Hey everyone! 

I'm a new listener thats been blasting through the personal finance pockets right now and decided I wanted to get involved with the community. 

I'm a 20 year old university student (first year in kinesiology) and just learned about the idea of personal finance. Im also from Calgary, Alberta! I love martial arts, all kinds of sports, going on hikes and just spending my time outside.

A little bit about my financial situation right now! I've been working at the same grocery store since I was 14, and have currently saved up about 20k! Most of that money is going towards my education but I also have 10k from my grandparents to help with school as well which im super grateful for. 

I've just achieved a pretty big financial goal for myself which has been getting my first 10k invested! 80% of which is in index ETFs (XEQT) and the remaining 20% in hand picked stocks and crypto (5%).

I'm super interested in the concept of FI and will be trying to work my way towards achieving it as quickly as possible! During school I  work around 20 hours a week (18.85$/hour) and put 20% of that into investing and the rest towards school, my car insurance/gas (2009 Pontiac vibe I bought for 3k), rent (my parents charge me 150$/month). During summer I plan on getting a bike to save on transportation, I usually work a 2 jobs in the summer (full time during all my school breaks too) which now I plan on pocketing everything from my 2nd job and around around 50% of the paychecks I get from winter break and reading break!

Eventually I'd like to learn more about real estate but I honestly get the impression that it isn't very lucrative in Canada. I'd love to hear more tips and tricks on how to be financially savvy! 

can't wait to hear more from everyone!

@Nathan Johnson welcome to BP! Real estate is the single biggest wealth generation tool that Canadians have access to. This entire community wouldn't exist if it wasn't worth investing.  

@Nathan Johnson I’d reconsider the u of c and in particular a non industry relevant major. If I was my 18 year old self I wouldn’t set foot in that school and just start In real estate and get a long head start. Don’t find a university education necessary to hustle for deals or grow a rental property business, many of the most successful calgarians with a fleet of cars and a huge house - maybe finished high school? I don’t use my degree and I wouldn’t hire a recent graduate from u of c.

Welcome! Honestly, there are a LOT of creative ways to get your start in real estate investing, even in Canada. My partner and I had been researching for years before finally pulling the trigger earlier this year, and now I wish we had started 5 years ago. 

If you have good credit/financing options and are open to investing in areas outside of where you live, a lot of doors will start to open up for you.

Hey Nathan, it's great that you've been able to save as much as you have and are focused on growth at 20!  I'm in a similar position as yourself and am also focusing in the Calagry/Edmonton markets.

Welcome Nathan!

I'm also based out in Calgary. A quick tip I have for you is to start (if you haven't already) building your credit rating. This would eventually lead you into accessing loans and borrowing power in the future.