How I'm Able To Save 52% Of My Income In 2024 - My New Savings Goal & Investment Strategy
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
- It’s my favourite time of the year, aka it’s the start of a new year, which means a fresh start, a reset of financial goals, all of that good stuff - and it also means that it's time for my favourite video of the year, where I review how this past year went with my money, and what I plan to change for 2024.
I'll cover exactly how much I made, saved and invested, and how my income and investment strategy will be changing for the new year. Grab a cup of coffee, or your beverage of choice, and let's get into it! ☕️
⭐️ Check out our budget template - stephandden.com/free-budget-t...
0:00 It’s the best time of the year!
1:46 How much I made, saved + invested in 2023…
3:55 …and here’s how much I want to make, save + invest in 2024
7:22 I’m making a big change to my investment strategy…
10:54 …and a few tweaks to my budget tracker
16:21 Bring on the new year!
How much money we spent this year 👀 - • How Much Money We Spen...
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Disclaimer - This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Steph & Den do not provide tax or investment advice. The information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.
Our budget template is now live and ready to use! 👀 stephandden.com/budget-template
Awesome. Thank you!
Thank you!
No luck getting the link to work on my end after inputting my email..
As an 18 year old who's been following your channel for the past year religiously, you guys are an inspiration. I've learned so much from you guys and I love your video aesthetic (or minimalist?). You guys make finances so simple and I'm excited to do my own finances. Congrats Steph on your finances this year, I felt like I've been growing with you guys. Hope to see yall next year
That $750 haircut is giving me a heart attack
Thank you so much! We really appreciate that 🙏🏿🙌🏻 + love that you’re already focused on your finances!
And 😂😅 haircut + hair dye, but I feel that hahaha
They have been awesome to follow. I think it’s because they are not rich rich to start with!
Happy (almost) new year, everyone! 🎉 What are you looking forward to in 2024? Let us know!
I'm mostly excited for NASA's crewed mission to the moon next year, its amazing our generation will get to experience another space race in our lifetime.
Please elaborate more on your plans for saving for the down payment of a home. Things such as how you're going to use tools such as FHSA, FHBP and etc as well as how much you are planning to put for down payment. Thank you for the good work!
Thanks for this suggestion - we definitely will talk more about this in a few videos this year! 😊
The level of honesty and transparency is so rare. Me and my wife have a few FinanceTubers and yall got us hooked. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We use Betterment and they’ve been good to us.
Thanks so much - we appreciate that! 😊
Great video! I’d definitely be interested in the standard budget, monthly expense tracker, and annual budget templates!! Keep up the great work Steph and Den, and happy new year!
Thanks so much! 😊
Here's the link to the budget template - stephandden.com/budget-template
Hi! Big fan! Thank for the great video and also sharing an awesome budget template - excited to save this year!
Thanks so much! Yay for saving in 2024! 🎉
Thanks for always being so transparent! Looking forward to you killing it in the new year!
Thanks so much! Happy new year 😊✨
Love your content!!! Been following for a while! Will be trying out your budgeting template. Yall really make me love finances and everything in it. Keep on 🎉
Thanks so much! 🙌🏿🙏🏻
I would love a no-spend challenge because I also eat out at restaurants too much 😭 Thanks for keeping it real!
Let's do it together! I need all of the support, haha! 😂
Definitely similar boat here - I have had all my TFSA and RRSP in WS Invest on max risk, and just in the last month have been reading a bunch about saving in individual ETFs myself. I'm starting the process of transferring everything to WS Trade for the new year so I can be more involved in my own finances!
Wow, definitely in a similar boat! Thanks for sharing 😊 we’re going to post a very about how the process of switching has been in a few weeks!
Thanks Steph this was insightful!
Thanks for watching! 😊
Huuuugely excited about the budgeting template! Exactly what I need. :)
Yay! It should be ready by tomorrow morning 😊
Here it is! stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
Yes, I would love to use your new budget template. Happy New Year !
Happy new year! + we’ll have the budget template ready soon 😊
It's ready! You can find it here - stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
It would be interesting to learn about your streams of income and starting your own business. Sounds like you are both doing very well.
Happy new year 🥳 to you guys hope next year brings blessings and joy into your life
Happy new year! 🥳 the same to you!
Happy New year! Great video! Could you make a video about investing in a non-registered account, specifically, after maxing out the TFSA and RRSP? Thanks
Happy New Year! Yes, that's on our list - we'll have a video about non-registered investment accounts coming next month 😊
Amazing strategy as always. I am splitting my TFSA between VFV and XEQT. ❤
Thank you + thanks for sharing! 😊
It be interesting to see a video from a tax perspective from having your own business and how you pay your self out from your business. I would love to see that. I really enjoy the transparent!
Thank you! Maybe we can dive into that more in a future video about our budget / income, etc. We'll add it to our list 😊
Yes please I want the template!!!
Here's the link! stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
Thanks for sharing! I’m looking into whether or not I should pay off my student loans this year since they have a high interest rate (8%) or invest the extra money
That’s the same question I (Den) was asking a couple years ago and after thinking about it, to me it made more sense to just pay off the loans and start my life fresh post paying them off.
From an investing perspective, will you really earn 8% or more investing over the next couple of years OR will you feel great after devoting as much of your effort/money as you possibly can to pay off your loans over the next couple of years. Hope that helps 😊
I'm in the same boat Steph where I've been fortunate enough to max out of TFSA and am looking where else to invest smartly! Looking forward to seeimg your investing growth and also can't wait to see your template - would love to incorporate it into my 2024 budgeting!!
Congratulations, that's a great accomplishment! 🎉
We're working on having the budget template ready to share by tomorrow morning - we'll send you a message when it's ready to go 😊
Hey Jessica! Here's the budget template - stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
Invest in indian market. It is growing faster. And it is just taking off.
With 3000$ per month, one can lead a luxurious life in Bharat . You can by an ultra luxurious apartment in bhartiya metro city in 15 million to 30 million Indian rupees (1$= 83₹) so shift to india 😂
Really impressive. Looking forward to your budgeting template!!
Thank you! Coming very soon! 😊
Very excited for this as we :) Thank you. HNY!
@@stephv003 You can find it here - stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
This is so informative, I love your channel and find you both so inspiring! Do you utilize and FHSA? I am around your age and saving for a first home but don't know if it's better to use a TFSA so I can take out my money at any time?
Happy New Year Steph and Den!! I know you guys don't have debt.. where can I fit that in the template?
Happy New Year! 🎉
In the 'Budget Overview' tab, you can change one of the lines in the 'Saving & Investing' table to 'Debt Payoff' instead (or title it whatever you'd like!). The change will flow through to the rest of the tracker / the other tabs. 😊
Yes please! Share your excel spreadsheet, I love using excel but hate making my own spreadsheets. I opened my first investment account this year, an FHSA! One thing I found that's really been saving me money in the restaurant category that people might not consider is working on my cooking skills. I find it hard to justify spending money on food I can make better myself. Love the channel. Happy new year!
Thanks so much - happy new year to you, too! 😊
We’ll be sharing the budget spreadsheet by tomorrow!
Here it is, early than anticipated! stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
Thank you so much!
@@stephandden
I’d be interested in your budget template!
stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
Really nice video and motivation
Thank you!
I am also switching from robo to self investing. Didn’t like seeing the fees go away and my own choice of ETFs in a small start were doing better anyway.
I love that you do the bank account snapshots for each month. I should start doing that. When you have your money in different places it’s hard to see when you hit milestones like 100k, 150k etc
Exactly! I like being able to look back on the monthly changes 😊
You DIDN'T like seeing fees go away?
Awesome and informative video, Steph! Wondering how your contribution limit affects how you're re-investing your TFSA from the robo investor into a self-directed account - I'd like to transition away from the robo investing as well due to fees, but it's unclear to me if moving the funds from one TFSA to another will max out my contribution room at the start of January. And love the budgeting template - thank you! :)
Thank you so much! Good question - we'll answer this in depth in a video coming up very soon (we're planning it right now!). 😊
Also, the budget template is now live! stephandden.com/budget-template
Investment returns actually pay for my lifestyle!!!
👏🏿👏🏻
New subscriber here! How old are you and Den? Great channel, definitely will be a viewer regularly.
We're happy to have you here! 😊 We're 27 (Steph) & 28 (Den)
Let's Gooo🎉🎉🎉
🥳🥳
yess interested in the budget template! does the spreadsheet file include the all 12 months as well reflecting them in the annual budget tab as a whole?
Here's the link! stephandden.com/budget-template
Yes, it's for all 12 months + there's an 'Annual Budget' tab, too 😊
Have loved prepping my budget using your template! Is there a way to add additional income on the spreadsheet? (I have a steady salary but also am a freelancer (an actor) and make irregular money that way.) Love your guys’ content!
Yay, we’re happy to hear that! You can add your freelance income into the ‘Other’ row in the ‘Income Tracker’ table in the ‘Monthly Expense Tracker’ tab 😊
Thanks to you, I saved 60% of my income 2023-2024. For this upcoming year I want to increase that savings to 65% 😊
That's amazing! Congrats 🙏🏿🙌🏻
Great video! Is that income before or after tax?
I'm interested in the budget tracker template! :)
stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
Not sure how anyone saves anymore lol. I have a upper middle class income and all lowish bills (bought my house in 2019 luckily) and its still tough squirreling away a small fraction of what I would like to. Anything is better than nothing perhaps but things have gotten ridiculously expensive! Props to everyone out there trying their best.
What do you think about keeping the money in the corporate account and investing in it. I'm on a similar boat, maxing my TFSA account and have a corporation, so my accountant suggest that I should invest within the company, rather than trying to pay myself more just to invest more.
Welcome to the XEQTgang! Been investing XEQT every week for the last 2 years.
🥳🥳 amazing!
Love your videos! Always so informative! Can you guys do a video on tax implications when using investing platforms like Wealthsimple? Would be so helpfulll to get a Canadian perspective.
Thanks so much! We'll add that to our list 😊
Bring on the budget template 😁
You can find it here - stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
I just starting out with the WS self-robo still new to doing it myself, will take time to learn about self trading. :) and really hoping to use the budget and learn from your videos. It is interesting the rents seems to be low for Toronto while in BC its very high, is it just is based on individual (per person)? I liked the budget-template as well.
How is EQ Bank services ? Any recommendations?
That's great! Love that you're learning as you go 😊
Our rent is $1,900/month total ($950/person) - luckily we've been in the same apartment for the past 5.5 years, so our rent is much lower than the average 1 bedroom in Toronto, now!
We've been using EQ Bank, specifically the high interest savings account, for the past 4-ish years and we like it! They have a really simple platform, and consistently good rates. We'll talk more about high interest account options in another video coming up soon, too!
Thanks for sharing Steph, what platform you thinking of going the XEQT route, Wealthsimple trade or perhaps you might dabble with Questrade?
I'm going to be using Wealthsimple Trade! We'll talk more about it in an upcoming video, but Wealthsimple Trade has some newer features that make it easy to automate my investments into XEQT, which I like 😊 Dennis uses Questrade, though! He likes it
@@stephandden okay perfect, appreciate the detailed response 👍
Do you two plan on switching to using wealthsimple’s 4% account vs EQ’s 2.5-3%?
Good question - we're going to do an updated high interest savings account video soon where we'll talk more about this! Right now we're still using EQ Bank 😊
You can do the same with EQ bank
Hi love you guys and your content. Quick question where do you get Internet for 62.
We're with Rogers! We called them and negotiated this rate last year 😊
I loved your budget template, but the link seems to be broken. Do you have another link?
Yes, thank you for pointing that out! Here’s the correct link 😊 - stephandden.com/free-budget-template/
I would love to hear your plans for investing with the FHSA- I have opened this account and I am not sure how to invest with it, because I think I will have a shorter time horizon (I may need the money within 5 years) in comparison to my TFSA (I have been using this as a more long term investing account). I guess regardless of how and if you invest with the FHSA, the tax benefits are still awesome.
We'll definitely talk more about that in a video soon! We did a video on GIC's a few months ago that you might find interesting in the meantime - we mention the FHSA in that video 😊
Question! How do you know how much to pay yourself out of your own business. My husband and I just had our first year in our business, now getting into our second.
1. I would love to know how you came up with that number for what to pay yourself?
2. What were some of the things you looked at when reviewing your first year of business?
We are both still so new to this so learning as we go and would appreciate any advice you may have! Thank you in advance, we love your videos.
Also! My husband and I share almost all of our expenses, can we use your budget template together? Do you have a separate one for your business?
Hey Clara! Congratulations on one full year in business, that's amazing 🎉
Good question - for our first year of business, when we weren't sure exactly how much we would be able to afford to pay ourselves each month, we came up with a number that was just enough to cover our key expenses. That also allowed us to leave as much money in the business as possible as it was growing.
After that, we started working with our accountant, and they suggested the 'Profit First Method', where you set aside money for taxes, operating expenses, compensation and profit. Each year, we walk through our numbers, look at how much we've made and how much we project to make in the upcoming year. If we have a healthy amount of cash in the bank, and expect to make a similar amount (or more) in the upcoming year, then we prioritize paying ourselves out more.
This year, our new income is based on both how the business is doing + how much money we need to meet our current goals.
We hope that helps! 😊
@@claraeaton9742 Yes, you can definitely use the budget template together! 😊+ We use Quickbooks for our business expenses!
Are the money figures for US currency or Canadian dollar? Just trying to compare my own budget to yours
Canadian dollars 😊
Hi Steph please make the template available I like it
You can get it here! stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
@@stephandden thanks
Do you have year long contracts? Or how do you know for sure the income the business will generate and thus how much you can pay yourself?
Good question - we don't 'know' for sure, but we've based it off of our past two years (it's a little easier to predict now that we have some past years to go off of, but nothing's guaranteed!) - we can adjust if needed throughout the year 😊
@@stephandden Thanks for responding! I love how wise you guys are with your money - some creators just spend the money as it comes in but it seems you are quite strategic.
how are you increasing your own salary, as a self-employed?
I think I'm in a similar boat with my finances! I also live in Toronto and we have really similar monthly expense goals :) My partner and I are saving up for a down payment and hopefully looking to buy in the next few years. I'm trying to figure out how much to save at a high interest rate vs. invest - wondering if you guys have considered the same and what your thinking behind your strategies are in this regard!
Good question! I think the main thing to consider is that you'll want to make sure your money is accessible (and not going down in value!) by the time you're ready to buy. We have a chunk of money in a high interest savings account, but also are planning on opening an FHSA and likely investing in short-term investments (Iike GIC's, for example - we don't have this set in stone yet!).
We'll talk about this exact topic in a video sometime over the next few months! 😊
Yes! I opened up an FHSA last year and am really hoping to make the most of it. Thanks for the reply 🥰 Looking forward to the video!
That template would be awesome. I'm currently using YNAB but if I could save that extra 125$ a year to invest, that would be amazing.
Ah yes that would be great! You can find our budget template here - stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
Hey Steph and Den, is there a particular reason why you don't talk about the RRSP account after having maxed out the TFSA? I'm in a similar boat where an FHSA makes more sense to start, but the RRSP has the $35k withdrawal option for buying a home as well. It seems like Wealthsimple does support the RRSP account type as well?
Hi! Originally I thought I would open an RRSP once I maxed out my TFSA, but I'm leaning towards opening an FHSA first - we'll definitely talk more about why / what I land on over the next few months. Wealthsimple does support RRSPs, yes! 😊
Great video. I am more excited because you said you will be switching to the one fund of xeqt. I had been investing in that same fund however I recently switched to vfv because of the growth potential. How do you feel about the growth potential of an s&p fund compared to a more balanced fund as xeqt?
Good question. I think it’s hard to quantify growth potential over a 30+ year time horizon. And if the goal over the long run is to get the best/most consistent return, although the US market has done fantastic in the last 20+ or so years, the longer you go out, the more you see the benefits in having a more globally diverse portfolio.
We’ve got a video coming out on Sunday where we dive a little deeper 😊
@@stephandden Thank you for your response. Looking forward to the next Video
Were there specific categories you can be more specific for on the other category? $4,000 is high for other, no?
It was a few big items - I was a bridesmaid last year, so that was a big one-time 'other' expense, and also I had my basketball intramural payments in 'other' last year - this year, I made a 'fitness' category for that, instead. 😊
Would you do a video breakdown of how your business is doing?
We can talk more about it in a future video 😊
Hey Steph, is there any way you could release that excel sheet version for us I would love to use that to start budgeting. Would appreciate it a lot!
It’s almost ready to share! We’ll send you a link to download it by tomorrow morning 😊
It's ready! You can find it here - stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
I'm curious how you budget/plan ahead for future expenses. I am very privileged to have bought a house in 2019 with my partner before houses became absurdly priced. After buying our house and buying a (used) car the following year, I have never been able to feel like I am getting ahead. I am working towards an emergency fund, but I also know the importance of investing early on in life for max returns. How did you determine in the beginning where to prioritize putting your money? I am 29, turning 30 this year, and I am getting married and hope to have our first child within a year or so of getting married. I feel like I will always be in a pattern of investing and needing to cash it out. How do you find the balance? I do work at a job that has really good health benefits and a pension. I also decided to diversify and do my personal training certification so I can make a small amount more on the side. I feel like inflation keeps going up and every time I "get ahead", it doesn't last long.
From a Canadian also living in Ontario in a small community. Love your content!
Good question - it can be overwhelming trying to 'do it all' at the same time!
It's important to build an emergency fund first, as you never know when an emergency will come up. Start with a 'small one' (approx $3,000), then you can always build it up more over time along with investing consistently, too. Ideally, you'll get in the habit of investing without cashing it out, as long as you have that emergency fund ready for you, first!
You can also save for these bigger, upcoming expenses - like building a 'wedding fund' and putting money towards that every mont, too.
Overall, it sounds like you're doing great and thinking ahead 👏🏿👏🏻 We hope this helps!
+ Thank you! 😊
How do you guys save for your taxes since you are now self employed?
We save and pay for taxes through our business, since we’re incorporated! 😊
Great video!! any chance you can share the link to your budgeting spreadsheet? I would love to use one just like that!
edit: just finished the video and saw that you mentioned this already. Any chance you could give me a ball park when you will share all of this?
For sure! stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
Money is meant for spending. Enjoy it! If you keep saving forever until old age, you can't enjoy it anymore. When you retire, you have a pension and retirement savings for that.
Would be interested if it can be in an excel format as opposed to Google sheets as I don't use google account.
You can download it as an Excel file if you’d like to! 😊 stephandden.com/budget-template
@@stephandden Certainly will give this a try and let you know in subsequent videos about how this is progressing.
Tried it. While it's really good a lot of customization is required as your categories are very different from mine :-)
Can you help me understand something? If the TFSA annual limit is $6,500 for 2023, how did you invest $19,000 ? I’m not from Canada not sure how it works. 3:00 time stamp
There is no annual limit, you may be referring to the new contribution room that everyone who is eligible for a TFSA gains yearly. The TFSA limit is the total cap you can contribute based on how long you’ve been eligible to open an account. For example if you have $30k of room you could add that all in one year, however you would be penalized if you add anything over that amount until you got new room in the next year.
@@NinjaKing878 Understood! Thanks much!
I have a hard time to understand the rent and transportation (no car so I assume live close to work) in toronto
I work from home, and since I live downtown I can walk or take public transportation everywhere 😊
My rent is split in half, and I’ve been in the same apartment for 6 years
Do you have a template of your spreadsheets available?
Yes, we're just finishing up the final tweaks and then we'll be sharing it by tomorrow morning at the latest 😊 we'll reply to this comment again with the link for you to grab it!
The budget template's ready! You can find it here - stephandden.com/budget-template 😊
Thanks, but it's not delivering. @@stephandden
Does wealthsimple trade have any fees?
It's commission free stock trading, unless you're purchasing US stocks or ETFs (then there's FX fees for the currency exchange). I'm investing in a Canadian ETF, so there's no fees 😊
Love your channel Steph and Den! Just wondering if you guys ever will look into Bitcoin in the future as it is a revolutionary savings technology.
Thanks so much! We're not planning on investing in Bitcoin / crypto in the near future 😊
@@stephandden That is fair. But remember Bitcoin, not crypto! Anyways, interested in seeing what 2024 brings for you both.
I don't see anything regarding taxes . Is your income after taxes ??
Yes, this is my post tax income 😊
I am confused by the numbers. Are you saying that you make 2K per month net? Which would be your take home after all deductions and taxes? Just trying to understand your actual finances.
$4,459.91/month is my new take home pay (after deductions and taxes) 😊
@@stephandden thanks for the clarification. Makes it easier to understand the budget and how you are investing. good luck this year
Is your new income pre or post tax?
Post tax 😊
Is your $4459 monthly income already net of taxes?
$4,459.91 is my monthly take home pay 😊
Is the business you guys have UA-cam or is it something else?
UA-cam + other social platforms 😊
invest in the S&P 500 and you'll be fine for the future
That's one option for sure! 😊
Do you have investments in bitcoin?
Where do you live? The cost of living seems low
The rent amount is my half - our total is $1,900/month 😊 we live in downtown Toronto!
I'm only saving 25% of my income.
Obviously, I'm doing something backwards.
That sounds great to me! It's going to depend on your income + how 'expensive' your fixed costs are. 😊
@@stephandden The mortgage is killing me. I renewed at a 6.30% variable rate and I'm paying around $2600 as mortgage + property tax every month. I save $25k per year in RRSP. My TFSA account is very skinny.
Why do you take salaries this much when you can save taxes in your business?
I touched on this briefly in the video! To show that our income’s growing, for the purpose of buying a home, and also so we can invest consistently.
That’s the strategy that we’ve decided on with our accountant 😊
Wait a min... Massage EVERY MONTH and paying only $146 for the whole Year?? 😮😮How come?
$146/month! Not for the whole year 😊
I signed up for the email list and did not get the spreadsheet download link emailed to me. I saw that others did not get the link as well. Please email the link when you can
Hi Darrell! Send us an email if you still haven’t received it and we’ll send you the link 😊