Financial Goal Setting For 2026
With 2025 quickly coming to a close, it's time to reflect on our goals from this past year and set our new financial goals for 2026. Looking back, it's going to be tough to top this year from a financial perspective.
Earlier this year I had the absolute honour and privilege to speak with my personal finance idol, David Chilton, on The Wealthy Barber podcast.
Our business revenue increased by nearly 50% this year. Our investments are up almost 23%. And we made a significant change to optimize the way we pay ourselves from our business (salary vs. dividends).
Personally, I had a scary episode of atrial fibrillation in May that sent me to the ER in an ambulance. The good news is that I've been feeling fantastic ever since I got my heart shocked back into rhythm that day. Overall, I've lost 15 pounds this year and have been moving more, lifting heavier, cutting back on caffeine and (mostly) cutting out alcohol. Here's hoping that was just a one-off incident that I can keep in check with good healthy habits.
I also applied and was approved for British citizenship this year. Don't worry, we're not going anywhere for a while. Just opening up doors for ourselves and our children in the future (Scotland, anyone?).
We smashed our 2025 goals by each contributing $50k to our TFSAs (snowball catch-up method), maxing out our kids' RESP contributions in January, taking three incredible trips (Cancun, Italy, and Scotland), exceeding our business revenue goals, buying back some time with bi-weekly cleaning and summer lawn care, and, drum roll please, surpassing the $2M net worth milestone.
That's right, barring a catastrophic market collapse in the final few trading days of the year, we will have exceeded our big hairy audacious net worth goal in 2025.
So, what's in store for 2026?
- Complete our TFSA catch-up – each maxing out our lifetime contribution limit by the end of 2026.
- Contribute to our RRSPs for the first time in six years (target ~$20k each).
- Contribute $5,000 to our kids' RESPs in January 2026 (the final contribution year for our age-17 child)
- Increase salary (and decrease dividends) so that we're able to contribute the annual maximum to our RRSPs in 2027.
- Take four (!) trips (Mexico, France/Switzerland, Paris for our 20th anniversary, and one surprise trip)
- Apply for my British passport, then apply for British citizenship for our kids.
Once we've caught up on our TFSA room we only have to come up with the annual contribution amount each year ($7k each). That frees-up tens of thousands of dollars that can go towards other goals.
For us, that coincides with our oldest child going to post-secondary in the fall of 2027. She plans to go to university abroad, so the amount saved in their RESPs won't cut it. We'll need to help with additional funding.
Also our mortgage will come up for renewal in 2027 and, depending on interest rates, we may bump up our payments to better align the mortgage pay-off with a potential early-or-semi-retirement.
Finally, we're going to continue travelling and taking in all of the bucket list experiences that we can. My wife's MS, and my recent Afib scare, are a reminder that tomorrow is never promised and so we don't take our health for granted for one second.
Forget the someday, maybes. We're all about making those memories now.
It's a tremendous privilege to make a good living doing something I love, working alongside with my wife to grow a business that we are proud of, and still being able to take time to travel and experience everything life has to offer.
Thank you to everyone who reads, comments, and has reached out for advice (especially the ones who pay for it!). We are so very grateful.
Now let me know in the comments how 2025 ended up for you and what you have planned for 2026.
I want to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year! As they say “Health is Wealth”!
All the best to you and your family, Gary. Merry Christmas!
Hi Robb:
Thanks for the post. Wish you and your family the very best for 2026 with lots of great health, travels and financial well being.
I have a question about net worth. I believe NW should be calculated with best known data as of time of calculation, including any real estate.
For the period Dec 2024 to Dec 2025, our family investment in equities have gone up 30.75% (incl new contributions).
However realistically our home value if we were to sell today is probably at a 23.73% decline (I might be over stating a bit but given recent home sales around us I think it is a good guess).
Net effect – NW went up only 2.34%
Am I looking at this accurately or missing the whole boat? Somehow feels no matter what we did (saved, invested, no big ticket purchases) we’ve got behind atleast for 2025 !
Rick
Hi Rick, same to you – all the best this holiday season!
I think you’re looking at it accurately. We don’t like to think about any of our investments going down but it does happen from time-to-time and our net worth would be affected accordingly.
If stocks fell 30% we would need to reflect that in our numbers. Why wouldn’t the same be said for real estate? We’re happy to take the gains, even when we know prices can’t go up forever. We should reluctantly take the losses as well.
I do track overall net worth but we focus on our liquid assets more.
Unless one is planning to downsize or borrow against house equity, any drop or gain in the housing market is not particularly relevant to the amount of cash flow the assets could generate. Also, we don’t know what our house is really worth until its sold and the error could be worth hundreds of thousands overwhelming everything else.
Thank you for your common sense sage advice over the many years, and congratulations on your family achievements. Health is also most important, take good care of both you and your wife.
Thank you, Jane – all the best!
My advice – invest in Precious Metals like Mackenzie Precious Metal Fund (MFC8535- D series) and invest in a NASDAQ Index Fund like BNS Nasdaq Index fund.
These funds have done tremulously well for me. I have increased my wealth by 25% since June 02/25 – that is a 7-month time frame. If I stuck to a balanced portfolio, I would not achieved this return.
It is worth taking a risk as every central bank is buying gold and the NASDAQ 100 has the biggest companies in valuation in the world- people from all around the world buy NASDAQ stocks.so they cannot be completely wrong in their investment strategy.
Merry Christmas to all and good luck for your 2026 investments/.
Real Estate comment- one purchases a home to live in. If the home goes up in value – that is a good feeling- The new Toronto Mayor has something against home ownership and each year she makes it increasing difficult to own a home- Her property tax rate increases are devastating. Add to that Rent Control with property tax increases and property insurance increases it makes renting out a home unaffordable. A lot of landlords are taking their unit off the rental market – as a landlord you cannot subsidize a Tennent. Our Toronto Mayor is to blame for the “Affordability Situation”.
I do not know what “Affordably” really is. If a person has no money and is unemployed then they cannot even pay $300.00 per month. There is a breakeven to rental prices and it is deaerating.
Owning a home when you are retired has become very difficult. A retied person does not get annual income increases to keep up with home ownership costs.
It looks like the retiree is slowing being forced to sell their home- especially if they own a higher end home. As many people bought the expensive home and expensive neighbourhood- these homeowners now face a crisis challenge as they are increasingly unable to afford the property upkeep.
In BC the provincial government has a property tax deferment program for seniors. You can defer your property taxes until the house is sold. This works well for people who bought in Vancouver in the the 50s and 60s and their homes have skyrocketed in value. I don’t know if Ontario has a similar program.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/taxes/property-taxes/annual-property-tax/property-tax-deferment-program
Toronto has Mayor Chow who raises property tax an alarming rate- She sets her eyes on double digit increases. She talks with that soft puppy like voice telling us Homeowners that Toronto’s Homeless is a problem. She is making the retired homeowners the NEXT HOMELESS group.
The only check that Toronto has is our Premier – Doug Ford- who has to put a leach on Chow many times.
Robb: Merry Christmas to you and your family and more importantly, continued good health in 2026.
Now, is PWL Capital still on your radar?
Thanks Tom, same to you!
Is PWL still on my radar? If you mean as a backup plan for my wife in case I die prematurely or become incapacitated, then yes they are.
Merry Christmas Robb! Wishing you and your family all the best!
Thanks Gurjot – all the best to you and yours as well!
Merry Christmas Robb to you and your family! Enjoy every moment. We are planning our first family trip in 2026 to make some fun memories.
I would always love to contribute more to our investments so that’s another goal. Cheers to 2026 and keep your health at the top of the list.
Oh and 2025 year for me. I hit rock bottom and took sometime off of work. Reprioritized my health and work life balance. Started a new job. Made myself happy again to be a better parent and happy person. Investments are up and invested but not as much as I should have (the goal #) looking forward to 2026 as a fresh year.
Hi Carla, so glad to hear you’re in a better place now. Where are you off to for your family trip next year?
Merry Christmas Robb and family! I have enjoyed working with you at the end of 2025. Wishing you the best in health in 2026!
My goal is to set up a monthly spending summary. It was one of the most powerful activities that I did in preparation to meet with you. My other goals are to simply follow recommendations from our meetings.
Hi Kathy, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I agree, the spending summary can be incredibly powerful, especially leading into retirement to understand how much it costs to live your life.
All the best!
Hi Robb,
Your December 23rd post truly moved me—your honesty was refreshing, and your “tomorrow is not guaranteed” comment resonated deeply, especially since my spouse and I are both in our 68th year. While we no longer worry about finances, good health has become our top priority.
For context, my wife and I rely on your guidance to manage our portfolio with a focus on minimizing taxes. We achieved a solid return of 12.9%, sticking to a simple approach with fewer products and moderate expectations—we’re not searching for extraordinary gains. Our core investments remain XBAL (BlackRock) and VBAL (Vanguard), and we keep things straightforward.
This past year, we followed your retirement plan for the first time, which included setting up RRIF accounts, maximizing TFSA contributions, moving surplus funds into cash accounts, and most importantly, checking off items from our bucket list, whether through travel or helping our daughters.
Wishing you all the best in 2026.
Brad and Nancy
Hi Brad, thanks for the kind words – all the best to you and Nancy as well!
Hi Robb. A very Merry Christmas to you and your family! And a big thanks for all of your advice over recent years. We’ve been able to meet the year to year goals in the plan we set up with you and are lucky enough to be in a place to look forward to retirement in a few years if we wish. As you said, nothing in life is guaranteed, and we won’t sacrifice living and enjoying experiences today to force an early retirement, especially if we enjoy our work. It’s nice to have options!
All the best for 2026!
Jeff & Gail
Thanks so much, Jeff – I hope you and Gail had a wonderful Christmas!
Hi Robb…just curious…I have always wondered how you would factor a DB Pension fully indexed to CPI into net worth? Would you do a DCF on the future payments to get a Present Value for purposes of Net Worth? And at what discount rate – the average return for a balanced portfolio (eg VBAL which is where I have most of my money invested anyway)? And I suppose the payment stream would be based on my assumed mortality?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Doug
Hi Doug, often on your annual pension statement you’ll see something that indicates the commuted value if you left the plan today. That’s what I used when I was a member of a DB pension plan.
Hi Rob
About your afib incident, I experienced this as well about 3 years ago
very scary for sure….but if managed properly you will be fine……..
What helped me was that I have always exercised regularly
(walking, stretching , light weight lifting etc, 3 to 4 times a week)
I am 88 and my wife is 84…I still work 20 hours per week (to keep the
little grey cells tuned up !)
Be well and best for the holiday season…
Thanks Bill, I appreciate the advice from someone who has been through it.
All the best!
Hi Robb, congratulations on your successful financial year and the strides that you and Lyndsey have made in growing your business and balancing that with family life. That is a huge achievement.
Ron and I are happily moving towards his full retirement and are glad to have engaged your help with the planning. This year has been good for us financially and we are ever conscious of the importance of enjoying the journey, taking care of our health, and helping our kids get on their feet. The future is bright.
All the best in 2026.
Laura and Ron
Hi Laura, thanks for your comment. I’m so glad to hear that you’re happily moving towards retirement and following your plan. The future is bright, indeed.
All the best to you and Ron!
Hello Robb,
I have just come across your column and found it very interesting and enlightening. One thing puzzles me though. You say you have a net worth of over 2 million dollars- so why do you still have a mortgage?
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Not everyone has their primary goal to be mortgage free. Some are comfortable carrying debt and investing for a higher expected return (eg. mortgage @4%, investing returns @8%). Granted, the interest is guaranteed and the investment returns are not.
In the end, personal finance is … personal.
Hi Sam, that has been our approach – particularly when the choice is between contributing to our TFSAs versus paying down the mortgage. I see it as a no-brainer to prioritize the TFSA.
Hi Peter, thanks for your comment. I’ll do a net worth update at the end of the year that shows the breakdown of assets and liabilities. We just built a new house in 2023 and put 50% down and took out a mortgage for the rest. We’re not in a position to pay off our mortgage, presently, but once we’ve caught up on our unused TFSA room we’ll likely shift focus to paying down the mortgage a bit more aggressively.
We’ll aim to be mortgage free before I turn 55 (I’m 46), with a stretch goal of paying it off by age 52 if possible.
Another year of excellent content Robb. Thanks for all you do.
Merry Christmas and continued success in 2026!
Chuck
Appreciate the kind words, Chuck!
Merry Christmas Robb! Very inspirational, cheers to you and your family. We recently found out that my wife is eligible for a British passport so my ears perked up when you mentioned that you will be applying for one yourself. What benefits do you see in holding a British passport in addition to your Canadian one? All the best in ‘26!
Hi Andy, thanks so much and Merry Christmas to you as well.
For us, the biggest benefit is flexibility rather than any grand plan to move. A British passport gives the right to live and work in the UK without visas, and makes spending extended time in Europe more flexible if we ever choose to go that route.
I’m applying for my British passport first because it makes the process much simpler when I apply for citizenship by descent for my kids. Once I’m formally recognized as a British citizen, I can then submit their applications while they’re still under 18, which is the key timing piece. It’s really about getting my ducks in a row now so their eligibility is locked in before that window closes.
All the best to you and your family in 2026.
Thanks Robb – your transparency and thoughtful advice is always appreciated. I most like your comment that personal finance is personal – one path is not everyone’s path and there are choices, nuances and consequences (hopefully for the best) that we adjust to along the way. Great that you & family are doing well!
Wishing you and your family all the best for new year. Thanks for sharing all the valuable information through your letters. Learnt a lot from you and love the simplicity you bring for an average investor in easy to understand way through your work.
Hi Robb,
I appreciate your responses to emails I have sent this past year! You are a valuable asset/resource to so many individuals and families.
I truly hope you continue to prioritize your health and enjoy all those life adventures that await you and your family.
Best in 2026!
Brenda