjoyment levels to the max without depleting your bank account.  Here are some ways to further educate yourself and save thousands of dollars over your lifetime by making some simple adjustments:

• How much are you paying for your phone plan?  Canadians, learn more about Public Mobile, and see how we are paying $3/mo for our cell phone plan.
• How much are you paying for internet?  Canadians, learn more about the various Independent Service Providers out there to see who services your area so you can lower your monthly bills.
• How much are you paying for home insurance?  We were able to reduce our rates by 25% by switching over to Square One Insurance.  If you live in BC, AB, SK, MB, and ON, check out Square One for your home insurance, landlord insurance, and/or tenant insurance.  Use this link to receive an extra $15 off your quote.  (Note that you must use this link to start the process to get the $15 off even if you prefer to pay over the phone.)
• How much are you paying for your monthly utility bills?  See how you can likely save on this monthly expense.

Sharing is caring!