Issue #1 · 5-min read

Hey {{first_name|there}},

Welcome to the very first Planted North. I'm Lucas. I live in Vancouver, where it rains sideways and the rent is priced as if the mountain view were included. (It isn't.)

I'm not a finance pro. I'm writing this because of something I learned the slow way: one of the most effective ways to change your quality of life is to get your financial life organized.

Not rich. Organized. To me that means three things:

My own peace of mind changed when I finally gave my finances a structure: an emergency fund covering three months of expenses, and investments that run automatically every week. Since then I've felt confident I'll reach my goal. It's a matter of time and patience.

That's what I want to pass on, one Sunday at a time.

So where do you start? I walk in Stanley Park to think about it. Some of the cedars there are centuries old, and the Hollow Tree is estimated at 700 to 800 years.

None of them got there fast. They got there by lasting.

Compounding means your money earns returns, then those returns earn returns. In the early years it feels like nothing is happening. That's when most people quit.

Here's the math. It's an illustration, not a forecast; real returns go up and down:

About 70% of that comes from growth, not from what you put in.

And about two-thirds of it builds up in the last 15 years. The early years are the roots. You don't see them, but everything depends on them.

Can't do $160? The shape of the curve is the same at $25. Start there.

You're not giving money up. You're sending it ahead.

Most of us treat saving as a subtraction: $25 less for this week. Try it the other way around. There's a future version of you, 65, hopefully somewhere dry, who depends entirely on what you send them. Nobody else is on that payroll.

And the exchange rate is generous. At the same 6% illustration, every $1 you send ahead at 30 arrives as about $8 at 65. Wait until 45, and it arrives as about $3.

The dollar is the same. The only thing that changed is how long it had to grow.

So the question isn't "can I afford to put $25 aside?" It's "how early can I start sending it?"

The lesson isn't "find the perfect investment". It's start, and don't stop.

Pick an amount you won't miss, even $25. Set an automatic transfer from your chequing account to your TFSA on payday.

Automatic matters. You never have to remember to move the money, or talk yourself into it.

Not sure how much room you have? Log in to CRA My Account and check your TFSA room. What goes inside your TFSA is a separate decision. This week, just build the habit.

Don't have a TFSA yet? Any bank or brokerage can open one. I use Wealthsimple, and this is a referral link: if you open an account with it and deposit $100+, we each get $25. Not a recommendation. → wealthsimple.com/invite/A1AM6Q

Know someone who'd find this useful? Forward this email to them.

I started investing regularly later than I wanted. For years I worked part-time in a very expensive city, just making ends meet. I still invested small amounts, mostly to keep learning.

What changed my thinking was The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. The idea that stuck: successful investing is a battle against your own emotions, not the market.

My answer is to not show up for that battle. For over two years, a small deposit has gone into my TFSA every week without me touching it. I barely notice it anymore.

Is it exciting? Not at first. Then one day you notice the dividends coming in and your money growing by itself, and it gets interesting.

And none of this means living like a monk in a city with this many good restaurants. You can build for the future and still enjoy the present. That balance is the whole idea.

I won't go deeper on investing today. Today is about getting your head in the game, because the only person who can change your life is you. Every Sunday I'll show you what I'm doing, what's working and what isn't. The first step is still yours.

Reply with A, B or C: Do you have a TFSA yet?
A) Yes, and it's automated · B) Yes, but it's mostly empty · C) Not yet

If it's C, tell me what's stopping you. I read every reply.

Plant today. Grow for decades.
Lucas

Educational content only, not personalized financial advice. Example figures are illustrations, not forecasts. No stock or coin picks, ever: plantednorth.ca/standards

Sources: TFSA dollar limits and contribution room, Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca) · TFSA holders who maximized contributions (1,577,720 of 18,446,590 in 2023): CRA, Tax-Free Savings Account 2025 Statistics · Growth figures: Planted North calculation, $160/week from age 30 to 65, and $1 invested for 35 or 20 years, 6% constant annual return, monthly compounding (illustration only) · Referral terms: Wealthsimple Referral Bonus Promotion 2026 (help.wealthsimple.com) · Stanley Park and the Hollow Tree: City of Vancouver, Trees of Stanley Park.