Core · 3-min read
Hey growers,
In Vancouver, $50 is roughly one brunch for two. Two eggs benny, two lattes, and somehow the bill still surprises you.
Sent automatically every week for 30 years, that same $50 could grow to about $218,000 (illustration below). Try your own number in 30 seconds: plantednorth.ca/tools/growth
Last week we picked the pot (TFSA, FHSA or RRSP). This week: how to keep watering it without thinking about it.
The Seed: pay yourself first
Most of us save whatever's left at the end of the month. Usually that's nothing.
Flip the order. Move the money the day you get paid, before you can spend it. You adjust your spending to what's left, and after a few weeks you barely notice it's gone.
The trick isn't willpower. It's taking the decision out of your hands.
The Move: build your $50-a-week system
Pick the amount. $50 a week is about $217 a month. Too much right now? Start at $20. The habit matters more than the number.
Pick the day. Payday, or the day after.
Pick the pot. TFSA, FHSA or RRSP (last week's email explains which does what).
Automate it. Set up a recurring transfer at your bank or brokerage.
Set a raise rule. Every time your pay goes up, raise the transfer by half the raise. You still feel the raise, and your future self gets the other half.
Then leave it alone.
THE RING
~$218,000
That's roughly what $50 a week for 30 years could grow to at an average 6% yearly return. You'd have put in $78,000. Growth does the rest.
Illustration, not a forecast; real returns go up and down. Assumes a constant 6% a year, compounded monthly, no fees or taxes, contributions of about $217 a month.
Know someone who keeps saying "I'll start when I earn more"? Forward this to them.
Field Notes
My TFSA deposit goes out automatically every week, and it's been running for over three years.
Every January 1st, I set myself one goal: save a set percentage of my take-home pay. That percentage has grown since I started. A good number to work toward is around 20% of your income. I split mine into buckets: some keeps building my cash stack for short-term plans, and at least half goes to long-term goals, the real wealth-building.
If 20% feels far away right now, that's fine. $50 a week is how you start. The raise rule is how you get there.
One-word reply: Already automated? Reply "planted". Setting it up this week? Reply "today". I read every one.
Plant today. Grow for decades.
Lucas
Educational content only, not personalized financial advice. Example figures are illustrative, not a forecast; real returns go up and down and are never guaranteed. The 20% savings target is my personal rule of thumb; the right amount depends on your situation. No stock or coin picks, ever: plantednorth.ca/standards
Sources: Planted North calculation ($50 × 52 ÷ 12 ≈ $216.67/month for 360 months at 6%/yr compounded monthly ≈ $217,645; contributions $78,000) · Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca), TFSA, FHSA and RRSP pages for account rules