The First $100k Is the Hardest: How Not Owning a Car Got Us There

Saving your first $100k in Canada genuinely is the hardest financial milestone you’ll face. When you start from zero, every dollar comes from your own pocket. For our family, one decision changed the pace: when we arrived in 2019, we chose not to buy a car, and invested the difference every month instead.

What could the money you free up grow to?

Move the sliders. This is an estimate to understand compounding, not a prediction or advice.

Freed up and invested every month

$1,200

Assumed yearly return

7%

Years

6

Estimated value after 6 years

$106,993

You put in $86,400 · growth $20,593

Time to $100,000: about 5.7 years

Estimated value What you put in

What these numbers mean

• Compounding: growth earns growth. The gap between the two lines is money your money made.
• The return is an assumption. Real markets go up and down, some years are negative, and fees reduce returns. Try 0% to see saving without growth.
• Time matters most: the line bends upward in later years. Starting earlier often matters more than starting bigger.
• Use this to understand the idea, then make your own informed decision, with a licensed professional's input for your situation.

Why the first $100k in Canada feels like climbing a mountain

• The maths: from zero, you rely only on your own contributions. Compounding needs a base before it shows.
• Life gets in the way: early in a career or right after moving, rent, setting up a home and lower starting salaries compete with saving.
• The psychology: progress feels painfully slow at first, and that discourages many people before compounding kicks in.

My wake-up call: the car that almost derailed our plans

Our rough estimate of what a car would have cost our family each month at the time:

Car cost (per month)	Our estimate
Payment	$400 to $600
Insurance	$150 to $300
Fuel	$200 to $400
Maintenance and repairs	$100 to $200
Parking and other costs	$50 to $150
Total	$900 to $1,650

What we did instead:

• Arranged our lives to work remotely (before the pandemic made it common)
• Used public transit strategically: about $200 a month for our family
• Used ride-sharing for specific needs: about $150 a month on average
• Planned grocery trips and errands efficiently, and rented a car for long trips

I’ll be honest: this isn’t possible for everyone. If you live somewhere without good transit, have mobility needs, or your job requires driving, a car may be essential. The principle still holds: find your biggest expense and optimise it. For you it might be housing (a roommate or a smaller place for a while), eating out, or subscriptions. The goal isn’t deprivation; it’s building momentum early so you have more freedom later.

Your Canadian blueprint to $100k

1. Budget like a pro

Want the full plan, not just the estimate above? I made a free planner with a 50/30/20 monthly budget, a “what would no car save me?” calculator and a Road to $100k projection. Type your numbers in the yellow cells and it does the rest.

2. Find your financial velocity

We invested the money we saved by not owning a car systematically. Every year we filled our TFSA first, starting in our very first year here (as new residents we got that year’s full limit), because all growth inside it is tax-free. Whatever was left above the TFSA limit went into my Questrade margin account (a regular, taxable investment account), which we kept for the long term.

Year	TFSA dollar limit
2019 to 2022	$6,000 a year
2023	$6,500
2024 to 2026	$7,000 a year

Source: CRA TFSA limits. At about $1,200 a month, one decision meant roughly $43,000 invested in three years: almost halfway to $100k.

3. Boost your income (realistically)

Online tutoring, small gigs or rideshare driving (only if you already own a car) can offset expenses. One thing to know as your income grows: some income-tested benefits and credits shrink as your income rises, so a raise or a side income may not add as much to your pocket as you expect. Higher tax rates only apply to the extra income, never to all of it.

4. Invest early and consistently

The maths that changed everything for us: $1,200 a month at a 7% return reaches $100,000 in just under 6 years. Our own path took longer because we started with smaller amounts, but the principle is the same: consistent, automated investing of meaningful amounts creates momentum. My step-by-step guide, how to start investing in Canada, shows how I set this up.

5. Use Canada’s accounts in the right order

The government describes the FHSA as tax-deductible like an RRSP, with tax-free withdrawals for a first home like a TFSA (Department of Finance). In my situation today, this is the order I would use:

1. FHSA first if you’re a first-time home buyer: $8,000 a year, up to $40,000 in your lifetime.
2. TFSA next for general wealth building ($7,000 for 2026).
3. RRSP strategically, to lower your taxes as your income rises.

That’s my own reasoning, not advice for your situation. Check the CRA’s FHSA page for the rules.

The three phases of building wealth

Build momentum with an early win. Our no-car decision made saving feel achievable. Find your version: one streaming service fewer, meal prepping, or negotiating a better phone plan.

The trade-off: short-term choices for long-term freedom

Not owning a car meant fewer spontaneous road trips at first, more planning for grocery runs, and sometimes waiting for transit. But it gave us financial breathing room when our child was born, investment momentum that keeps compounding, and the confidence that we could control our financial future. Years later, we could buy a car with cash if we needed one, but we’ve built a life where we don’t. For long trips we still rent a car.

Your first $100k is built with disciplined choices. Your second with patience. Every $100k after that, with momentum.

The platforms I use

These are my referral and affiliate links. If you sign up through them, I may earn a reward (and with referral links, you may get one too), at no extra cost to you. You can always go to the company's website directly instead.

• Automated/Robo-investing

  Wealthsimple: I use Wealthsimple and have made several videos on it. If you use my refer-a-friend link, we both get rewarded when you open an account and deposit $100 within 30 days (check Wealthsimple's current conditions). You can also go to Wealthsimple directly, without this reward.

  Visit Wealthsimple (referral link · I use this)

• Online brokerage

  Questrade®: Questrade® is a Canadian online brokerage. If you open a Questwealth Portfolios (managed investing) account through my link, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

  Visit Questrade® (affiliate link · I use this)

Questrade® is a registered trademark and/or service mark of Questrade, Inc. Questrade, Inc. is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).

This is our family’s experience, not financial advice. The $1,200 a month reflects avoiding car ownership in Mississauga with remote work; your results will differ. We made these decisions without a financial advisor, using public information and our own judgement. The 7% return is an assumption for illustration: investments go down as well as up. Check the CRA pages linked above and speak to a licensed professional for your situation.

What next

Set it up with how to start investing in Canada, see my 11 money moves as a new immigrant, or follow every step in my Personal Finance guide. Questions? Ask in the comments on my YouTube videos.