Bought back $96 RY March covered calls, which were set to expire this Friday for $0.95, which I then rolled forward out to May. Received $2.40 on the rolled calls, for $1.45 net on the transaction. Also significantly reduces the risk that I will not receive the next distribution, which has a late-April record date.

Was considering letting the covered calls run their course, and if I had my stock called, writing puts in hopes of getting back into the stock. Figured the safer option was just rolling out at the same stock price.

 

Sold another round of SLF covered calls. $0.55 premium, $52 strike, May expiry.

 

Net worth update as of March 31: $513,300 up $37,000 or 7.7% vs February

Assets:
Cash: $44,400 (+$28,200)
Unregistered: $308,500 (+$4,400)
TFSA: $60,100 (+$1,500)
Defined benefit pension: $11,800 (+$1,400)
House: $603,000

Liabilities:
Mortgage: $514,600 (-$1,300)

$982 of dividend income
$439 of option income

Big month overall.
Bonus at work was the main driver.
Some market gains in the TFSA and unregistered as well.
Pension continues to tick up.
Cracked the $500K mark which is a nice number.

Dividend and option income continues to flow in steadily. Definitely the more important number in my opinion, vs net worth.
The goal is still to grow passive income over time.
I'll likely be selling my house in the coming few months, which will provide a (hopefully) substantial boost to net worth (immediately) and passive income (over time).
The Toronto real estate market has gone insane, and I'm looking to take some chips off the table.

 

Rolled my Royal Bank covered calls earlier this week. 6 contracts, $96 strike.
Repurchased the May expiries for $1.58 and sold a round of July calls for $2.71.
Net proceeds of ~$670.
Getting a decent income stream from the covered calls, as the stock is bouncing around the $96 range. Assuming it trades sideways, I should be able to juice the dividend yield for a little while.

 

Net worth update as of April 30: $536,200 up $22,900 or 4.5% vs March

Assets:
Cash: $28,200 (-$16,200) Transferred $40k to investment account, received sizeable tax refund
Unregistered: $345,200 (+$36,700) $40k transferred in
TFSA: $60,400 (+$300)
Defined benefit pension: $12,700 (+$900)
House: $603,000

Liabilities:
Mortgage: $513,400 (-$1,300)

$1,652 of dividend income - a new record
$510 of option income

Another solid month in April. Got my taxes done early and had a large one-time refund.
Market wasn't much help this month, mostly sideways.

Hopefully getting close to selling the house. Listed last week, have had a bunch of showings/open houses, holding offers this coming week.
Assuming the market holds up, I should have a firm offer in hand in a couple days, which will (fingers crossed), be significantly higher than what I paid five years back.

Portfolio income is growing nicely. Seeing some dividend growth within the portfolio which is always nice. Hit a new record this month on the dividend front. Comfortably over the $1,000/month average dividend income now ($12,000/year), next step $1,500 ($18,000/year). No real hard target, but I'm definitely on the right track.
On the option side, I have been rolling in-the-money calls to enhance yield where possible. Working out quite well on Royal Bank at the moment given the volatility surrounding Canadian financials.

 

Looking solid Dmoney

FWIW I've done some math for us and we believe, as I write about on the site, $1 M invested should easily churn about $30K per year for the rest of our lives. Maybe closer to $40K, so $30K net.

Like you, feels good to be averaging over $1K per month in dividend income without "doing anything" but holding existing assets and like time in the market do their thing.

What is your ultimate income goal? $30K per year like us? Less to retire on? More? You also have a DB pension which will be excellent fixed income. Is that annual pension income you are reporting or just commuted value?

 

Thanks MOA! It's great to see my money starting to work as hard as I do!

I think five or six years back when I started tracking NW and my portfolio income, I had a goal of replacing my base salary with portfolio income ($60k/yr). If I had to put a number on it, I'd still likely aim for this figure, give or take.

To date, progress on net worth has been very good as my pay has grown rapidly, and my spending has not kept up (tailwind of a massive bull market might have helped a little too...). That being said, a change of employment and huge pay cut is in the cards somewhere down the road (could be 50%+ cut). The ball is in my court with respect to timing, but I'm looking forward to shifting priorities from career/money to all the other great things life has to offer!

Luckily, this career change includes leaving Toronto, and therefore trading a very expensive market for a significantly cheaper market. Read: selling a tiny 100yr-old semi in TO for more than the price of a custom-built, 5bed/5bath, mansion on 3 acres. The plan would initially be to rent or buy a small condo (~$1,500-2,000/month rent, or <$400k total cost), leaving a good chunk to invest.

The pension figure I'm quoting is the minimum amount that will be paid out if I exit the plan. Essentially the math is: [my contribution * 1.75 * 0.65] (accounts for a 35% tax rate as it will ultimately get taxed). I've only been in the plan a little over a year, so it's not really a large amount one way or another. Would most likely take the commuted value upfront, and invest myself.

 

To date, progress on net worth has been very good as my pay has grown rapidly, and my spending has not kept up (tailwind of a massive bull market might have helped a little too...). That being said, a change of employment and huge pay cut is in the cards somewhere down the road (could be 50%+ cut) ...

Luckily, this career change includes leaving Toronto, and therefore trading a very expensive market for a significantly cheaper market. Read: selling a tiny 100yr-old semi in TO for more than the price of a custom-built, 5bed/5bath, mansion on 3 acres. The plan would initially be to rent or buy a small condo (~$1,500-2,000/month rent, or <$400k total cost), leaving a good chunk to invest.

super progress on the investment account, regardless of whether it's due to brilliant management, disciplined savings, prolonged bull market, selling puts to acquire cheap stock, or whatever. Mille félicitations.


just one tiny detail query though. If memory serves, did you really buy a "tiny 100-year-old semi in TO" a few years ago?

IIRC you had purchased a large detached home on a big lot in NE toronto, but still within the tto transit system so getting to work was not a long commute? IIRC this house was so spacious it had a basement you were thinking to turn into a rentable apartment or else a man cave? IIRC the build was less than 100 years, maybe something like 1940s or 1950s? IIRC at the time of purchase you posted links to the RE listings for the short list of homes you were considering, so this one was a brown or dark red structure? IIRC the backyard was so big you were thinking BBQ parties? & i remember thinking that if you married & had children in that house, they would have a giant fenced playground right outside the kitchen door ...

if the above is truly your house, your initial house investment should pretty near have doubled by now.


.

 

"Read: selling a tiny 100yr-old semi in TO for more than the price of a custom-built, 5bed/5bath, mansion on 3 acres. The plan would initially be to rent or buy a small condo (~$1,500-2,000/month rent, or <$400k total cost), leaving a good chunk to invest."

Nuts.

I have no idea why more folks in Toronto aren't doing what you are doing. Exit the RE market there. It makes no sense and you can start setting up yourself, your family, for life if you do.

Ok, re: pension value if left and sent to LIRA, other.

 

Nuts.

I have no idea why more folks in Toronto aren't doing what you are doing. Exit the RE market there. It makes no sense and you can start setting up yourself, your family, for life if you do.

I agree. Two main reasons I see: 1) Family/friends/social network and 2) Career opportunities
I understand the first reason. Regardless of the economics, if you've established a life here, it's tough to pick up and leave it all behind. Friends, kids' friends, schools etc.

In terms of career opportunities, it blows my mind that there are any teachers, fast food workers, plumbers, retail workers etc. left. Outside of finance, law and tech (and various successful businesses), there is absolutely no financial reason to live in a market with real estate this expensive.

If you're starting off with a six-figure salary and rising rapidly, sure, Toronto is the place to be, that job doesn't exist elsewhere. But for 95% of workers in the city, finances would improve materially elsewhere.

 

dMoney you are such a modest person that i don't suppose the record you are about to set has even occurred to you.

but here it is. Still only barely past your mid-20s, you are far & away the youngest millionnaire cmf forum has ever seen.

there was no luck, no lottery winning, no big inheritance, no rich uncle or fairy godmother in your story. Instead you started from scratch. You moved to toronto, landed a good job, rolled up your sleeves, worked hard & made a string of extraordinarily smart decisions.

champagne for when you sell the house!

.

 

And here I was thinking you were the humble_pie among us!
Thanks for the kind words!

Definitely a lot of hard work involved in the first $500k, but for the next leg up, the record run-up in TO house prices definitely didn't hurt! Somewhat depressing that my house has made nearly as much after-tax money as I have over the same stretch of time... and it just sat there!

Listed a couple weeks ago, got a handful of offers, but none that blew me away. Well over ask, but not as high as some of the recent area comps. Going to hold off on selling it a little while as the Ontario housing measures have definitely had a bit of a cooling effect. Buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach.

 

Great progress Dmoney.

 

Thanks!

I've been keeping tabs on your journal and you're doing quite well yourself! Great monthly gains

 

You seem to be doing great, congrats! I add the following, not to downplay your achievements here but to provide new ideas to consider.

You're investing in the stock market with leverage, since you have loans (a mortgage). This amplifies the gains/losses in stocks. Overall, you benefited from a very strong period in the stock market -- this is quite lucky. I know you're shooting for income but you still have a basket of stocks... whether they are dividend stocks or not, their value fluctuates with the broad market and it's a huge part of your net worth.

What's really telling, actually, is your gap posting your updates. You posted an update for Nov 2014 and then you didn't post an update again until March 2016. This is important... that period corresponds precisely with the weak period in the TSX
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=XIU.TO&p=D&st=2014-01-01&en=2017-01-01&id=p82081518997

Here's what I read into this: your losses in stocks were painful. You saw some big declines in your net worth and it probably didn't feel great. We've all been there.

I suggest you think about what happens when we get into a prolonged bear market in stocks. Down periods in stocks can easily last 2-3 years, and at times in history have lasted for much longer, even 10+ years.

My concern for you is that, because of your leverage, you have amplified your exposure to stocks and might feel some serious pain if we have a bear market. You've already experienced a 20% decline in stocks and you probably saw how badly it hit your net worth.

Maybe now, at these all time stock highs, is a good time to consider how much exposure you want to stocks.

 

What's really telling, actually, is your gap posting your updates. You posted an update for Nov 2014 and then you didn't post an update again until March 2016. This is important... that period corresponds precisely with the weak period in the TSX
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=XIU.TO&p=D&st=2014-01-01&en=2017-01-01&id=p82081518997

Here's what I read into this: your losses in stocks were painful. You saw some big declines in your net worth and it probably didn't feel great. We've all been there.

You could be right... This period followed on two back-to-back $15k NW declines, which definitely didn't feel great!
I also started a new job in Dec. 2014, which was my main focus at the time, but also conveniently let me ignore the NW progress for a period of time.
There really was a dead period of more than a year where NW was pretty much flat... If I remember correctly, I think I was recording it but not posting here.

I suggest you think about what happens when we get into a prolonged bear market in stocks. Down periods in stocks can easily last 2-3 years, and at times in history have lasted for much longer, even 10+ years.

My concern for you is that, because of your leverage, you have amplified your exposure to stocks and might feel some serious pain if we have a bear market. You've already experienced a 20% decline in stocks and you probably saw how badly it hit your net worth.

Maybe now, at these all time stock highs, is a good time to consider how much exposure you want to stocks.

I think I've got the temperament and long-term view to stick with stock exposure... maybe just not to post the carnage here :highly_amused:
I'll definitely try to stick with it and avoid any suspiciously timed gaps in the future!

If/when I sell the house, that'll be a huge cash infusion, and will eliminate all leverage. I'm pretty comfortable with my leverage for a couple of reasons.
Mainly, it's backed by an asset that is worth twice the debt, based on firm offers I've received.
Second, my cost of ownership, all-in (mortgage, taxes, utilities, maintenance etc.) is only ~$1,000/month more than if I were to rent a 1br downtown (my preferred alternative if I sell).
Third, my mortgage rate is sub-2% - in my mind, it would be a huge mistake to pay off this debt when the alternative is to invest it in market with expected returns of ~7% over the long run.

The 2014 pull-back definitely taught me a number of lessons in terms of diversification across stocks, sectors and geographies, which I've been putting into practice since. Interestingly enough, over that entire period (September 2014 - Jan 2016, which includes those two -$15k months and the most recent negative month), my NW was essentially flat all-told. There were ups and downs along the way, but over 17 months, NW increased by 1,800.
See NW chart below with entire history.

 

Sold 10x ENB puts this past week. $54 strike, July expiry, C$0.86 per contract. ~8.5% annualized premium yield. Happy to own the stock at $54 or keep rolling the puts.

Looks like my SLF covered calls will expire worthless ($52 strike), so will roll those out again. Maybe a $50 or $52 strike.

Considering writing the covered calls on Telus... Premiums have been pretty thin to date, but with the stock just shy of $46, I don't mind writing them right at $46 and getting called.

 

I don't think we need the name calling, but I also don't agree that equating anyone that has a mortgage and does investing as being the same thing as doing leveraged investing.

If the idea is that your house should be paid off before you start putting any money away, doesn't that make pensions a bad thing (they are forcing a 10+% savings regardless of your financial situation)

 

I ... don't agree that equating anyone that has a mortgage and does investing as being the same thing as doing leveraged investing.

If the idea is that your house should be paid off before you start putting any money away, doesn't that make pensions a bad thing (they are forcing a 10+% savings regardless of your financial situation)

If the shoe fits...
I think it's fruitful to think of it, periodically, as leveraged investing, and see if that adds a useful perspective. Of course, leveraged investing is not bad per se...it's only bad if you aren't self-aware about it or don't have the stomach for it. (I say this as someone who has kept a mortgage around for close to a decade after not needing it, and while hardly significant now, it helped accelerate me to financial independence faster. Am I a leveraged investor? You bet. Is that necessarily bad - no.)

 

I think the idea is that one shouldn't buy a house unless he can pay cash (which I don't agree with either).

 

Just got caught up a little bit on this one, nice thread and great concept. I also track what I call "potentially sustainable portfolio income".
Rather than actual income earned, I update the current annual dividend payouts of all my holdings, so it's a bit more forward looking. Basically, what could I expect to earn in a year with what I currently have.

I also factor in the prior calendar year's option income (since that's a bit more volatile). In theory when that total income number is high enough, I should be able to call it quits!

Good luck on your journey, I'll be following more regularly from now on

 

In theory when that total income number is high enough, I should be able to call it quits!

Good luck on your journey, I'll be following more regularly from now on

That's the plan!
Or at least, have the ability to call it quits, and make my decision from a position of strength.

Thanks!

 

Haven't followed the entire post, but did read several replys. Going back to your initial statement:
"My main investment goal is to boost my "passive" income over time, so I'm going to try to post monthly charts showing the growth in my portfolio income. My strategy includes long positions in dividend paying stocks, covered call writing and cash secured (or margin secured) put writing. Going forward I'll adjust my strategy as I see what works and what doesn't, and as I learn more about options and the market in general."

Like your overall goal, but why not simplify the process as you are young, busy, have changed jobs, etc.
- Establish a set of criteria for the type of stocks which will help to achieve your long term goal
- Research and make a list of stocks meeting your criteria
- Invest regularly in those stocks over time
- Try to buy when they are value priced (as you've already done with your calls to buy)
- Re-invest the dividends, unless you would prefer to let the accumulate and buy at your choice
- Don't sell any of your holdings, unless a stock falls off your initial criteria of a good stock, hold for the rising income
- You don't need to look at other stocks, just the ones you've identified
- Ignore market adjustments, as in 2014, which just create buying opportunities

 

I'm definitely working towards streamlining my portfolio somewhat over time. But in the near term, I enjoy paying regular attention. My job still revolves around capital markets, so I'm knee-deep in this stuff 24/7 and I find it interesting and educational.

To create a true "Passive" strategy, ideally I'd like to have enough $$$ to throw it all into a few ETFs that give me a global "couch-potato" type portfolio that generates enough income without regular maintenance. But in the growth-stage, I definitely want to try a more active approach. I find the options juice my returns by a couple % each trade, which makes a big difference in the long run.

I'd like to create a portfolio, similar to your suggestion, of 10-20 stocks that make up the core of my portfolio, based on stability, staying power, growth potential, which I can add to regularly. I'm a fan of financials, telecoms, utilities, power producers - anything with a regulatory buffer, pricing power and/or long-term contractual cash flows. I aim to add positions in these sectors over time, which will be core "forever" holdings.

 

Hi canew90, you had a very good insight on long term wealthy building from investment. do you have an example of safest and most reliable DG stock list?
Dmoney , I am inspired by your posts and your option strategy. looking forward to watching your progress and learning from it.

 

Hi canew90, you had a very good insight on long term wealthy building from investment. do you have an example of safest and most reliable DG stock list?

For good Ave yields, 6 Major banks, 3 utilities, 3 pipeline, 3 comm. Those would be a good starting point.
For lower yield but LT growth CNR and Metro

 

Don't want be a A**hole but with that portfolio and income to back it up you are doing very poorly .
At 450k you should be pulling in atleast 5k a month realized gains from divided and option trading ( 7k would be an okay monthly return).

 

If you are suggesting $5K/mo or $60k/yr on $450k that would be 13% yield. Not likely even if all his holding were purchased Mar 2009.

 

If he had bought spy since 2012 (when he started the diary )kept adding to it he would have outperformed his current portfolio by atleast 30%.
13% return isn't hard to achieve using dividend/ options
If you look at his portfolio not only he is holding cash but he isn't using his margin to boost his return. A 0.5% a month on a million dollar would give him 5k a month .

 

Net worth update as of May 30: $533,500 down $2,700 or 0.5% vs April

Assets:
Cash: $30,900 (+$2,700)
Unregistered: $335,700 (-$9,500)
TFSA: $61,200 (+$800)
Defined benefit pension: $14,100 (+$1,400)
House: $603,000

Liabilities:
Mortgage: $511,400 (-$2,000)

$1,493 of dividend income - +23% on a trailing 12m basis
$860 of option income - running over $6k over the past year - probably a decent level based on my current holdings

Tough tape in May, but savings rate offsetting the market losses.

Consistent dividend/option income is nice to see.

 

Hey just curious- why do you have 335k in an unregistered account but nothing in a registered account? I may have missed an earlier post about your age/situation - but struck me as odd.

 

Sold the house for ~$1m, so will be seeing a big jump in NW in coming months. Will wait until the deal closes and money is in the bank before counting it in NW.
Decent outcome, though had I listed a few weeks earlier, it likely would have sold for far more. Definitely a big win either way.

Should nearly double size of my investment portfolio, so as a result, portfolio income should double as well.

Next step is relocating to a cheaper R/E market, possibly buying a place for 1/3 the price.

 

Net worth update as of June 30: $540,100 up $6,600 or 1.2% vs May

Assets:
Cash: $32,100 (+$1,200)
Unregistered: $337,300 (+$1,500)
TFSA: $62,300 (+$1,100)
Defined benefit pension: $15,500 (+$1,400)
House: $603,000 (have actually sold it now for >$1m, but leaving at cost until the deal actually closes)

Liabilities:
Mortgage: $510,100 (-$1,300)

$1,260 of dividend income - +24% on a trailing 12m basis
$600 of option income - options activity down a little. I still have a few positions that I'm writing against off and on. Will likely step up a little when I get the proceeds from the house.

I'll be getting a significant cash injection in the next couple of months, assuming the house closes without any issues. Will mean a big one-time bump in net worth, which is nice to get. I plan to invest the entire proceeds, which should mean a big bump in monthly income as well.
Right now I'm running at ~18-20k of annual portfolio income (give or take, depending on options activity); proceeds of house sale should double it.

I'm looking at some places in a much cheaper market where I plan to move, hopefully by year-end. Likely spend something in the ~$400k range.

 

by extremely rough ottoh calculation, you'll have something like an extra $500M once the mortgage is closed, no?

are you truly planning to dump all that cold-turkey-lock-stock-&-barrel-no-holds-barred into duplicates of the existing portfolio?

gosh, it would take me a year to invest an extra 500k. One of the reasons i don't invest on margin is that i already have so much trouble investing the cash that accumulates anyhow, it would overwhelm to be borrowing on margin as well ...

btw the 18-20k includes actual dividends, not taxable dividends, i imagine? so when the deal settles you might anticipate 35-40k, which might translate to 50-60k taxable income. Of course less if you buy a new dwelling. Still, that is serious taxes when combined with earned income.

 

Roughly $500k, less transaction costs, which reduce that figure pretty handily. Should be closer to $450k when it's all said and done.
I'll be taking my time putting the money to work, and will likely invest gradually over several months or more as opportunities arise. Likely will increase my put selling to get into positions as time goes on. Composition of portfolio likely won't change significantly, but I will probably add new positions, and maybe some index ETFs for broad market exposure.

18-20k is actual dividends/option premiums, so yes, investment income tax will become a consideration. I should be ok for the coming year if I move for work, as I can write off all costs associated with selling the house and moving (well in excess of 60k when the dust settles), but will be a factor going forward (particularly if my employment income takes a hit post-move). I suppose as far as problems go, it's a good problem to have.

Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot I can do. Even an RRSP would only protect ~10% of my portfolio based on the existing room. I'll have to hop over to the "Taxation" thread and get some pointers on minimizing my tax burden going forward...

 

.

glad to hear you're moving slowly.

you'll have good dividend tax credits & i don't believe you are near the AMT trigger point yet, even if you were to invest all the new funds, so all seems well on the dividend front.

on 2nd thought the tax consequences appear to be less heavy than a first glance might suggest.

you mention you'll have substantial moving deductions for the first year.

if it were myself, i think i might move to an intense put-selling strategy for something like a couple of years, while keeping the new funds mostly liquid to cover most of the puts (there are ugly pitfalls to depending on margin to bail out a put-seller if markets collapse, as you probably know) (it's more prudent to keep cash to cover)

they say that returns from short puts = returns from covered calls. Meanwhile, taxation of the option writes (the puts) will be the most favourable of all, ie capital gains taxable at 50% only.

another thing that would ease the tax situation will be the anticipated purchase of a new home. Investing $400-500k in a tax-free vehicle such as another personal residence will reduce taxable investment income from that capital (alternatively, you could mortgage, keeping the capital as stock market invested securities, then paying the increased taxes) (or any combination, such as large down payment plus smaller mortgage)

i can think of a couple of tax strategies, one tame, the others on the wild siide.

tame: make sure your TFSA is maxed, i believe the maximum contribution to date is $52,000.

wild: do both your parents have maxed TFSAs? is your relationship sound enough that you know you will eventually inherit, beyond a shadow of a doubt? if a) no & b) yes, you could give your parents sufficient funds to set up/max out their personal TFSAs. For you, it would be a way of increasing TFSA capability beyond the personal max limit today of $52,000.

however there would be cautions. You & presumably the 'rents are still young, so it's impossible to know what their senior years might bring. You might find yourself, 20 or 25 years hence, choosing to lose your TFSA "inheritance" by supporting withdrawals by the 'rents that would provide them with better medical care or better housing.

wildest of all: i certainly don't mean to intrude or ask any questions, but if there might be wedding bells in your future, you might gift an amount to the gf's TFSA ...

.

 

if it were myself, i think i might move to an intense put-selling strategy for something like a couple of years, while keeping the new funds mostly liquid to cover most of the puts (there are ugly pitfalls to depending on margin to bail out a put-seller if markets collapse, as you probably know) (it's more prudent to keep cash to cover)

This is my most likely course of action to invest the funds; write the "cash-secured" puts, and as they are assigned, build the portfolio

another thing that would ease the tax situation will be the anticipated purchase of a new home. Investing $400-500k in a tax-free vehicle such as another personal residence will reduce taxable investment income from that capital (alternatively, you could mortgage, keeping the capital as stock market invested securities, then paying the increased taxes) (or any combination, such as large down payment plus smaller mortgage)

On the new home front, I'm juggling two options. 1) put down 5% and remain fully invested, or 2) pay 100% cash and pull 80% out to invest
Option 1 means more capital invested, option 2 means the 80% borrowed is tax deductible
I'm comfortable with $400k of debt, given a) current rates, and b) my current asset base

i can think of a couple of tax strategies, one tame, the others on the wild siide.

tame: make sure your TFSA is maxed, i believe the maximum contribution to date is $52,000.

wild: do both your parents have maxed TFSAs? is your relationship sound enough that you know you will eventually inherit, beyond a shadow of a doubt? if a) no & b) yes, you could give your parents sufficient funds to set up/max out their personal TFSAs. For you, it would be a way of increasing TFSA capability beyond the personal max limit today of $52,000.

however there would be cautions. You & presumably the 'rents are still young, so it's impossible to know what their senior years might bring. You might find yourself, 20 or 25 years hence, choosing to lose your TFSA "inheritance" by supporting withdrawals by the 'rents that would provide them with better medical care or better housing.

wildest of all: i certainly don't mean to intrude or ask any questions, but if there might be wedding bells in your future, you might gift an amount to the gf's TFSA ...

.

I think the folks have maxed out TFSAs, and both are still working and will have bullet-proof DB pensions in retirement, so not much to be gained there as far as I know.
My TFSA is also maxed, so no wiggle room (RRSP is empty, but I don't like the tax on withdrawal)

The "wildest of all" is actually the best opportunity, and one I'm reading up on extensively. We are common-law already, and the bells will be tolling soon, so looking at the ins and outs of joint finances is top of mind.

I just have to wrap my head around all the rules with respect to attribution etc.