Most financial advice is abstract. Save for the future. Build wealth. Invest early. It doesn’t land because it doesn’t show you the number.
So here’s the number.
If you make $50,000 a year and save 20% — $10,000 a year, or $833 a month — and you put that money into a TFSA invested in a basic index fund averaging 7% annual return, here’s what you have:
After 5 years: roughly $58,000
After 10 years: roughly $138,000
After 20 years: roughly $414,000
That’s on a $50,000 salary. Not a high income. Not a windfall. Just the discipline of one decision made once and kept.
The 20% rule isn’t new. It comes from the idea that you pay yourself first — before rent, before groceries, before anything. The moment your paycheck lands, 20% moves. You don’t see it. You don’t spend it. It’s already gone to work.
What if 20% is impossible right now?
Start with 5%. Then 10%. The percentage matters less than the habit. The habit is the thing. Once you stop touching that money you’ll stop missing it faster than you think.
Where does it go?
Open a TFSA if you don’t have one. Any bank can do this in 20 minutes. Put the money into a simple index fund — XEQT or VEQT are two that Canadians use widely. You don’t need to understand everything about them. You need to put money in and leave it alone.
The actual point
At 35 with $138,000 saved, you have options. You can take a risk on something. You can weather a job loss. You can help someone you love. At 35 with nothing saved, every decision you make is made from fear. That’s the difference.