Have We Done Enough By Age 30?! 🫣

Happy Sunday, and happy March 1st! We’re already starting the third month of the year, and we feel like it’s going to be a good one. 

With that being said, we’re starting the month with another issue of Money Convos, and we have a few fun updates, some money tips and a behind-the-scenes exclusive for you. So, let’s get into it! 

Here’s what’s up in this copy 🤑🗞 

• It’s time for a net worth update 💰

• How much did Steph spend this month? 🤔

• February highlights (& how much they cost) ☕️🏀

• Did you know… ⁉️

• We’ve got something coming… 🎙️

Money Convo Of The Month

How We Feel About Our Net Worth At Age 30 (ish)

You’ve probably already heard us mention that I turned 30 last year, and that Steph’s turning 30 this year. So, it’s safe to say that it’s been a very reflective year in our household! 

I think it’s natural to really evaluate both 1) where you’re currently at in life and 2) where you want to be in life when you hit a big, milestone age, and that reflection usually includes your net worth (at least, it has for us, but hey - maybe that’s because we share our net worth updates every year, anyways!).

With that being said, we recently shared some updates on our personal net worths on our YouTube channel (check them out here & here if you’re interested), and - rather than focusing on the current amount(s) - what really stood out to us was the growth that we’ve seen throughout our 20s. 

For example, if you look at my net worth throughout my 20s, you’d see that it started at approx. -$50,000 back when I was 22 years old (yes, that was a negative symbol you saw). I finally hit a $0 net worth when I was 25 years old… and then I was sitting at a $64,262 net worth when I was 28 years old… and now, at age 30, I’m sitting at an approx. $200,000 net worth (depending on the day, thanks to the stock market!).

So, I could focus on my net worth amount being $200,000 (which is still great, by the way - but keep in mind that I was someone who set a goal of having a $1 million net worth by age 30 back when I was ~24)... or I could focus on the fact that my net worth has grown by 211.23% over the past two years alone. 

In Steph’s case, she was sitting at a $95,463 net worth when she was 27 years old, and now, at age 29, she’s sitting at an approx. $260,000 net worth (again, depending on the day, thanks to the stock market). 

What I’m getting at here is that when you focus on building good habits first, you’ll start to be rewarded with momentum later. We wouldn’t be seeing this substantial growth now if we hadn’t focused on increasing our income, investing as much as possible, and generally being consistent with building good habits throughout the entirety of our 20s. 

So… how do we feel about our net worth at age 30 (ish)? 

Pretty great, because we know that we’re just scratching the surface of seeing compound interest in action (and we know that we’re not going to be taking our foot off of the gas when it comes to investing any time soon). 

By the way, I think now’s a good time to mention that our net worth isn’t our sole focus in life - we’re also focused on enjoying our life (and if you keep reading the rest of this issue of Money Convos, you’ll see that we definitely do that!). We simply keep the motto you can have anything, but not everything in mind, and we let that guide our choices. 

We’ve found that it’s all about being intentional, being consistent, and - in our case - doing it together. 

If you want to hear more details about how my current net worth breaks down into how much I have saved vs invested (and my total debt), then check out this YouTube video. 

$32,000 Or Less Challenge 💰

I’m back with another $32,000 or less challenge update! 

It’s month two of me challenging myself to spend $32,000 or less in 2026 (if that number sounds oddly specific, it’s because that’s the amount I spent ~2 years ago when I first cut down my annual spending dramatically). 

Here’s a reminder of the ‘ground rules’ - 

• The $32,000 is for my monthly budget specifically - I have a different savings account for travel and/or specific big expenses 

• My fixed expenses went up by ~$294 between 2024 and 2025, so - assuming the same increase this year - my fixed expenses should be ~$588 higher this year than the last time that I managed to spend $32,000 in one full year; with that being said, I still think I should be able to come in ‘on budget’, as it’s a fairly minor increase 

• This is a challenge I’m taking seriously, but it’s also ultimately just for fun - if I come in over budget, that’s okay! But ideally it will help me be even more intentional with my spending 

With all of that out of the way, let’s get into my February results! 

In February, I spent $3,080.14, and here’s how it was split out -

That means that I have $26,090.76 left in my annual total to spend for the next 10 months of 2026. 

Because I spent more than last month, I now need to spend an average of $2,609.08/month for the next 10 months in order to hit my goal - so I’ll be aiming for some lower spending months! 

If you want to see me talk about this in video form, check out our Instagram page this week.

February Highlights (& How Much They Cost!) 💘

Even though February was the shortest month of the year, we still somehow managed to pack our calendar… and we wanted to share how much all of the different things we got up to cost (and - for fun - share if we think it was worth the price tag!). 

1. Pickleball - We started the month doing a pickleball double date with Steph’s brother, and it was actually our very first time officially playing pickleball (aka playing a ‘real’ game). The verdict? It was fun! We’d definitely go back. Cost: $149.16 for 1.5 hours.

2. Neighbourhood Date - We explored a neighbourhood in Toronto called Roncesvalles, and hit up a few local spots (including Another Story Bookshop, Gold Standard, Reunion Coffee Roasters, and Good Neighbour gift shop). Cost: $57.70 for a book, coffee/tea and x2 breakfast sandwiches.

3. Musical Show - We went to see Some Like It Hot, a Broadway musical that came to Toronto. We were invited to attend (thank you so much to the team!), but we’ll share the ticket price range. Cost: $39/ticket to $199/ticket.  

4. Valentine’s Day Dinner - We decided to actually go out to eat on Valentine’s Day this year (something we typically don’t do!), and tbh… it was definitely expensive, especially when pre-set menus don’t always include the dishes you would typically order. But with that being said, the dinner we had was delicious, so no complaints on our end (just lessons learned). We recommend checking out Taline if you’re in Toronto! Cost: $390.53 ($120/person + drinks, tax and tip). 

5. At Home Dinner - On the other hand, we had some amazing home cooked meals this month, that were much more economical and also delicious. Our current fav is a Greek plate with homemade tzatziki, salad, roasted potatoes and chicken thighs. Cost: $0 (okay, yes, we bought the groceries… but we bought all of the ingredients during our normal grocery shop). 

6. NBA Game - We’d been wanting to go to the only Toronto Raptors home game where they played the OKC Thunder all season, but every time we looked at tickets, the cost was a minimum of $250/ticket for the back rows of the 100 level. Luckily, we checked on game day, and ended up grabbing same day tickets for $120/ticket for row 9 in one of the 100 sections (and it was definitely worth it to watch our two favourite teams!). Cost: $271.23 for x2 tickets, x2 waters and popcorn.

Did You Know? 🤔

Did you know… that the earlier you start investing, the less money you have to contribute yourself? 

We thought about this concept recently when someone asked us how much money they should be investing every month. 

Technically, our answer is that it depends on how much money you can afford to invest every month, and also how much you want to have invested in the future, but let’s keep things simple. 

Let’s say that you’re starting at $0 invested, and you want to have $1.5 million and retire at age 60. We’ll also assume that you’re getting an average annual return of 8%.

You can see that not only does the amount of money you’d need to contribute each month in order to hit $1.5 million by age 60 go up dramatically in each 10 year interval, but the total amount that you’d need to contribute goes up dramatically, too. 

To explain that a bit further - if you start at age 30, your ~$1.5 million would be made up of $383,400 of your own contributions, and $1,117,443 of interest (assuming an average annual return of 8% over 30 years)...

…but, if you start at age 40, your ~$1.5 million would be made up of $632,400 of your own contributions, and $867,649 of interest (assuming an average annual return of 8% over 20 years).

So, the earlier you start, the less money you need to contribute yourself, and the more your money will grow over time. With that being said, it’s never too late to start - you’ll just have to contribute more money per month to hit the same end target. 

If you want to hear more about this topic, keep an eye out for a video we’ll be posting later this month.

Coming Soon… Our New Podcast 🎙️✨

A few months ago we announced that we were starting a podcast, and we wanted to share a quick update! 

ICYMI, we’re currently working on recording episodes of our new podcast where we talk to couples about how money plays a role in their relationship, and help make sure that they have a money system that works for both of them long-term, so that they can hit their money goals together. 

We’ve already recorded (and edited!) a few episodes, we have our podcast cover ready to go, and we have some fun behind-the-scenes videos filmed that we can’t wait to share with you. 

We still need to record a few more episodes before we’re ready to launch the podcast, but stay tuned for a launch date announcement over the next few months. 

In the meantime, if you - and your partner - want to be guests on the podcast, then please check out the link below to learn more and fill out the application form. 

➡️ Click to fill out the Money People Application Form