This article originally appeared on cbc.ca as part of the #FinanicallyUnfiltered series.
When it came to money, I thought I had it all figured out.
I didn’t grow up with much of it, so when I was 14, I took a night shift stocking shelves at the local grocery chain until 3 or 4 am during the week. I’d nap for a few hours then go to my first-period class in ninth grade, and did this throughout high school. Then after high school, I got a sales job and moved out to Toronto to take a bigger opportunity.
The answer to my money problems was easy: just make more of it.
But alas, as I enter into my late 20’s, I’ve come to the realization that that strategy isn’t going to cut it. They say your priorities change as you get older and my priorities have taken a complete 180 as of five months ago, I was introduced to a perfect little priority disruptor, my beautiful daughter.
And now, good luck staying at the office until 9 or 10 pm. Work travel has been cut to almost nothing. My job is no longer to go out and make money, my job is to be a father first, which includes diaper changing and nap times and feedings and late nights and early mornings. Then, be a supportive partner to my baby’s amazing mother. And then, only after all of that, find some time left in the day to do some work.
Phew. Safe to say, hustling was not a sustainable strategy for me and my family. I had to take a pay cut to be a better father and partner, and more than ever, I needed to figure out how to manage the money we did have coming in. And, from the moment my partner became pregnant, the information was overwhelming. Reading articles about the difference a TFSA and an RRSP and when to start an RESP and how much tax breaks I get and where to put the money and ugh.
It was all just one big mess, and as the main provider for our little family, the stress was very real. I was starting to think that investing wasn’t for me. Luckily, RBC introduced a way of investing to me that was easy and affordable. Like, really easy and affordable. Like, fill out a quick survey and start with $1,000 easy and affordable.
With RBC InvestEase®, all I had to do was put in whatever available funds I had (not that much), tell them what my risk tolerance was (not that risky) and then set up automatic investments for whatever I could afford (ahem, really not that much).
Within no time at all, I was set up and invested. No travelling to the other side of the city to have an awkward meeting with an advisor who I was concerned would judge my daily almond latte habit. I can see how my investment is doing on the easy to read dashboard (line going up: good, line going down: bad).
I’ve learned, most importantly, that investing doesn’t need to be complicated. I’ll never be a pro when it comes to managing finances, but with InvestEase, I don’t have to be. I feel good knowing that my money is in safe hands and so is my family’s future.
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Disclaimer:
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© RBC InvestEase Inc. 2019
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