You Just Got Your First Real Salary. Here’s What to Do Before Lifestyle Creep Wins

The moment your first real salary hits​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ your account, you have a narrow window that most financial advice completely ignores. Not a window to research the perfect ETF. Not a window to read every personal finance book. A window to make one decision before your spending habits harden into something that will cost you far more than any investment mistake you could possibly make at 24. That decision is simple: automate a fixed amount into XEQT before you figure out what your new normal looks like.

This is not a budgeting lecture. It​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ is an argument for acting in the next two weeks, not the next two years.

The Income Shock Window Is Real and It Closes Fast

Behavioural finance research describes​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ something called “behavioural drift”, the unconscious tendency to start using resources just because they exist. You get a car, you drive it everywhere, even when you wouldn’t have before. You get a higher income, you spend it, not because you made a decision to, but because the money was there and your environment filled the space.

A financial planner quoted in a Canadian​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ piece on car-free finances put it plainly: “If people don’t have a car payment, it takes conscientiousness to set aside that cash because they’re just going to expand their lifestyle.” She was talking about the savings from selling a car, but the same mechanic applies exactly to a salary jump. The money arrives. The lifestyle expands to meet it. And then it becomes the baseline.

The critical thing about the income​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ shock window is that it only exists right now. Before the lease on a nicer apartment. Before the car upgrade. Before the first vacation you finally feel like you can afford. Your spending hasn’t yet caught up to your salary, which means your savings rate is artificially high for about 60 to 90 days. If you capture that gap and route it somewhere automatic before your habits form, you will have done more for your long-term wealth than any sophisticated investing decision you make in the next decade.

One decision made in the first month​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ of a real salary is worth more than a hundred decisions made later, because later your lifestyle will already have consumed the money you’re trying to optimize.

The Golden Handcuffs Problem Starts Earlier Than You Think

The conventional image of financial​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ lifestyle creep involves someone visibly overspending: expensive car, luxury apartment, restaurant tabs on a corporate card. But the version that actually traps most Canadians is subtler. It’s the rent in the nicer neighbourhood because you can finally afford it. The gym membership, the streaming stack, the weekend trips, the upgraded phone plan. None of these feel like decisions. They feel like arriving at the standard of living you’ve always expected.

The research on physicians illustrates​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ the extreme version of this pattern, but it applies across income levels. Analysis of physician finances shows that doctors who graduate into attending salaries in their early thirties, earning somewhere between $250,000 and $400,000, routinely build fixed monthly costs of $15,000 to $25,000. That structure means they cannot reduce their hours when burned out. Cannot take a sabbatical. Cannot leave a practice environment that is destroying them. The income that was supposed to create freedom created dependence instead.

Medscape’s 2024 Physician Burnout​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ and Depression Report found that 49% of physicians reported feeling burned out. Yet most of them kept working regardless, because their financial structure gave them no real alternative. The golden handcuffs had closed years before they noticed.

You are not a physician. But the mechanism​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ is identical at $65,000. The car payment, the rent, the subscriptions, once committed to, they become fixed costs. And fixed costs are the enemy of savings rate. The only time it is easy to protect your savings rate is before those costs are set.

Three Things to Do Before Touching Discretionary Money

There is an ordering here that matters,​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ and skipping steps does not make you a sophisticated investor. It makes you the person who has $30,000 in a TFSA and $8,000 on a credit card at 20% interest simultaneously.

Build a small emergency fund before​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ anything else. One to three months of essential expenses sitting in a high-interest savings account (HISA) is not an investing strategy, it is the thing that keeps you from raiding your investments the moment life doesn’t cooperate. Market corrections happen. Cars break down. Companies lay people off. An investor who can stay in the market through a 30% drop beats every market-timer who exists, but the only way to stay invested is to genuinely not need the money. Three months of expenses in a HISA at EQ Bank or Wealthsimple Cash is a non-negotiable starting point.

Once that foundation exists, eliminate​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ any high-interest debt. The threshold most financial planners use is around 6%: any debt carrying more than that rate is a guaranteed return when you pay it off, and you cannot beat a guaranteed return with a volatile equity portfolio in the short run. Consumer debt and credit card balances at 19% to 22% interest belong at the top of any payoff list. Student lines of credit from Canadian banks often sit at prime plus 1% or 2%, which puts them in a range worth evaluating case by case depending on the current rate environment.

After those two steps, the automatic​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ XEQT contribution is where the remaining available amount goes. Not “what’s left at the end of the month.” Automated, on payday, gone before it touches your spending account. This sequencing protects you from every direction: market volatility can’t wipe out money you needed for rent, debt doesn’t compound faster than your portfolio, and your investment compounds from the earliest possible date.

Why XEQT Solves the Paralysis Tax

At early salary levels, the single biggest​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ threat to building wealth is not picking the wrong ETF. It is spending six months comparing five ETFs, reading conflicting Reddit threads, worrying about whether now is a bad time to buy, and investing nothing while the market does whatever it does.

Behavioural economists describe the​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ cost of that overthinking as a kind of paralysis tax. Every month you spend researching rather than investing is a month of compounding you can never recover. At 25, with 35 years of runway, that cost is substantial.

XEQT holds roughly 9,000 stocks across approximately 45% US equities, 25% international developed markets, 25% Canadian equities, and 5% emerging markets, all for a management expense ratio of 0.20% per year. That is $20 per year on a $10,000 portfolio. The fund rebalances itself, diversifies globally, and requires no ongoing decisions. For a full breakdown of how the fund works, the complete XEQT guide covers the mechanics in detail.

The alternative, analysing whether XEQT​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ or VEQT has slightly better historical returns, or whether a three-ETF couch potato portfolio saves you a few basis points in MER, is a legitimate intellectual exercise worth approximately nothing compared to the value of starting now at your current income. The compounding gap between investing at 25 and investing at 26 is not theoretical. It compounds into a meaningful difference by retirement, driven entirely by time in the market, not by which low-cost fund you chose.

Research consistently shows that people​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ who automate savings accumulate significantly more wealth than those who invest whatever is left at month-end, because most months, nothing is left.

Set It and Pretend It Doesn’t Exist

Automation is not a productivity trick.​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ It is a behavioural intervention that removes the single decision point where most young investors fail: the monthly choice between investing and spending the money on something that seems urgent right now.

On Wealthsimple, you can set up a recurring​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ buy directly in the app. Choose your TFSA, select XEQT, set the amount, choose bi-weekly or monthly aligned with your paycheque schedule, and confirm. The purchase happens without you touching it. On Questrade, the setup is slightly more manual but fully achievable with a pre-authorized contribution and a standing limit order. Either way, the mechanics take less time than choosing a Netflix show.

The key is that once automation is running,​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ you never see the money as available. You do not make a weekly decision about whether to invest or buy something else. The investment happens, your remaining balance is what you see, and your spending patterns form around that lower number. This is the same behavioural logic behind payroll pension deductions: contributions come off your paycheque before you can touch them, which is precisely why workplace pension plans achieve participation rates that voluntary investment accounts cannot match.

Increase the automatic amount whenever​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ your salary increases. A reasonable personal rule is to route 50% of every raise directly into the automated contribution before the rest adjusts your baseline. You will never feel the increase leave, because your lifestyle won’t have had time to absorb it.

TFSA First, Then RRSP: The Right Sequence for Your First Real Income

For most Canadians in their first professional​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ role, earning somewhere between $45,000 and $75,000, the TFSA is where the automatic XEQT contribution belongs. The RRSP is not irrelevant, but its primary advantage is that contributions reduce taxable income at your marginal rate. When your marginal rate is in the low-to-mid range, that deduction is real but modest. The RRSP’s power multiplies when you’re in a higher bracket later in your career, deducting at a high rate and ideally withdrawing at a lower rate in retirement.

A financial planner quoted in a piece​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ on sequencing accounts for younger earners made the same point: she is “not enthusiastic about RRSPs at this life stage, since income is likely lower, and it makes more sense to max out RRSPs later when you are earning more.” That is the correct frame for a first-salary investor.

The TFSA wins for younger earners for​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ a second reason: flexibility. If you need to access the money, a genuine emergency that outpaced your HISA buffer, a gap between jobs, a decision to go back to school, you can withdraw from a TFSA without tax consequences, and the room comes back January 1 of the following year. RRSP withdrawals are taxed as income in the year of withdrawal, with no room recovery. At 25, the optionality of the TFSA is genuinely valuable in a way it won’t be at 45.

If you’re saving for a first home, the FHSA runs alongside the TFSA as a priority. Contributions are tax-deductible like an RRSP, growth is tax-free like a TFSA, and qualifying withdrawals for a first home are also tax-free. That combination doesn’t exist anywhere else in the Canadian tax system. If you haven’t explored it yet, the full FHSA guide walks through how to use it effectively with XEQT.

Open the RRSP early regardless. Having​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ the account open means any earned income from this year is building contribution room for when you need it. You don’t have to contribute meaningfully right now. Leaving RRSP room to accumulate while you max your TFSA is a sound strategy, not a missed opportunity.

What Lifestyle Creep Actually Costs You

The math that makes this concrete: consider​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ two people, both starting at the same income at 25. One automates a monthly XEQT contribution immediately. The other waits 12 months, then invests the same amount. At a conservative long-run equity return assumption, that single year of delay at the start of a 30-year compounding run compounds into a gap worth tens of thousands of dollars by retirement, driven entirely by the number of compounding cycles, not by any difference in investment skill or fund selection. Push the delay to two years and the gap roughly doubles. There is no subsequent optimization that closes it. Switching from a slightly higher MER to a slightly lower one over the same period saves a fraction of that amount.

The piece “Why Saving the First​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ $10,000 Is Critical” captures the underlying mechanism precisely. Getting from zero to an initial invested balance changes the trajectory of wealth accumulation in a way that no subsequent decision matches, because compounding accelerates as the base grows. From $10,000 growing at 8%, it takes about 10 years to cross $20,000, then about 5 more years to cross $30,000, then about 4 years to cross $40,000. Each threshold arrives faster than the last. But the clock only starts when you actually invest something.

The person waiting for the perfect time,​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ the perfect market condition, the perfect amount of research: they are not being careful. They are paying the paralysis tax every single month, and the compounding works against them the whole time they wait. As one long-term investor who ran the math on a 37-year S&P 500 investment put it: “The ‘doing nothing’ part is not the boring bit. It is the strategy.”

Every year of delay at the start of​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ a long investing run compounds into a gap that no amount of later optimization can fully recover. The cost of lifestyle creep winning in year one is not a number on a spreadsheet, it is a fundamentally different wealth trajectory.

The One Conversation Worth Having If You Share Finances

If you’re moving into a shared​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ financial life with a partner, the income shock window affects both of you simultaneously, and that creates a compounding risk. Two people, both with new salaries, both experiencing the behavioural drift that comes with more money, can expand a shared lifestyle dramatically without either person making what feels like a reckless decision. The apartment upgrade seems reasonable split two ways. So does the second car. So does the subscription to every streaming platform.

The conversation worth having before​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ that drift sets in is short: agree on a savings rate, not a dollar amount, as your household baseline. A savings rate scales with income. A dollar amount becomes psychologically easy to leave unchanged as salaries grow. Even a 10% savings rate applied consistently across both incomes, automated into separate TFSAs holding XEQT, builds serious wealth over a 30-year career. The disagreements that derail household savings plans are almost never about the amount. They are about one partner assuming the new money is available while the other assumed it was already spoken for. Getting that explicitly on the table during the income shock window, before spending has already absorbed the money, is much easier than renegotiating it 18 months later when every dollar has a habit attached to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should I invest from my first real salary in Canada?

After building a one to three month​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ emergency fund in a HISA and paying off any debt above 6% interest, a reasonable starting point is 10% to 15% of take-home pay into a TFSA holding XEQT. The exact percentage matters less than automating a specific amount before your spending baseline forms. Even a modest monthly contribution invested consistently from 25 builds meaningfully different wealth by 55 than the same amount started at 28, because time in the market is the compounding engine.

Should I use a TFSA or RRSP for my first investment at a $50,000 to $70,000 salary?

At that income level, the TFSA is the​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ better starting point for most Canadians. Your marginal tax rate is relatively low, which reduces the value of the RRSP deduction. The TFSA grows tax-free, withdrawals carry no tax consequence, and contribution room recovers the following year if you need to access funds. The RRSP becomes a stronger priority later, when your income is higher and the deduction shelters income that would otherwise be taxed at a significantly higher rate.

Does it matter which ETF I buy when I’m just starting out?

Much less than you think. The dominant variable in early-career wealth building is whether you invest and when, not which low-cost all-in-one ETF you pick. XEQT at 0.20% MER, holding roughly 9,000 global equities across four regions, is a well-suited default that requires zero ongoing management decisions. The months you spend comparing options are months of compounding you cannot recover. Why so many young Canadians land on XEQT covers the reasoning in detail if you want to understand the case before you commit.

What if I still have student loans when I start earning a real salary?

The interest rate on your loans determines​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‍​​​​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‍‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​ the answer. Federal student loans in Canada have moved to a prime-based rate structure, and provincial loans vary. If the effective rate on your debt is below roughly 6%, splitting your extra cash flow between debt repayment and TFSA investing is a reasonable approach. If you’re carrying a professional line of credit at a higher rate, prioritizing repayment first makes more sense. The National Student Loans Service Centre is the most reliable source for your current federal loan rate, since it adjusts with the Bank of Canada overnight rate.