Explore FI Canada

Much has changed since we started Explore FI Canada 2.5 years ago. Sadly, it's time for one final change: we're saying farewell.

We discuss drawdown planning with contest winner Julia as we discuss her Cashflows & Portfolios retirement projection with Mark Seed!

Photographer Jonathan Bielaski shares his inspiring story of coming from nothing… to starting lifestyle businesses… to reaching FI.

Sterling from Learning to FI shares the mental health challenges he's faced and how he's found balance in his spending, investing and life.

In Lesson 4 of FI School, we'll discuss income: how to earn more money, maximize your human capital, and reach your FI goals sooner!

Our friend Marla Taner joins us to talk about the psychology behind early retirement and what it's like being friends with Mr. Money Mustache!

Today, we're joined by Liquid from the Freedom 35 Blog to discuss alternative investments, leveraged investing, and much more!

Pastor Chris shares how he and his wife make the most of their low income, are paying off $68,000 of debt and are STILL able to aim for FI!

In Lesson 3 of our FI School series, we discuss budgeting and tracking—which we prefer, why they're both important, and how to get started.

Money Mechanic and Chrissy catch up after their summer break, discuss drawdown planning and announce an exciting new contest!

EFIC's two! To celebrate our second anniversary, we're catching up with our two first guests: T from T on FIRE and Megan from Victoria!

Sharon's mother and alcoholic father had low expectations for her future. She fought back, and is now living a happy life on her path to FI.

Today, we're focusing on the softer side of FIRE as we meet Ann Helga, author of the unqiue FIRE book, "Find Your Freedom With FIRE".

From order of accounts, to tax planning and more, Mark Seed joins us to discuss what you need to consider in your FI drawdown plan.

Listener Tara shares about life in the Yukon with a disability—and how it got her started on the path to FI.

Ms. Mod from the Modest Millionaires blog is joining us as her real, authentic self—Mel Dorion from Québec! The beginning of Mel’s story is a familiar one—that of a stressed-out, dual-income household, with burnout looming. However, over the last few years, she’s taken serious steps to increase the freedom in her life. Those shifts led her to remote working, increased financial freedom, and now, a sabbatical to test out the Coast FI lifestyle. We hope you take away some actionable ideas from Mel’s transformational journey. Are you able to unlock more freedom in your life too? Even if you’re still a long way from full FI? Let us know your thoughts in the comments of our show notes! (more…)

What if you didn’t have to work for 35 years in order to retire? Réjean Venne and his wife are answering just that question—after retiring at just 28 and 29 years old! To reach this incredible goal, they got serious about investing, optimized their expenses and geo-arbitraged to a lower-cost of living area (in Canada).\r\n\n\n\n\nHe and his wife are now living a slower, happier life with their three young children in Northern Ontario. Réjean’s story shows us, once again, how ordinary Canadians can achieve extraordinary results—just by getting a little more intentional with their money and decisions.\r\n\n\n\n\nCONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT: Win a copy of Réjean’s book!\n\n\n\nTo enter, leave a comment about the show: share your thoughts, a question for Réjean, or any other feedback on his interview. We will be do a random drawing from the comments on May 15, 2021!\r\n\n\n\n\n (more…)

It’s another first for EFIC! In today’s episode, we interview a pro athlete—none other than Courtney Stephen of CFL/Hamilton Tiger-Cats fame. We’re thrilled to be able to feature Courtney and his unique brand of financial education on the show!\r\n\n\n\n\nContrary to the pro athlete stereotype, Courtney is a master with money and an expert at teaching others. Listen in as he shares his story and discusses mindset, investing, multi-generational wealth, and more.\r\n\n\n\n\nWe hope you enjoy this fascinating peek into the life of a professional athlete—from his early years, to playing sports for a living, life in pandemic, and beyond. \r\n\n\n\n\n (more…)

We’re VERY excited to share something new with you today: our very first guest from the Canadian territories! Scott lives with his family in the Northwest Territories and joins us to share the benefits and challenges of pursuing FI in the North.\r\n\n\n\n\nIn this fascinating and wide-ranging discussion, we also discuss: Scott’s early life as a circus performer, his transition to a completely different career, Reverse FI (a term that Scott would like to coin) and so much more!\r\n\n\n\n\nWe had a lot of fun recording this one. We hope you enjoy listening to Scott’s stories as much as we did!\r\n\n\n\n\n (more…)

It was March 2020, and the pandemic had just taken over. EFIC listener Kay, still new to FIRE, moved a large chunk of her life savings from high-fee mutual funds to an all-in-one ETF at Questrade. But as momentous as this decision was, it was only one part of Kay’s financial transformation… In the interview, Kay takes us back to her pre-FIRE days, when she followed the traditional narrative of paying down your mortgage and saving a little every month. Despite doing all these ‘right’ things, she still didn’t feel secure or confident about her financial future. It wasn’t until Kay discovered FIRE that she finally experienced true financial security and peace. Even with the uncertainty of the pandemic (including unemployment) she feels more confident than ever! Kay’s story shows, once again, how FI can provide so much freedom—all along the way. (more…)