Today we talk to blogger Tanya from T on FIRE. In this episode, we find out how her journey to FIRE is unique to Atlantic Canada.
Shownotes
- Tanya’s blog is a personal journal to keep her accountable to her FIRE goals (you’ll find very detailed FIRE reports).
- Her take on Real Estate and affordability in Atlantic Canada.
- Tanya mentions two fundamental books to her FIRE journey:
- Ryan mentions Mr. Money Mustache’s article about ignoring mainstream media—The Low-Information Diet.
- Tanya loves this Canadian blog: Canadian Dream, Free at 45
- Chrissy mentioned this MMM blog post about Tim Stobbs.
- The most influential article Tanya ever read was Mr. Money Mustache’s legendary post, The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Early Retirement
- Ryan always wants to know what people order at Timmy’s. When Tanya is forced to spend money on Tim Horton’s, she orders a medium coffee with two milk.
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Really enjoyed this interview. Nice to hear from someone who is at the beginning of their FI/RE journey. So many podcasters interview those who have already succeeded and whilst that may provide advice about how to achieve FI it always makes me feel rather inadequate, particularly if they are still in their thirties. The good thing about Tanya is that she has come to it in middle age, which gives other late arrivals the belief that it is worth starting, even if you’re no longer in your twenties.
Really looking forward to the next episode.
Glad you enjoyed it. We’re still ironing out our interview technique so hopefully we’ll continue to improve. I think a big part of the FI conversation is missing if you don’t talk with the people that are at different points on the path. I also feel that where one lives has a lot of impact on the journey. We’re going to bring those conversations to the show and share them with Canada!
I live in New Brunswick, so good to hear from someone else in this area. I completely agree with Tanya in her analysis on where to buy in Atlantic Canada. My wife and I have been searching (for months now) for a rental property that will cashflow positive and isn’t a dump. The situation we have here in NB is the double taxation of property tax on non-owner occupied property. Also the property taxes are some of the highest in the country before you double it for non-owner occupied. This makes it really challenging to have a positive cashflow property in NB. NB is the only province that does this. Just to put this in perspective you might be able to buy a duplex in Saint John for $175,000, however you will pay $6000 per year in property taxes and $3000 per year in water and sewage expenses. If it is a real nice duplex you might get $900 per month per unit. When you work out the numbers, by the time you pay for all the other expenses you can’t get to cashflow positive.
Hi RJ, thanks for the comment. I didn’t know about the taxation challenges that NB real estate investors face. It’s interesting that you have a very different problem compared to what we face in Vancouver and Toronto. But it leads to the same outcome: it’s nearly impossible to get positive cashflow!
It’s so frustrating to not be able to join the market—especially when we keep hearing about the passive income potential there is in real estate! I appreciate that you took the time to share this. Even if it doesn’t change the situation, it’s helpful for us and others to know they’re not alone in being unable to invest in real estate (even in more affordable areas).