Personal Finance Canada

I am 21 years old, still live with my parents, currently studying Computer Science, and need some sort of income because I'm nearly out of money (mostly because I never had a job and I need bus fare to basically get around anywhere and I would like to have some money for hobbies).

Tried getting a job, going over my resume multiple times and handing in my resume in person, but that has not been working so far - I've been handing out like hundreds of resumes since January this year and got only 1 interview with no follow up (and I even tried places such as McDonalds, TimHortons, and Starbucks and also various programming jobs).

I have recently come up with the idea of mowing other people's lawns for money. However, when I suggested this to my parents, they said it was just inappropriate for me because if an adult were to do it, they'd do it with tools such as a proper gas powered mower, a weedwacker and possibly even a van, but all we have is an electric mower that doesn't even have batteries (don't know if there are any with batteries), so I'd have to take electricity from my customers. I also don't have enough money for a weedwacker or a new lawn mower.

Anyhow, they think it's a stupid idea, but I personally think that even if it doesn't work out and I don't get any customers, then I have nothing to lose from it, and if it does work, then I get cash, and actual work experience to put on my resume (because right now I basically only have my mandatory high school volunteer hours).

I personally do think that there is a chance that they might be correct, but I personally think that I'd have to actually try it before I could be totally sure.

Plus, I believe one of the main reasons why I'm in this situation now is because in High School they always told me things like that I was stupid, and too slow and clumsy to work in fast food or grocery stores (and other jobs that high schoolers normally take) and should just focus on getting A+ grades to get accepted into the best universities and get a job as a programmer, and I fully believed them and instead of trying to get a job during the summers, I took summer school courses which just ended up in me filling up the resulting empty spots with elective courses and so I graduated high school at the same time as everyone else - and so looking back I do think that I should have just ignored my parents and got myself a job during the summer in high school. During my first few years in university, I was also under the impression that getting a job was not too hard and didn't take really that long as it's actually taking for me and that I could just get a programming job right now or when I graduate - and turns out I was wrong.

By the way, I also live in Durham Region, Ontario (which is in the GTA on the east side).

Any advice on this? Do you think that this may actually work?

Also, if I do end up mowing lawns for money with the equipment I have, would a price of around 20 - 25 CAD per mow be reasonable?

I am currently a university student in Ontario, Canada, looking to get a summer job (at least minimum wage would be just fine for me). I've been sending my resume out for like almost half a year now, but with no luck (not even a phone call).

Yes, I have tried applying to McDonalds, TimHortons, grocery stores, countless other places, and even places where my friends work/worked at. I have also gotten my resume looked at by both an employment agency and my friends. I have also went in in-person to a lot of places. One of my friends says that one of the main reasons why I might not any phone calls back is that I don't have any real work experience other than my mandatory high school volunteer hours.

I am also a Computer Science student and yes, I have been considering going for a web development job. However, a lot of the job postings I see require stuff like Wordpress, and JavaScript frameworks which I don't know. I also want a job as soon as possible (because of my finances).

I have also found a list of local staffing agencies at my local employment center. Should I go for these? How likely am I to get hired once I go?

The past few weeks have been wild for Wall Street. So wild, in fact, that we decided to devote this entire issue of TLDR to unpacking what happened, and where it leaves us. Because there are lots of questions about the latter right now. We’ve got a pre-election issue in the works for next week, then we’ll return to our regular programming. —The Editors

From my reading so far I'm looking at ETFs with WS, and that I should start with the TFSA. Am I on the right track and what do you recommend?

😬 Stocks always go up…right?

THE WEEK IN MARKETS Everything But America The markets were mostly flat last week, but the storyline of 2025 has come into clear focus: the resurgence of EBA — Everything But America. Since January 1, U.S. stocks are down 5%, Canadian stocks are up a smidge, and global stocks outside the U.S. are up 9%. During the tech-driven rally of the past few years, investors were so smitten with U.S. tech companies, and so cool on everyone else, that TINA — “there is no alternative” to U.S. tech — became something of a mantra. Now market analysts are hyping up new global tech super-groups with names like the Terrific Ten that stand to rival the Not-So-Magnificent Seven.

What changed? For one, Trump 2.0 mayhem — his tariff barrage, his plans to gut civil services, his shift away from NATO — alongside cresting fears that U.S. tech stocks have become overvalued. Or, maybe this whole EBA storyline will end up being wrong. We’re only three months into the year, after all, and this is far from the first time global observers have clucked about the end of U.S. dominance.

THE WEEK IN ONE NUMBER $25 If every household spent this much on Canadian, rather than American, goods every week, our economy would grow by 0.7% and support 60,000 new jobs.

I've just heard of someone doing that and it ended badly, but that was because the person over contributed. I wonder if it would be legal/smart for me to do that? I don't make enough to max out my TFSA and don't take risks investing (only invest in global ETFs and bonds).

cross-posted from: https://startrek.website/post/20675270

IN THIS ISSUE 8 min read 🏦 Bank bluster 😮‍💨 E-cig empire 😟 Tariff talk

One bad week is a blip. Two in a row could be just a minor reversal. But three straight is hard to sugarcoat. Last week the TSX and S&P were both down 3%, the NASDAQ dropped 4%, and the formerly high-flying Magnificent 7 sank more than 5%. Trump has backed off on some tariffs (for now, anyway), but investors are clearly spooked. So is it time to join the sell-off party? We can’t answer that for you! But, as we unpack below, you can always find a reason to sell, and it’s worth noting that stocks have slumped this much 30 times since March 2009. In every case the end felt nigh, and in every case you were better off buying the dip.

(see link for full newsletter)

Disclaimer: The newsletters are put out by an investment management company. I'm sharing as the content may be helpful, but note the potential bias. More links:

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealthsimple
• Newsletter homepage: https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/learn/tldr-newsletter-signup

I'm worried because I never really had a job, and because I need to pay for the bus to go to places (where I absolutely need to go), I fear that I may run out of money and I currently have a minuscule amount. Plus, I really wanted to move out of my parent's house sometime.

So, starting in the beginning of January, I have actively been looking for part-time entry-level jobs (since I'm currently in university and just can't have a full-time job) at places like Starbucks, McDonalds, TimHortons, grocery stores, and so on, but I never got any replies. I've been applying using Indeed, the company's website, and even walking into the stores. I've lost count of how many resumes I've given out.

Since I'm also studying Computer Science, I figured that I might also apply for programming jobs (which I'm going to also do shortly). However, I figured that the chances of me getting a CS-related job are the same as me getting a minimum-wage job, and I just only want to have a job that pays at least something since it's better than having no job at all (and plus, I think it will slightly increase my chances of getting a programming job later on).

Since I don't really have a phone (or at least one that I carry around constantly), I've purchased a text-only VOIP number and put that on my resume along with my email (which I hope that doesn't result in my never getting an interview).

It's been like 2 months now and I haven't heard back. When walking around I've also heard people saying that they're having a similar experience. I am really stressed out because of this.

A friend of mine also said that the main reason why I'm not getting any replies back is because I have no previous job experience. I have also noticed that a lot of companies are simply not hiring right now.

Am I doing anything stupid?

I always liked these threads on the reddit community, so wonder if we should try them out here

I don’t know if we have critical mass here for weekly threads, but maybe it could help keep this community bubbling up and gaining members.

Disclaimer: The newsletters are put out by an investment management company. I'm sharing as the content may be helpful, but note the potential bias. More links:

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealthsimple
• Newsletter homepage: https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/learn/tldr-newsletter-signup

Disclaimer: The newsletters are put out by an investment management company. While the content may be helpful in some ways, there is a potential bias:

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealthsimple
• Newsletter homepage: https://www.wealthsimple.com/en-ca/learn/tldr-newsletter-signup

I wont ever advise for timing the market, yet the current imminent US-Canada trade war and political storm inspired me to reassess my investing strategy.

Context : Mid 30, kids, mortgage, stable job but no retirement plan with the job.

I favour a diversified mix of low cost index fund but being a nerd i enjoy the Rational Reminder podcast and understanding the smallest details. An evidence based approach to risk and expected returns will guide my choices.

I started with 20 % bond and 80 % stock. The problem with bond : can exhibit volatility if interest rate change especially over longer time horizon, will limit growth if too high %, uncorrelated to stock but sometimes move in the same direction than stocks in recent downturn… I can put some extra payments on my mortgage and consider this a bond for a few years.

I want home country bias : no withholding taxes on dividend and at the opposite i get a tax credit for taxes already paid in Canada. In a conflict i can’t ever be expropriated from my own country stocks and use the Canadian currency for my spending. Let’s make Canada 25%.

Next is the US allocation. It’s two thirds of the investable world by market weight (see the VT etf if you want references) it’s had incredible returns in the last decade with p/e multitude going higher. Currency and country are uncompensated risk (random) and i won’t put myself in a place where 2/3 of my retirement is subject to random results. I choose 35 %.

That leaves 20 % for International developped market. I would like this to be higher than US but i will wait for the actual market weight to tell me that International merits a higher than US %. I leave developing market alone : i want an efficient market with free flow of information snd rules of law properly enforced.

Total 100% (20-25-35-20) close to VGRO.to No single stock, no gold, no crypto. What are your asset allocation plans and most importantly why?

If there is enough engagement here, i will make a future post about asset location, favourite etf to achieve my goal, small cap value and insured US allocation with deep itm options on SPY.

I really need a job in less than 2 months, because I'm being kicked out of the house in 2 months.

I am also a 20 year old university student currently studying Computer Science, and half of my tuition is already being paid by OSAP, which means that I'll need to pay around $2k for it.

I also don't have any prior work experience, but I do know Linux, C#, C/C++, HTML, CSS, JavaScript (but nothing advanced like React or SQL or game development), and Java. I also don't have any prior projects of my own that I can present in my portfolio. After looking at the job market for programmers, I figured that I'm probably not yet skilled enough to apply as a web developer or sysadmin.

I have also asked my school if they have any open positions for something like a TA, but I'm still waiting to make an appointment.

I have also sent out a few resumes to places like Starbucks and Walmart, but so far I haven't gotten any interviews yet.

My GPA is also like 2.3, so I don't know if I'll be able to apply for grants with that kind of a GPA.

I also have my social insurance card with me, so will I be able to get any insurance with it?

I've also been hearing on the news that the job market in Canada is being flooded by immigrants, mortgage and rent prices are crazy, and food is also crazy expensive, which really worries me.

I'm also totally stressed out from this.