r/PersonalFinanceCanada

I always thought as I got older, I would make more money and be able to save more. The opposite has been true—I was frugal in my 20s and saved plenty with no costs, and while my income has gone up, my costs have gone up more.

I was raised to strictly avoided debt (thanks Mom and Dad for the lesson), found cheap rent with my girlfriend, lived the cheap 20s millennial lifestyle, and saved up a good amount by the time we were ready to buy a house. We bought a fixer-upper outside of Toronto in 2019 ($250k) along with a used 2011 Honda Fit for $6k, paid in cash. Poured a bunch of our savings into badly needed renovations.

Now we have two small kids; this month, my wife stopped working to be a SAHM (her mat leave benefits just wrapped up) at the same time we renewed our mortage for $200/month more than we were paying before. I make a salary of $65k pre-tax and freelance on the side, which in the past has drawn $30k-$40k, but will probably be less this year due to clients drying up.

The reason for this post is the car. With two car seats and a double stroller, suddenly the Honda Fit doesn't fit quite so much. It's also awful in the snow and the AC doesn't isn't strong enough to actually work in peak summer. So we're looking at a compact SUV in the $20k range, something that will be financed for around $400/month, which is 10% of my after-tax salary alone (excluding freelance income & CCB).

Looking for where we can find an extra $400/$500 a month—we don't splurge on clothes, never buy coffee out. We can cut back on food a bit (dining out less than once a week, which is a nice splurge but obviously not necessary).

One area I am considering is savings. I put away $800 per month—$200 into the TFSA, RRSP and each RESP. Debating whether to cut that down to $100 in each of the TFSA and RRSP, saving $200/month to redirect towards the new car. But the idea that I'm saving less at this point in my life has me a little nervous. But maybe I'm just being a neurotic over-saver.

Hence me reaching out to you good people. Wondering if others have been in this position: you advance in life pretty swimmingly, enjoyed a privileged middle-class lifestyle, then slowly realize you're hitting a financial wall. Anyone else in this boat?

Hi, I am moving to Toronto for my first job. My gross salary is $56,000. Is it wise to spend $2000 to rent a studio apartment? I don’t have a car and am single. Please advise me on this.

Mostly creating this post to ask how are you guys dealing with the CRA? I've had so many calls with them where they are having internet issues and you can't hear a thing, so many dropped calls and they don't call you back, I've sent them registered mails which they have claimed not to receive, and every call has like a minimum 1 hour wait time.

This year: I filled my tax return first week of March and it hasn't been processed yet. I called three times early April and finally got through, but they were having internet issues and I could barely hear the person on the other end. I made out what she said in the end, that my tax return is being held up by the CERB department (I have never claimed CERB, or have one of those FHSA accounts folks are complaining about). I called back today, and after 1.5 hour wait, I was finally getting some help, and the call disconnected. No callback.

Last year: I have an open case with them where their TFSA calculations are wrong, and still not resolved. They asked me for proof, I sent them registered mail with the proof (which you have to sign for), and they closed my case for not having received any documents. I called over 10+ times, finally got them to look at it, but it's still being dealt with.

Is there any way to go see someone and get all this sorted?