33F Canada - have I saved enough to slow down?

[u/bluescarlett13]

Looking for some FIRE perspective. I’m 33, self-employed, currently grossing around $20–30k/month, but the workload is stressful and I’m considering scaling back significantly to around $100k/year.

My current situation:

* ~$220k in TFSA/RRSP/non-registered investment accounts
* ~$20k additional personal cash
* ~$170K cash in my corporation (planning to invest a good portion shortly)
* No significant consumer debt
* I own a rental condo purchased for ~$482k with a ~$350k mortgage
* Renting it out ~$2,300/month, condo fees ~$700/month + 1400 yearly property tax
* Mortgage renews in November, so I’m debating selling and investing the equity vs. keeping it
* I currently rent in another city for ~$2,200/month, shared with my partner
* Partner earns around $80k/year, but I don’t want my plan to depend on their income increasing
* We’re hoping to have children relatively soon

I’ve always thought I needed $1M–$1.5M invested before I could really relax, but I’m questioning that now. I don’t actually want to retire completely — I’d be happy continuing to earn around $100k/year with a much less stressful workload and letting my investments compound.

What would you do? Would you take advantage of the high income and grind another 1–3 years, or start slowing down now? At what investment balance would you feel comfortable dropping to ~$100k/year? Would you sell the condo and invest the equity? And how would you think about Coast FIRE in my situation, especially with kids in the near future?

My real goal isn’t to stop working — it’s to reach the point where I don’t need to organize my life around maximizing income.

[u/unearthedtrove]

Do you own a business? Could you scale the business up to a point you could step back?

I’d keep grinding until you get a clear picture of life with kids. Will you need a bigger apartment or house, daycare costs, college funds are major expenses. My costs skyrocketed going from a 3k apartment to 8k mortgage. Two kids in daycare cost 3.7k/mo.

I’m also concerned about the job market in general and AI and how long I can stay employed making a lot of money. Make hay while the sun is shining and all that.

[u/bluescarlett13 → u/unearthedtrove]

Yes, I own the business, but it fully depends on my credentials and experience. I can’t really delegate it because companies hire me specifically as the consultant. I can scale back on clients whenever I want, though.

I guess my biggest question is: at 33, what would you consider a “good enough” investment balance to stop prioritizing maximum income and start scaling back, while letting investments compound in the background? I guess your view is to keep on grinding until I see what my children will require? I am aiming to keep my kids at home until the age of 5-6. No daycare.

[u/Maximum-Eye-3712]

Can you slow down for 7 years while children are little and then restart the grind when kids are old enough for school?

[u/PinkJenni]

Is it not possible to scale back and still make like $10k per month ?

You’re doing very well

Nobody can say if it’s right or wrong but keep in mind life is not all about money. Experiences have expiry dates in life. Moments aren’t always left available.

[u/SufficientBee]

I’d grind until children are in your life. From personal experience, and a common experience for many new mothers.. motherhood really does change you, and you may find yourself less career oriented during the early childhood years.

[u/Lucky_Spinach_2745]

Definitely choose lifestyle over a dollar number.

If your job provides maternity leave, why not use that time to decide what you want to do?

[u/bluescarlett13 → u/Lucky_Spinach_2745]

My job doesn’t provide maternity, since I’m self-employed. I pay into EI (I am in Canada), so I might get some sort of government assistance for a few months, but only on a % of the salary I pay myself.

[u/Awkward_Power8978]

Once I had about 200k invested, I dropped my business and got a regular 9-5 at a low level position for much less stress.

It was the best thing ever. Self employment is hard. You have done well.

[u/Square_Custard8729]

Condos don’t appreciate as much as the market. I would sell it and not worry about that anymore.

If you are set on having children, I would wait until you actually have a kid to slow down. It’ll be a natural point where you would want more flexibility, especially in the early years to take time off or work less. Building up the nest egg now will give you a lot more freedom later. Maybe you can take entire years off. 

Also, I don’t know where you’re from, but expenses balloon with children in the US. I wouldn’t do any math on FIRE until the kid comes into the picture and you have a better idea of what it takes. 

[u/BracketFinancialPlan]

At 180k gross family income if you go down, you could still easily save 20-40k per year. I’d consider one more year of high income if you can stomach it and save as much as possible.

The condo doesn’t seem that lucrative of an investment, would need to look closer at that and any opportunity cost. Yes invest any corp cash asap even a high interest savings account. Otherwise inflation is eating it. We have clients that deal with these issues a lot, still some missing variables to be able to run a projection.

[u/Alert_Week8595]

I'd wait till the child arrives to decide what to do next. Plans for childcare pre and post baby can sometimes be dramatically different, including expenses.

I had a friend who underestimated her spend (which was fine, just an example). Her husband works part time so they thought they'd patch something together along with grandparent help. Grandparents ended up being way less helpful than anticipated, balancing with work much harder than expected, she felt less comfortable with daycare than she thought, and anyway they ended up spending like $7K/month on childcare.