Samir's resilience helped him move from minimum wage to an annual salary of $85,000

Samir’s journey from a successful career in India to the pursuit of greater opportunities in Canada, is a testament to the relentless dedication to his goals and strategic allocation of his available resources.

Meet Samir

•  Arrived in Canada in 2019

• Business Affairs Manager earning $85,000

• Lives with his wife

• Monthly rent of $2,800

• Monthly expenses of $4,000

Amidst the myriad of Canadian immigration narratives, Samir's story stands out as a testament to effective money and time management as well as an unwavering commitment to keep moving forward. Samir completed his Master's in advertising in 2013 and embarked on a career in the vibrant realm of entertainment. His professional journey began at Reliance Entertainment and he steadily climbed the ranks to Producer. Despite leading a well-settled life in India, his ambitious drive led him to explore the possibilities of immigration to Canada. In 2018, he applied for Canadian permanent residency and started preparing to enter the Canadian job market.

During the permanent residency application process, Samir strategically invested time in networking with professionals in Canada. He subscribed to LinkedIn Premium and spent an average of 2-3 hours per day to meticulously research organizations, reach out to individuals working in production houses, and engage in informational discussions. He built the foundation for a seamless transition into the Canadian job market. His proactive approach bore fruit when a connection from his past at a London-based production house provided valuable insights into launching his career in Canada.

In August 2019, Samir obtained his permanent residency beginning his Canadian chapter. Accompanied by his friend Kabir, Samir entered the challenging Canadian job market . To manage expenses from their savings, they chose a cost-effective rental basement apartment, with a rent of $1200. Samir's share of rent was $600. The duo spent hours in coffee shops, diligently applying for jobs, making connections, and engaging with potential employers. However, the job search proved challenging.

While Kabir was able to secure a position in Montreal after 15 days, Samir was having greater difficulty and his savings were dwindling. Given this, he decided to take on a minimum-wage retail job at Best Buy in October 2019. He aimed to take maximum shifts of work to cover his household expenses. Amid 5-6 hours of daily work, 3 hours of everyday travelling and additional household chores, it became difficult for him to dedicate time to pursuing opportunities in his field.

Through this challenging process, Samir learned the importance of resilience and adaptability. He discovered that setbacks could be opportunities in disguise, and by staying focused on his goals, he could overcome obstacles. As time went on, he became more effective by refining his time management skills. He began reaching out to production houses, juggling work, and job hunting with determination . He explored online job opportunities and attended networking events to broaden his professional connections. This multi-faceted approach started showing results as some producers expressed interest and invited him for meetings in the coming months. As fate would have it, the pandemic struck, closing doors for Samir just as opportunities seemed within reach.

Having no income, he began living at a friend’s house. Despite facing setbacks, Samir never gave up. In April 2020, he pivoted to a warehouse job at Amazon as it paid more than his retail job. He decided to stay with that friend and began paying him $700 per month as rent. The job became his lifeline, providing stability and a platform to continue his job hunt in the competitive Canadian market. Juggling night shifts, household chores, and the constant pressure of managing expenses while earning $17-18 per hour, he persevered through physical exhaustion and financial tension.

For a year, Samir balanced his warehouse job with relentless applications to nearly 50 positions daily in his field. In January 2021, his perseverance paid off with a callback for an interview. “After screening, they told me that there were no immediate openings for me, but asked to follow-up. I used to send a reminder e-mail to HR every 2 weeks, hoping to get a call again,” he shares.

 Samir’s consistent follow-ups eventually paid off when he secured a position as a Rights Management Coordinator with an annual salary of $50,000. This marked a significant improvement and allowed him to transition from the warehouse job to a role more closely aligned with his career aspirations. With a renewed sense of purpose, he bid farewell to his warehouse job and embraced the new chapter in his career.

Soon, Kabir also got a job in Toronto and moved back. With a newfound job and financial stability, Samir, along with his friend, rented an apartment in downtown Toronto in August 2021 with a rent of $2300. Personal milestones soon followed. Samir married his long-time girlfriend in India in December 2022 and initiated the process to bring her to Canada.. As he navigated the complexities of immigration to bring his wife to Canada, Samir continued to seek growth in his professional journey. Alongside the challenges of the immigration process, he also faced additional costs, including PR processing fees, underscoring the financial commitment and dedication required to reunite with his spouse.

In March 2023, driven by the need for financial and career advancement, Samir pursued opportunities a large, reputable firm. Even though he faced an initial setback when he was turned down, his determination and abilities were proven when he later received an offer to work as a Business Affairs Manager with an annual salary of $85,000. By May 2023, Samir had achieved remarkable professional growth and stability.

On July 1, 2023, a symbolic day for Canadians, Samir attained his Canadian citizenship. His journey from a Best Buy retail job to a thriving career in the Canadian media industry showcases the tenacity of an individual determined to turn challenges into stepping stones for success. Samir's story is a beacon of inspiration for those navigating the complex path of immigration, job hunting, and settling in a new land.

Isaac secured a full time job in his career within 6 months of arriving in Canada and now earns $60,000

As I interview more and more individuals about their financial journeys, I realize each individual has unique strengths. When you look back at their journey you can see just how their strengths have enabled them to succeed.

Meet Isaac

• Married family man with three kids in his mid 40s

• Arrived in Canada two years ago with $10,000 US

• Financial planning associate earning $60,000

• Monthly rent of $950

• Monthly expenses of $2,800

• Monthly savings of $100

Isaac is a disciplined planner! Not just a thinker or list maker, a full out planner who has the discipline to invest significant time and effort thinking about the future and making it easier for himself.  I believe this long term thinking has been a core enabler of his success.

Isaac was born in Nigeria to an upper middle class family.  He went to university, studied microbiology first and then went back, pursued his MBA and worked in banking for 16 years. 

At the age of 40 with three kids aged 9, 8 and 5, Isaac and his wife started to seriously think about emigrating.  They wanted a better life for their kids and so despite being a well-paid middle manager in a bank and owning some small pieces of land, Isaac and his family decided to uproot their lives and move go Canada. 

From the beginning, Isaac found out as much about the immigration process as he could.  He researched not for profit organizations who might provide support, the cost of living, as well as any and all available support services…. During this time he had heard about Windmill Microlending, which provides low-interest microloans to help skilled immigrants and refugees invest in securing the Canadian credentials they need to continue their careers in Canada.  He parked the concept into the back of his mind.  Isaac sought out and took advantage of everything that could help him. 

From a financial perspective, he worked as hard as he could in the 2-year application process, researching all the options, learning from previous immigrants and working to pay for the exams, documents, tickets and all other expenses as they came.  In 2017, after having sold everything, Isaac, his wife Jol, and three children immigrated to Saskatchewan with $10,000 US. 

What is important to note is that when they got off the plane, the family already had a place to live.  Isaac’s preparation had enabled him to get in touch with members of the Nigerian community in Saskatchewan and a community member had already organized an apartment for them to rent.   The rent was $975 a month so basically the family had a maximum of 9 months of rent before they ran out of money.  

Isaac focused on getting a job. Despite their education and previous careers, they knew they needed money now and so Isaac and Jol both took jobs in retail stores earning minimum wage and were working within a month. 

Recognizing that it was going to be hard to get a job in his field, Isaac secured support from résumé writing services and started sending out as many resumes as possible.  He knew he did not want to work retail and so continued planning for and working on his future. 

Within 6 weeks he received a job offer from a bank for a position as a financial services representative in a rural northern town of 2,500 people, 4 hours from his home.  His pay would be $38,000 a year and he would need to live there and commute home on weekends.  Although difficult for the family, Isaac’s plan was to work in his field of experience and he knew that this opportunity provided him with some Canadian experience so he took it.  His plan and long-term vision encouraged him to say yes.  Without that he may have passed up the role and been stuck in retail for a longer period.

While working, he continued to aggressively send out resumes and apply for other jobs.  Within 10 months he was able to transfer within the same bank to a similar role in another town that was only 1.5 hours away.  This was great - he was able to move back in with his family!

Despite this big step forward, Isaac still needed to commute 3 hours a day to his job.  He was also interested in something at a higher level within the bank.  He realized that Canadian education in his field would help and so Isaac wanted to start the Canadian Securities Course. 

Unfortunately the course and associated exams were out of his budget but he remembered Windmill Microlending from his earlier research.  He thought they may be able to help him get Canadian education which would help him advance his career goals. He applied for a loan with Windmill, was accepted and began the Canadian Securities Course as a way towards becoming a certified financial planner (CFP).   At the same time, he continued to dedicate time and energy to researching and applying for jobs. 

He saw a posting for a role at another bank in wealth management and given he had completed his CSC course, had Canadian experience as well as international experience and education, he was able to secure an interview and was offered the role.   He feels that “without those funds, he would not have been able to do the CSC course, he would have struggled more and had more difficulty transferring into his new, higher skill and higher pay role.

Isaac is now a Financial Planning Associate making $60,000 annually after being in Canada 2 years.  He has also paid back his microloan in full.  In the first year he is required to pay interest only but he wanted to ensure that he paid it back quickly in order to have his finances in order and to minimize his interest. 

Isaac’s disciplined planning skills can also be seen in his daily money management and budgeting.  Isaac lists his priorities: rent first, bills, food and necessities.  He recently started an excel sheet for a budget that is very helpful for him. They make their decisions based on their goals.  Currently Isaac and his family are saving for a down payment on a home.

With this goal in mind, Isaac and Jol are both mindful and frugal.  They actively manage their money, discussing what they have and what needs to be bought at least every other day.  They regularly shop second hand using facebook marketplace, Value Village, and Kijiji.  They cook 95% of their meals.  Isaac has lunch out maybe once a week and they buy pizza for the kids as a treat once a month.  They have cut out credit cards and use cash or debit so they have a more up to date picture of their money and so they do not spend money they do not have.   They selectively choose where they spend.  They would have loved to have signed their kids up for more summer programs, but they were expensive and so they invested in a couple of key ones. 

Thinking about his journey, Isaac says he is in a good place now.  He is feeling stable with secure employment in his field, has a good handle on all his money and a new goal of buying a house.

When asked what advice he would give to others, he says:

1.    Be prepared. It makes no sense to come blind.  You could be just wasting the opportunity

2.    Save up, come with as much money as possible and be money mindful. Isaac says that you will get to a point where you can afford to buy what you need and what you want.  Be patient, it will happen.  If you try to buy everything you want when you start earning money, you can increase your risk and it may limit your progress towards your goals.

3.    Take advantage of the all the supporting organizations and resources that exist.  Help and support can make your journey easier and faster.  Take the time to understand what support would help you, research what exists, and ask for help.

Faisal was able to get a scholarship that covered his tuition and living expenses

Faisal is successful because he is clear about where he is going, strategically looks for opportunities to enable him to get there and recognizes the importance of meaningful relationships

Meet Faisal

• 3rd year full time business student living independently off campus

• Monthly living expenses of $ 2k-$3k

• Monthly earnings of $ 5k-$6k

• Working 30 hours part time per week in developing his own business

• No expected debt upon graduationas all his tuition and related expenses are covered by his scholarship

Faisal grew up in South East Asia in an upper middle class family – his mother is professor and his father works in government.  Faisal had the benefit of a strong education and clarity around the various types of jobs and opportunities that exist.  Faisal’s brother had studied in the west and then returned home and started an energy aggregation business with Faisal’s uncle. 

Seeing the benefits of entrepreneurship first hand inspired Faisal and he became interested in moving from doing a job to starting his own business. Given his interests, Faisal thought studying business in the west would be the best pathway for him.  He began to dream of going abroad but was very aware of the cost barriers as an international student.  Although his parents had a comfortable life, the high fees associated with tuition and living abroad (York University’s tuition for international students is over $25,000 annually) combined with the exchange rate made it impossible for Faisal’s parents to fund his education.

Faisal understood cost was a barrier to his dreams and so he knew he would have to problem solve to find solutions.  Faisal had one of the highest grade point averages in his class and was involved in extracurricular and sports activities such as debating, writing and tennis. He was also fairly active in his community, volunteering at local hospitals for two hours daily for almost 2 years. Given this, Faisal hoped he would be able to secure some form of scholarship.

Midway through his high school years, Faisal asked his parents to sit down and talk about finances and his education.  He continued to dream of going away, knew that any help his parents could provide would be beneficial and so started a discussion about the collective effort.  Although culturally, it was common for parents to pay for their children’s education, Faisal did not expect this from his parents.  He maturely wanted to talk about possible avenues, ask their advice and discuss how they could work together.

Given his grades and community involvement, Faisal strategy focused on applying for scholarships.  Faisal made a list of universities that granted funds and applied to 10 US, 3 Canadian and 2 UK schools as well as completing their separate scholarship/funding applications. He also sent in funding applications to his local government and non-government educational support organizations.

This took 1-2 hours daily over six months working with fellow students, teachers, high school admission counselors and other experts. Faisal attended workshops, visited university admission offices, went to presentations and sought out one on one counseling support. The work paid off and Faisal received a York University scholarship covering both his tuition and living expenses.  He was delighted at both the support and the opportunity to come to Canada. 

Faisal came to Canada 3 years ago to study business full time.  In addition to his studies, Faisal has spent approximately 30 hours a week to build his own business.  Given insights from his brother and uncle on the energy aggregation market, and the deregulated nature of the US market, Faisal thought it would make sense to focus on becoming an energy broker in the US.  Although he has an idea of how things can work, he is still starting from scratch. 

That means that he has been researching organizations, cold calling potential clients, working to build relationships, invested time in going to the US to work on attracting clients and money in online marketing.  After 2 years of unpaid business development, his work has paid off and he has secured several top S & P companies as clients.  This has enabled him to hire several employees who are experts in the energy business to support and run the business out of the US as well as an office in downtown New York, while he maintains an oversight role.   

Speaking of his approach to business development, Faisal discusses how he has worked at perfecting the process of connections.  He looks to understand what others are interested in or need, makes himself available to support or enable others, and is always prepared and professional.  He knows that this effort pays out in the long run.  He also knows he is quite skillful as none of his business colleagues know that he is a 20 year old university student. However, he understands where to seek help and is hiring better and more experienced employees to aid in developing his business. 

On a day-to-day basis, Faisal has a yearly and semester budget, invests time and effort trying to find economical options that enable him to stay within his budget and is mindful of both his expenses and goals.

Faisal’s goals are to stay in Canada, wait and see if the energy deregulation concept develops here while growing his business in the US.  He knows that this will be costly as he is building a life from scratch and so is very strategic with his time and financial investments.

From a systems perspective, Faisal’s story makes me think about how we might create opportunities for all Canadians to invest in themselves and in building viable businesses for a long term sustainable economy.

Kavith is successful because he knows what he values, thinks ahead & is disciplined with his time

Meet Kavith

• 4th year full time business student living at home

• Monthly living expenses of $1,000

• Monthly earnings of $900

• Working 15 hours part time per week

• Expected OSAP upon completion of university: $20,000. Kavith will be able to pay this off immediately with the money he has saved from his internships.

As a first generation Canadian, Kavith has a good sense of what hard work feels like.  Throughout his childhood, he heard how his parents escaped civil war to come to Canada.  He spent years watching them slowly build a better life; they worked overtime to put food on the table, spent time studying in order to get better paying jobs and tightly managed their money to make ends meet.

This combined with seeing some family friends struggle during retirement encouraged Kavith to think about money and personal finance in a unique way.  Driven to be secure and stable, Kavith first read The Wealthy Barber in high school and then Wealthing like Rabbits.  He started to get hooked on personal finance. 

In Grade 10, Kavith’s house was broken into and he felt firsthand “how volatile and insecure everything was”.  This motivated him to take control of his financial future.  He read as much as he could and entered into a national financial literacy contest, emerging as a winner on the national stage.  He saw what other youth were doing and found that motivational. 

Like most high school students, Kavith began thinking about post-secondary education.  He started to understand the costs.  He knew that he could get OSAP but wanted to be proactive.  He worked as hard as he could to get his grades up.  He spent about 5 hours a week thinking about what he was good at and looking for scholarship and contest opportunities.  He applied for and competed in a number of opportunities and was ultimately successful in securing $45 000 in funding for school from more than 10 separate providers, with awards ranging in value from $100 to $30 000.

In order to manage his costs, Kavith decided to live at home and commute to campus 1.5 hours each way for a total of 3 hours a day.  Given this commute, Kavith realized that he could only manage a part-time job if it was on campus. He started researching on campus jobs using his university’s Career Centre website and learned that he could apply for jobs once he was accepted and start working once he was a student. He ended up applying for and securing on-campus employment, which he has retained for the past three years. 

On a day-to-day basis, Kavith diligently manages his money.  He has a budget with all his costs yet tries not to look at the cost of necessities on a day-to-day basis.  He works 15 hours a week, saves a large majority of what he makes and is hoping to be able to pay off OSAP when he graduates.

With an interest in personal finance, Kavith decided to study business and thought about being a financial planner.  He has done well, had two internships in this space and has been offered a full-time opportunity when he graduates.  He attributes this to the time and effort he put into connecting with others. 

Kavith recognized the importance of relationships and the valuable knowledge that you can get from others.  As such, Kavith spent about 10 hours a week in his first and second years researching careers, identifying interesting people, reaching out and making time to connect with them.  This has been very beneficial to Kavith, opening new doors he would not have expected. 

Unfortunately, the financial planning industry is not what Kavith had imagined.  He feels that it is too focused on sales and not on the work of truly enabling people, which is what he is interested in.  Given this, Kavith is feeling that he will take some time to build his way towards other opportunities.  This means that he may be turning down a job upon graduation driven by the desire to do work he is passionate about.

Kavith has researched and learned about a variety of career paths.  Given his education and experience, he feels confident in being able to find an alternative opportunity.  He is also grateful for the resiliency that living at home with his family will provide during the transition.

Looking at his years in university, Kavith knows that he has probably missed out on some of the social aspects but feels that for him, the stability and resiliency is well worth the cost.  If he were to give advice for high school students, it would be to realize the tradeoffs between saving and living in the moment.

From a systems perspective, I think of how we might enable everyone to have a better sense of the total costs and tradeoffs associated with various expenses.

Patricia tripled her salary and is now earning $80 - $100 k

Meet Patricia

• Mid 30’s

• Immigrated to Canada during elementary school

• Lives with partner and step-children

• Planning manager in a company with 500+ employees

• Personal income in ranging from $80 - $100k

Patricia describes herself as an opportunist when it comes to money.  I would say she’s more like a stylish huntress meets MacGyver for problem solving.  

Drawn to the arts, Patricia studied design at a university in Toronto. She saw early on the financial challenges associated with the arts and knowing her lack of comfort with a “granola vagabond” lifestyle, she decided to focus on interior design.  It still offered an opportunity to be creative and came with benefits of stability and comfort .

After graduating, Patricia knew she needed to leave her multiple low wage retail, call center and reception jobs and start her career.  She says during school she "didn't know how to get good jobs so was just working at things that were easy to get".

Patricia needed something that helped her get started.  Given bad timing (it was 2001 and no one was hiring), little connections and no known job opportunities, she knew she had to take a short term hit to get to where she wanted to go.  She moved back home, made a portfolio and a list of 10 design firms she could work for. She proceeded to call them one by one and offer a 10-week free internship.

Patricia found a firm willing to take her. She took the unpaid job and worked her but off for the 10 weeks.  The firm had little organization and when she asked about staying on, they were not willing to make an offer. After the 10 weeks had ended, she stopped going to work and was about to start doing this all again when she got a call from a manager saying they needed her and wanted to offer her a full time job.  

This was great, she had achieved her goal – a job in her career of choice !!  Go Patricia!  Wait a minute; they offered to pay her $27,000 annually.  She was working 50-60 hours a week and commuting 3 hours a day.  With no other options, knowing she needed experience on her résumé and that the firm had a good brand, she decided to accept the offer.

After 3 years, Patricia decided it was time to move.  She had built up her portfolio and the company’s lack of organization and poor management was increasingly frustrating.  She took a 3-month contract at an architectural firm.  She knew it was a risk but she couldn’t stand her old firm any more.  She was 26 at this point.  

Luckily, Patricia was able to translate this contract into a full time gig and continued to focus on developing her portfolio, innovating and going above and beyond.  She continuously took on new projects; established the firm’s architectural library, set up drafting standards, and systems to manage relationship contacts.

During the next few years she bounced around between a few different firms, using each move as a way to slowly increase her salary.  She was able to move out of her family home and move in with her partner.  She took a couple of longer vacations between jobs which she really enjoyed.  She worked to learn more about other’s success stories and info sharing with friends. She used PayScale and glassdoor to understand salaries.  She read MoneySense magazine to understand the ins and outs of money.

Through this period, she started to see the benefits in having a house.  She saw how the value was consistently growing and how it provided security.  She established a goal to buy a house.  This was not easy in her situation.  Although her salary range was in the $50 - $80 k range at this point, her partner has 2 kids from a previous relationship so had limited ability to contribute financially towards a house.  

This is where the stylish huntress comes in.  She saved $80 k in 6 years for a down payment on her house.  How in the world???  Here are Patricia's strategies:

• She sets goals; Patricia is aware of all her expenditures and has not only her big hairy goal ($80 k for a down payment) but also smaller specific goals and challenges with herself. She continuously challenges herself with“out of reach” goals that force her to think out of the box. Examples include:

  • Putting away $100-$200 per month in RRSP's

  • Reducing the grocery bill by 30%

  • Reinvesting 10-10% of tax return in RRSP's with a goal of maximizing the benefit of the First Time Home Buyer tax credit

  • Using only 2nd hand stores for housewares, books and toys that children quickly grow out of

• She focuses on growing her income; Patricia continues to pursue new employment opportunities that leverage and build her skills as well as increase her salary. She has broadened her knowledge and is shifting towards more general management which is higher paying

• She exercises patience: Patricia has an idea of what she wants and what she is willing to pay for something. Once she knows, she often does a bit of research and percolates on how to get it in a cost effective fashion. She is not aggressive or concerned with getting it right away. She is instead concerned with getting it at the right price. This waiting and problem solving is what helps her to find and create alternatives

  • When buying the house, Patricia spent 3 years watching the market. She understood the various costs and premiums associated with location, size, and houses that did not need updating. This enabled her to jump quickly on a house in a neighborhood she wanted

• She is continuously assessing, revising and managing: Patricia will on a monthly basis look at where she spent her money and how she can spend less. She is continuously refining her budgets

• She focuses on reducing her expenses through free and lower cost alternatives: Patricia is always problem solving her way to more value. She identifies what is most important and what she is willing to pay full price for like her rock climbing gym membership. She then enjoys the bargain hunt for her remaining expenses;

  • Patricia and Greg's dining room table is this gorgeous piece of reclaimed wood they got in a clearance bin. Greg used the Toronto Tool Library tools to build it

  • Patricia loves clothing swaps and one year experimented with only buying clothes that cost under $5.00

  • Home décor, appliances and lighting have all come at unbelievable prices. She frequents garage sales, Value Village and Rotblott’s for hardware and renovation items. She is particularly proud of her pot lights - they cost $0.30 each

  • Patricia & Greg use Toronto Public Libraries, Parks & Recreation as well as community centers for family activities, as well as sports & fitness for the kids

  • They have cancelled cable and opted for free streaming and Netflix

  • Patricia bikes to work, drastically reducing her transit expenses

  • She has long hair - this enables her to have one hair cut a year instead of 4 (that's $75 vs $300 annually

  • Patricia is always looking for a good deal. This is where the stylish huntress comes in. When we met for tea, she was wearing this sleek black outfit and these super cool shoes that cost $75 but retailed for over $500

• She is creative:

  • Patricia enjoys the process of going to see what food is good and cheap and coming up with gourmet economic meals. She picks ingredients based on price and plans her meals accordingly. Before our tea, she offered me duck soup that had been made from the leftovers of BBQ duck and salted with herring and fish sauce. A lovely filling soup that I thought of as a Chinese version of Vietnamese Pho

• Patricia and Greg are DIY (Do it Yourself) all the way:

  • At work, Patricia keeps light groceries (fruit, oatmeal, salad ingredients) so she can always make something tasty

  • Patricia and Greg enjoy the process of creating and building together. They love keeping a vegetable and herb garden. They make flavored salts with fresh herbs and preserve in the summer for the fall

  • Greg just finished fixing up her bike and built himself a bike at volunteer run Bike Pirates

Patricia is now happy with her income, owns a portion of her house (the bank owns the rest) and has set a goal to grow to a VP level which will give her a significant salary bump.  She is now thinking about getting an MBA but finds it too expensive so has started to look at which companies might invest in supporting employee education.  She recognizes that this will take a few years but is setting herself to be in the right position to make it happen.

Patricia says this requires discipline, can be painful and takes significantly longer than a DIFM (Do it For Me) approach. Renovations on their house are now starting to annoy her. It was extremely challenging to move home and work 10 weeks for free with a 3 hour commute, only to get a starter job at $27,000.  But without other resources, this has been the most effective path she could find to build her career, income and net worth.

From a systems perspective, how might we enable all individuals to take advantage of the growth, tax and community benefits associated with home ownership?  How might we create an economy where new graduates and other vulnerable populations do not have to work for free for 10 weeks to secure experience? 

Might we work on shifting our investments to those opportunities that give the greatest social benefit?  Instead of exempting residential properties from capital gains tax, might we instead provide down payment matching funds or rental tax credits to lower income populations that need it?  Instead of providing tax incentives to large companies, might we benefit more from providing funding to small entrepreneurs who are working to add employees to their business?

If you enjoyed this article and think it was helpful, please share it. If you have suggestions for others and or would like to tell your story, please comment or send Strive an email.

Esfir used university to go from minimum wage to secure & stable employment

Meet Esfir

• Early 30’s

• Immigrated to Canada from Iran with her husband when she was 23 years old

• Education in chemistry & engineering, education and HR

• Works in the banking sector

• Student debt of $55,000

• Income of $45,000 to $65,000

Esfir came to Canada, driven by the desire for a career where, her contributions would be valued based on their merit and as equal to those of her male colleagues. She was frustrated that as a woman, she didn’t get meaningful opportunities at work.  “They didn’t see me as a professional… I didn’t have equity and no matter how good I was, I couldn’t get any higher”.

Esfir grew up in Iran within an upper-middle class family.  Valuing education, Esfir pursued her undergraduate degree in chemistry / engineering and then a second degree in English as a second language.   Upon completing school she ended up working in a bank full time and teaching English part time.  She met Farrokh, an IT professional; they married and bought an apartment back home.  They were financially comfortable. 

In 2010, at the age of 23, Esfir and her Farrokh decided to move to Canada.  Her vision had evolved; she dreamed of being in a leadership position, of transitioning to HR and of starting a family.

They came to Canada with what they thought was enough money to last 6 months.  With the currency exchange and the costs of getting settled, they realized they had significantly less than expected. Esfir also realized how difficult it was to find a job in one’s field.  Worried about the costs of living, she applied for and was able to secure a minimum wage retail job at HBC within 10 days of arriving.  Farrokh had a more difficult time.  His English was not as strong as hers and so it took him 3 months to find a minimum wage job at Future Shop, which he would later lose when they were sold to Best Buy.

Looking back, Esfir’s strategy (in addition to hard work) was to 1) look for ways to move up within her job in order to increase her Canadian experience, 2) secure additional education in HR where she wanted to direct her career and 3) network and engage others in her journey.

She started working at HBC in 2010 and 2 years of minimum wage later, Esfir was promoted to a manager within the cosmetics department, managing 5 people and increasing her wage to $18 per Hour. Esfir and Farrokh both wanted to go back to school but it was expensive and they had to wait for a time when they could afford it.  After losing his job, Farrokh took 6 months to find another job but this time it was in his field. Within another year, Esfir was able to move up again to a store manager for a cosmetic brand.  4 years after arriving in Canada, Esfir was earning $50,000-$60,000 and Farrokh was earning in the $60,000-$70,000 range. 

Given the increased stability, Esfir was able to start a post-graduate degree in HR at York University in 2014.  In addition to the financial cost of another degree, Esfir’s education was not fully recognized here and so she had to invest money and time in taking preliminary courses and exams. 

Esfir continued to work full time while pursuing her post-graduate degree.  This is what enabled them to pay for their living costs and her school costs.  In 2015, through a close friend, Esfir heard about an opportunity as a banking advisor at RBC. 

With her experience in the banking industry back home, her Canadian experience managing a retail store and expertise in customer service, she was able to secure a significantly better role with same salary.  She was delighted with this opportunity because the size of the organization and their commitment to investing in people gave her hope.  She could see a pathway to move into HR and grow into a leadership position.

She has been at the bank now for just over 2 years.  She is not yet in HR but she enjoys her work, feels she is fairly compensated and has had good honest discussions with her manager, mentor and senior leaders in the organization.  They know she is interested in HR and she is actively working on building a pathway forward.  Esfir and Farrokh are also enjoying parenthood - they had a beautiful son in November 2016. 

Looking back, Esfir realizes that her strategy of engaging others in her journey was not something she immediately thought of. Instead, struggling with the stress of immigration, financial difficulties, loneliness, and the loss of her brother in an automobile accident, Esfir realized she needed to start socializing and be a greater part of the community to be healthier. 

As she grew her network of people, Esfir learned she was not the only one going through difficulties.  She realized she wasn’t alone; “there were lots of doctors and engineers like me who weren’t able to find a job in their own field… Farrokh and I weren’t the problem…it was an outside problem”.  This gave Esfir hope and kept her moving towards her goals. 

Esfir’s goals now including, building a bridge from her current role to one in HR, which could some involve internal courses, more networking and figuring out ways to develop HR skills in her current role.  Farrokh and Esfir are also saving to purchase a home, take a vacation together, support their son’s education and eventually retire.

It has been 9 years and Esfir has made significant progress she is proud of.  It turns out that immigration and starting fresh in a new country is significantly harder than expected. It takes exponentially more time and money than it should; Esfir and Farrokh had to find jobs, figure out how to live on minimum wage, figure out how to get jobs that would use their skills, apply, get no response, apply for more jobs, get rejected, re-write their resume, apply for more jobs, learn the culture, work long hours and extra shifts to be able to take on more responsibility. 

They had to spend time managing every bit of their spending, learn the banking system; how it works and the various products that were different from their home country where credit cards are not common, meet new people, invest in making friends, understand the educational system, associated costs and benefits and make critically important decisions.

Despite these challenges, Esfir and Farrokh are very proud of their progress and the foundation they have built.  They see how far they have come and look forward to continuing to work towards their goals. As their citizenship judge said, “you can be anything you want to be in this country, I was an immigrant and now I am a judge”.

In writing Esfir’s story, I can’t help but be impressed by her clear focus on her goals, her hard work, determination and persistence.  I also can’t help but think how much better we could be as a country if we made the immigration process easier, valued immigrant skills and if our minimum wage was a living wage giving individuals space to invest in reaching their goals faster. 

How Esfir and Farrokh make it work day to day

• Budget & plan expenses both monthly and weekly; they have a fixed monthly plan that may change with life changes.  Weekly they write down all their expenses and they review everything together regularly.

• Write down all their expenses; Esfir is in charge of the master spreadsheet

• Work together; they have the same view of finances and have worked out a savings and expense plan that works for them both

• Have a small budget for unexpected situations

• Buy ingredients, make lunches and dinners; They realize that eating at home is much cheaper and healthier than dining out so that is how they manage their day to day life.  The purchase food out a maximum of 1-3 times per month for special occasions or if they are working late.

• Choose low cost entertainment; They love Netflix and instead of expensive vacations or entertainment, they focus on day trips to places like Niagara Falls

Ricardo is an immigrant who grew his salary from $32,000 to $94,000

Meet Ricardo

• Early 40’s

• Immigrated to Canada from Argentina 13 years ago

• Studied Advertising & Communications at University

• Works in the digital advertising space

• Household income in the range of 190-240 K

• Personal income in the range of 100-130K

You would not guess it from talking to Ricardo but he is a planner at heart.   Not a planner in the traditional sense – he has no spreadsheets, lists or timelines written down.   But you can see his thinking; you can see that he plans in his head.  He has an understanding of what he wants,  what is important to him and engages others in his journey. 

Ricardo was born into an upper middle class family in Argentina.  Although he loved the country, the culture and was close with his family and friends, he had an understanding that his opportunities for long-term happiness were limited due the lack of economic security, scarcity of jobs, the violence (he had once been held up at gunpoint), and the high level of corruption. 

Ricardo wanted more control over his future and decided he was going to emigrate.  Speaking English he debated between the US where his brother was, Ireland (where he had additional family), Canada and Australia.  He chose Canada because of the openness to cultural diversity, the more left leaning politics, the access to nature, the existence of health care, the economic opportunity and the vibrancy of Toronto. 

And so at age 32, after spending 1.5 years on paperwork and saving $2,000, Ricardo left his job as an Account Director in marketing and boarded a plane to Canada.  Taking advice from his brother, Ricardo knew he had to solve his problems one by one. 

First he had to find a place to stay.  He left his suitcase at Union station and went to a backpackers hostel.  He got one bad tip and then jumped on one of the first opportunities he had for decently priced accommodations.  He ended up renting a room in a Richmond Hill house (about an hour from the city centre) for $500. 

His next task was to find a job.  Someone told him to go to the library and there he started to access some of the services available for those looking for a job.  He got help putting together his resume and through a job program, learned how to look for a job.  He was very grateful for the help in understanding how things worked. 

Ricardo’s goal was to get something inside a larger company.  He felt that if he got his feet in, he could build Canadian experience and grow.  He just needed to get in the door.  

He thought of it as a numbers game.  The more he applied, and the more interviews he got, the greater his chances for success.  He applied for every posting he saw, reached out to companies he had worked for in Argentina and took every interview he could get.  This let him practice his English and the wording he would use to describe his background and skills.   Ricardo spent lots of time talking about how he would sell newspapers door to door…

After a month, he secured a position at a call centre in a research firm he had previously worked for in Argentina.  He had come with a letter of recommendation from that firm.  A few weeks in, the HR person he had previously connected with let him know that there was a co-ordinator position available.  He applied and got the job securing a salary of $32,000 a year.   This enabled him to move from the room he was renting in Richmond Hill to a bachelor in the city. 

Ricardo was responsible for co-ordinating communications for people doing surveys.  After 12 months, he was promoted to a project manager and received a $2,000 raise.  During his time as a project manager, Ricardo became friends with other project managers and he learned his salary was $10,000 below theirs.  He was making 33% less than those with the exact same job.

Knowing that he was underpaid, and that it is much easier to negotiate when entering a new job than when getting promoted, Ricardo spent time and energy looking for new opportunities.  After, 9 months as a Project Manager, Ricardo moved companies and was able to increase his salary to $46,000. 

At his new company, Ricardo once again worked hard and within 14 months, was promoted to Account Director.  Again he was given a small raise.  This time he received $4,000, increasing his salary to $50,000.  He was told that once he proved himself, he would be given a raise.  Ironically, they had just given him a promotion for proving himself.  He knew people around him were making $70 - $90,000.

Within a year, he once again moved to a competitor in an Account Director role and then increased his salary to $94,000.  With that jump, Ricardo was finally at the same salary level as his Canadian counterparts. 

So in four years, Ricardo went form an annual salary of $32,000 to $94,000.  It is important to note that Ricardo was in a growing industry and already had the skills (he had worked in this field in Argentina).   What he was focused on doing was building Canadian experience so that he could effectively negotiate when entering new positions.

What were the key factors that enabled Ricardo’s success?

1.     Ricardo works to understand the context around him – He reads and connects with colleagues and friends openly with the goal of everyone succeeding.  He shares his information and in exchange others share with him.  This is how he built a good understanding of the earning potential for his skills.  This is how he learned that in most cases, companies do not properly reward you when they promote you internally.

2.     Ricardo develops strategies that take his context into consideration.  Knowing that he wanted more stability, safety and economic opportunity, Ricardo’s strategy was to emigrate from Argentina.  Knowing that he wanted to increase his salary in his industry, Ricardo’s strategy was to work hard, get promoted at a company and then to move companies and get a salary bump.

3.     Ricardo is genuinely interested in people, in doing and in being active.  These interests have really helped him be successful.  He does not network in the American sense of the word.  Instead, he is interested in meeting and getting to know different people.  He makes time for lunch, connecting either with colleagues or re-generating on his own.  He plays on a field hockey team, regularly goes to see live music and walks his dog daily.  Through these activities, he has gotten to know a variety of people and built up his knowledge of opportunities and salary levels.  He shares information and others share with him. 

He has been in Canada 13 years and has worked at 7 different companies within that time period.  He found 2 of those jobs himself through the standard job application process.  The other 5 were all through acquaintances.  His acquaintances did not get him any of the jobs, but they let him know the opportunities existed, sometimes making introductions.  This often opened the door to an interview.

Ricardo says “You have to move and do things, if you sit around, nothing will happen.  People help each other when they know and like each other.  It’s human nature.” 

Ricardo is now happy with where he is.  When he looks back, he says he would not do anything drastically different.  It would have been good to have more than $2,000 to emigrate but then again he knows that if too much time had passed, he may have gotten stuck – you have to jump at some point.  He is happy that he kept his focus on moving and advancing and that he always makes time for people he likes.  He has not only built his career, but also built a community of Canadian friends that are like family. 

From a systems perspective, how do we enable all immigrants to leverage their skills, while being fairly paid and successful?  How can we meaningfully take advantage of their knowledge and expertise?  And how might we prevent companies from using their market hold on employment take advantage of those populations that are most vulnerable and most need employment? 

Might we just do that by coming together, sharing our knowledge and working to help each other advance?

Aimee's a PSW who has doubled her income by working independently

Aimee is a Personal Support Worker who who has been working in the field for over 20 years.  She is a single mother who has figured out how to double her income.  After 15 years of struggling with an average annual salary of $30,000 and a bureaucratic agency system that did not value her work, Aimee began to believe there had to be a better way.  Knowing that patients wanted better care, that the industry is growing with people wanting to stay home longer, and understanding the funding system Aimee decided she could be better off by working independently. 

This was not an easy decision.  Within the agency world, everything was organized and Aimee just had to show up and do the work.  But, that world had Aimee struggling to make ends meet and it did not enable her to provide they quality of care she enjoyed providing.

Aimee moved towards working independently

She started by picking up a few clients on the side.   She did these evenings and weekends and then 5 years ago she picked a name, ensured all her certifications were in order, got insurance and launched her own company.

She invested in networking and marketing herself.  She grew her relationships with agencies, reached out to people she had previously worked with, as well as individuals from organizations that provided funding opportunities such as insurance companies, personal injury lawyers and government funded programs like the passport program.  She listed her company with CCAC’s and developmental services. 

Aimee identified which populations she wanted to focus on and started going to hub meetings and drop in sessions targeted at these individuals.  She created weekly day programs and organized outings at local centres or churches to both service her targeted population and increase her connection with possible clients.  

On an ongoing basis, she has to supplement her actual personal support work with her marketing efforts and business management.  She is acutely aware of how many clients she needs to service monthly to hit her salary targets.  She continuously works to build and maintain her relationships.  If for some reason, she loses a client, she actively invests in finding another, positing on kijiji, visiting nursing homes, and or reaching out to her existing relationships.   

Overall she absolutely loves her new world.  From a pay perspective, she charges the same rate as agencies, so between $30 & $40 and effectively makes double what she used to make.  She finds that families appreciate having a higher consistency, continuity and quality of care than is typically provided in the agency world. 

She also loves her job so much more.  She gets to build stronger relationships with her clients.  In most cases she is part of the family, a genuine companion.  Aimee loves having control and flexibility over her schedule.  She finds she is able to do a lot of things agencies cannot do – she can provide a tailored service.   She does have to work evenings and weekends and does her best to accommodate clients but she has control over when this happens. 

In her new world, Aimee finds that clients are much happier.  As she is not struggling to meet the allotted time for a bath or to figure out how to make ends meet, Aimee has more brain space to be truly present and give. 

Aimee feels like “she won the lottery”.  She values the experience she received from the agencies she worked at previously.  Her knowledge and practical skills were definitely built within this environment.  That being said, she is delighted with her choice 5 years ago.

Now Aimee gets to enjoy her profession, the relationships she builds and the positive response from families.  And her clients get better care.

Aimee is a positive outlier.  She has figured out success within a system where care is often rushed to meet allotted time buckets and most of the over 100,000 personal support workers in Ontario[1], struggle to make ends meet, earning an average salary of $32,590[2].  

How might other PSW's replicate Aimee's success?  And if more PSW's did shift to independent work, might we be able to transition personal support work to an industry where workers are valued and given the time and space needed to bring meaningful connection, and higher quality of comfort, relief and support to patients?

[1] Ontario won’t regulate personal care workers, CBC News, April 2010 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-won-t-regulate-personal-care-workers-1.907601

[2] glassdoor; https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/personal-support-worker-salary-SRCH_KO0,23.htm

Margaret invested in education & has tripled her salary in 13 years

Money has always been very important to Margaret.  She immigrated to Canada with her parents when she was a child. While there was always enough money for food and necessities, the family struggled significantly during the economic crash of the 80’s.  She remembers vividly the stress of losing the family home and having to rebuild from scratch.

Given her family’s financial situation, Margaret always had a part-time job, paid her way through university, and considered money a significant factor in her decision-making.  Enjoying travel, she taught English abroad for a number of years but found it difficult to get ahead and returned to Canada to restart her career. 

Margaret decided to go back to school to pursue her Masters of Library and Information Science.  Through this process, she continuously looked at industries and organizations where her skills would be most valued and where she could grow.   Since completing her Masters in 2004, Margaret has worked in three different industries, in 4 different organizations.  She has tripled her salary from her starting point of just under $50,000 annually.  She accomplished this through a skillful maneuvering of her career towards general management roles and fierce negotiation skills.  Her key strategies are: 

• Have a north star:  As finances were important to Margaret she set personal goals around wages.  She recognized that senior roles in a general management area were highly paid.  Given this she continuously looked to broaden her skill set with a breadth of projects and roles that enabled her to expand beyond her expertise in research. 

  • Early on in Margaret’s career she would constantly look for ways to make improvements and opportunities to learn beyond her role. She recognizes that some organizations are more open to this than others. "Some want to put you in a box and want you to stay there".  If that is the case, she knows there is little room for professional or income growth

• Understand what your organization values: Margaret is keenly aware of the value of different roles within her organization as well as her contribution.  She has established this by working to understand salaries, how much others in similar and different roles make, how much her organizational leaders and managers make.  This means she has a good sense of what her boss gets paid for what work and skill level and thinks about all this information when she sets a goal for her salary

  • She has built this knowledge up incrementally. She takes time to read salary scales using both glassdoor and PayScale, reads the Globe and Mail's profiles section which provides salary examples as well as Moneysense magazine, ask questions of colleagues and HR, and discusses money with friends

  • When negotiating her last role, Margaret took into consideration the following figures: her previous salary and remuneration including the economic value of the pension, employee RRSP contributions, professional development and other benefits offered (compensation for transit, phone etc.)…., as well as her understanding that salaries for comparable roles in organizations of similar scope and size ranged in the $140 - $190 k

  • She knows that once an organization sees your value, it is easier to negotiate for new roles, increases and opportunities; "If you are not a performer or have no value add - you have no starting point from which to negotiate". Given this, she is very strategic about the type of work she does - she only volunteers for projects that she knows are highly valued in the organization

• Use your values and goals as criteria for decision making: Margaret has a target salary and has a glide path to get there. In addition to financial remuneration she also knows what is important for her including professional development, time off and location

  • In one of her previous salary negotiations, her manager outlined how they had budget constraints and so were not able to increase her salary.  Given she was able to walk to work and had a small child at the time, she was not willing to move.  She did not miss out on this opportunity though.  She used it to secure commitment to investment in an out of province leadership program and attendance at out of country conferences worth roughly $10k.  This win was the result of knowing what she wanted, understanding the different buckets of budget within her organization and building the business case that demonstrated the value to the organization. This did not provide immediate financial benefit, but it built her expertise, and better positioned her for future financial growth.  It also demonstrated to management that she was willing to negotiate but that she would not settle

• Create an understanding of your goals with organizational leaders:  Margaret has always been clear about her goals with her managers. They know her interests both in terms of work and pay

  • Margaret uses every opportunity she can to make her goals clear. When beginning negotiations, she makes sure there is collective understanding for her long term salary and career progression goals. She then bargains as hard as she can when she enters a new role

  • Margaret has an understanding of the salary range as well as the full scale of remuneration ranging from investment in professional development, health and dental benefits to contribution to RRSP's. She sets a goal for overall compensation and for each of the pieces; "Usually you know when you have hit the max just as you know when you have not asked for enough. It is a fine line and must be carried out respectfully"

  • She is always very positive and solutions oriented in her negotiations, making clear her desires, yet also seeking to understand organizational areas of openness, policies, and constraints

  • Margaret recognizes that once you are in the role, it is tougher to negotiate for increases. At the same time, she knows that no one is going to offer you anything in this world

  • She notices that few people comprehend that: "I have been managing staff for nearly 10 years and I have never had anyone try to negotiate an increase outside of a review process and when they have asked – they have never been in a position of power with respect to performance. If you have just had a mediocre review it is not the best time to be asking for a significant raise"

• Use every opportunity to pre-negotiate and negotiate: Negotiations do not just happen at salary review time. They are happening year round. You are demonstrating your value every day. You are also demonstrating your knowledge and expectations every day.

  • Margaret describes a perfect example of this; In her discussions with her former CEO about remuneration for an employee who was being terminated, Margaret made it clear that she was uncomfortable with a clause in her own contract which severely limited the amount of severance she would be entitled to should she be dismissed. Essentially Margaret’s contract did not entitle her to severance pay of any kind (statute, common law or otherwise). She articulated that this was unfair and she intended to renegotiate this at a later date. Margaret understood that to stay long term in this role with a potential change in leadership would be a financially risky proposition and that she had signed away her rights to take the job.  Outside of review time, she made it clear that she wanted this fixed

  • Margaret has used a breadth of conversation starters to negotiate including celebrating the success of a big project / initiative and discussing her future vision for the initiative or team.  This provides an opening to discuss the support, resources and remuneration needed to bring the vision to life

If you enjoyed this article and think it was helpful, please share it. If you have suggestions for others and or would like to tell your story, please comment or send Strive an email.

Daniel has built a net worth of $1.5 Million over 16 years

Daniel grew up in communist Eastern Europe where most people were lower middle class.  He knew that counting on government will lead you to be somewhere between poor and lower middle class.  He saw that if you wanted anything over and above the basics, be it, experiences, things or even money for the sake of money, you had to work and hustle for it. 

Interested in moving towards a better life, Daniel studied business in Toronto.  He graduated and pursued a breadth of different opportunities.  His first job in digital marketing paid him $47,000 17 years ago.  He was there for a year, loved the people but not the job.   He lived at home and did not have any major expenses so he decided to resign.  From there he spent 6 months traveling, reading books and figuring out his next move. 

During this time Daniel had an opportunity to start a bar with a friend.  Needing some continuity of work while he embarked on this new venture, he secured a full time job at a research company in project management.  He realized that this job and company could not provide a full time career he enjoyed with the pay he wanted, so he did his job “well enough” but no more. 

He spent 2 years working full time hours in project management and another 30-40 hours at the bar.  Daniel and his two friends successfully built up the bar and Daniel took home $50,000 incremental to the salary at his day job.

From a day job perspective, Daniel has continuously worked to progress. Recognizing that project management was an ever growing and well paying field, he pursued a project management certification and got job at an agency that excelled in this area.   Over 6 years, he enhanced his project management skills with expertise in digital strategy.  He built up his knowledge and experience consistently growing his income by taking on greater responsibility and new roles.  He salary hit six figures in 2011. 

Shortly after this he was able to secure a role at a large consulting firm and negotiate a large salary increase.  Recognized for great work, he was recruited to join former colleagues at another agency in a Director role and now earns over $150k. 

Parallel to this standard world of 9-5, Daniel has continued to juggle many opportunities. In 2003, when he lost his bar lease, he got out of that business feeling good that he had made some nice money and learned a ton. 

At the same time, recognizing that he needed to figure out a way to have his money grow independent of his labour and that there was no more land in downtown Toronto, he decided to buy a house with a friend. Daniel borrowed money from his parents for a downpayment.  He and Richard bought a run down triplex in an undesirable part of downtown – Daniel would live in it, pay rent and they would both share the value of the house and rental income.  With a down payment of 5%, the initial value of the house has grown over 300% over 14 years.  With real estate, your investment is limited to the down payment but you receive a return on the entire asset, so there are opportunities to have above average rates of return.   

He invested in another business venture with his friends - a high-end restaurant that he loved.  They built it up to one of Toronto’s top 10 and then the recession of 2008 hit and they closed it down.  Net net, Daniel probably lost $30,000 on this endeavor but the experience was great.  He enjoyed the business and used it as a way to connect, network and “build his credibility in the business world”.

In 2009, Daniel bought another house and moved in with his partner.  Last year they bought an additional rental property with two close friends.  The group of 4 manage the property together and see it as a place to put their money and let it grow. 

Overall, Daniel has just over $1.5 M in assets in his early 40s. 

What has been the secret to his success?

1.    An understanding of the situations that enable success and a goal to operate in those spaces.  Back home he learned that “to succeed in a system that is broken, you have to understand and figure out how to benefit from its shortcomings – otherwise you will bang your head against a brick wall”.  Daniel knew that even if he put a chunk of work into his project management job, the organization and management team were of such low quality and his chances of success were diminished.  He knew that now matter how good he was at a family owned company, he would never really rise to the top because it was family owned and managed.  And he ultimately knows that to make real money, you have to have money grow by itself.  It can not be solely dependent on your labour – this is what drives his consistent time investment in a breadth of other opportunities.

2.    A great ability to extract and be satisfied with the good that exists. There is no doubt that Daniel works hard, an estimate of 50 hours a week at his day job + the time he spends on the two rental properties and whatever current opportunity he has bubbling.  During this, Daniel does not get frustrated he is not moving fast enough, he accepts where he is and works to enjoy it for what it is. 

This means that his day-to-day life and comforts are focused on the pieces he truly values and other pieces often take a back seat.  He enjoys traveling and so goes away at least once a year with family or friends.  A couple of years ago, he took a sailing class and is currently planning on taking his next lessons in the Caribbean.  

At the same time, a basement rental apartment he rents out is much nicer than his living space because he has not prioritized renovating his old house.  He also has a mishmash of furniture collected over the years and he just got rid of a 15 year old car that he drove to the death after buying it for $3,000 from his sister.  He picks and chooses where to invest his time and resources, realizes he can not have it all and enjoys the experiences of his choices.

3.    A willingness to take risks.  Daniel has taken a breadth of risks throughout his career.  Some have paid off in standard monetary terms and others have paid off in learning, experience or connections.  He values each experience for what it is and keeps building his reserves to enable him to continue taking risks.

4.    A focus on true relationships vs networking.  Daniel has endless amounts of time to provide, connect, grab a coffee or provide help to others.  He is not short sighted or purposeful in this but has a genuine interest in people and nurtures real long term relationships both inside and outside of the workspace.  His friends are often is partners and co-conspirators in the side hustles he pursues. 

Daniel is another positive outlier.  He has figured out the system and worked hard to navigate his way through.  How might we better enable other Canadians to excel in their own ways?

Recognizing the stagnation in wages, would we as a society benefit from increasing our investment in entrepreneurship training and support services? 

Would we benefit from expanding the understanding of the contributors to success and build a comprehensive and sophisticated knowledge to enable others to succeed?

And most importantly, recognizing that lower income Canadians are not able to access or benefit from the wealth creation of asset ownership or the $5B in annual tax credits to home owners[1], might we be able to rethink how we build bridges to asset ownership?  Might we be able to take that $5B and use it to support low income individuals and families to create assets?

Christopher Pollon, Time to end the capital gains giveaway to Canadian homeowners?, The Tyee, March 2017, https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/03/21/End-Capital-Gains-Giveaway/