Today was Chili Day at the office — and I think this might become an annual tradition.
Our Operations Manager, Andrea, makes a killer chili. Award-winning, actually.
Perfect balance of sweet, savoury, and spicy… and the cornbread that comes with it is just as good.
I also learned something new today:
Apparently adding Fritos to chili is a thing.
I didn’t know that — but now that I’ve tried it, I’m not sure I’ll ever go without it again.
One guy in our office, Jake, swears by adding Ritz crackers to his chili.
I love a Ritz cracker… but I think I’ll stick to the Fritos.
All I know is this: next year, we might need to turn this into a chili competition.
Look out, Andrea — I’m coming for you. 😉
A different kind of recipe is changing too
As fun as today was, it reminded me of something I’ve been thinking a lot about:
how much the “recipe” for getting ahead in Canada has changed.
There was a time — not long ago — when the formula for building a stable middle-class life looked like this:
- Work hard
- Save diligently
- Pay down your mortgage
- Keep money in the bank
- Avoid too much debt
For decades, that recipe worked.
You could earn decent interest on savings.
Housing was affordable relative to income.
And the system rewarded people who played it safe.
But that season is over.
The problem the middle class is running into
Today, inflation quietly eats away at savings.
Housing costs grow faster than wages.
Interest on cash is rarely higher than the rate at which the dollar loses purchasing power.
And governments are running record deficits — injecting more money into the system and pushing up the price of everything that can’t be printed.
And here’s the part most people don’t realize:
You can’t save your way ahead in a system that devalues the currency.
You can save to build a buffer.
You can save to stay disciplined.
But you can’t save your way to financial independence anymore.
The game has shifted from savers winning…
to owners winning.
Another signal this week
On top of everything else, OSFI (the banking regulator) announced that investor-mortgage rules will tighten in 2026.
Translation:
- investment properties will get harder to finance
- fewer people will qualify
- and buying income-producing assets will demand more strategy
Which means:
the people who already own productive assets will be even further ahead…
and the people trying to “save up” to get in will find it harder.
This is exactly what I mean when I say the rules are changing quietly.
So what does work today?
Instead of relying only on savings, Canadians need to think differently:
- Own productive, scarce assets
- Use debt strategically (not recklessly)
- Prioritize cash flow
- Position yourself ahead of policy changes
- Stop waiting for the “old normal” to return
This doesn’t mean living dangerously or overextending yourself.
It means recognizing the direction of the system — and positioning accordingly.
Because the people who thrive today aren’t the ones who save the most…
they’re the ones who own the assets that benefit as the dollar weakens.
If you’d like help figuring out how to position yourself — or your mortgage — for the world we’re actually living in today, let’s talk.
Talk soon,
— Vince
P.S.
The middle class wasn’t built on risk-taking — it was built on a stable system.
That system doesn’t exist anymore.
The sooner you adapt your strategy, the better your next decade will look.
