YOUNG & RETIRED

In the age of doomspending, these ultra-driven Torontonians give up their weekends, work multiple jobs and never, ever eat out. THE UPSIDE: they're scrimping and saving their way into retiring decades before the average Canadian

- BY ANDREA YU

THE TERM “DOOMSPENDING” says it all. Jobs are scarce, the cost of living is rocketing skyward and many young Canadians are spend- ing like it's the end of days. They figure they'll never be able to afford a house in Toronto, so why bother saving for one? Might as well splurge on that expensive concert ticket or fancy night out and live it up while they're still young enough to enjoy it.

Despite facing the same financial realities, a small but growing cohort are bucking the doomspending trend. They're super savers, and they're evangelizing extreme austerity, long-term planning and wise investments. By juggling multiple jobs, forgoing any expense not deemed absolutely necessary and squir- reling away the majority of their incomes, they're angling to retire in their early 50s, 40s or even 30s— up to 35 years before the average Canadian. Some have done it already. The sacrifices are extreme—no eating out, no weekends off—but to them, it's worth it. Here, they tell us what it takes to retire young.

Jane Tsang, 26 MARKETING SPECIALIST

Markham Current savings: $500,000 Cash needed to retire: $1.5 MILLION Planned retirement age: 30, IN 2030

I STUDIED SOCIOLOGY and business at the University of Waterloo. In my second year, I got a co-op placement at BlackBerry. It was awful. I hated sitting in an office for eight hours a day. My cubicle was right next to my supervisor; I couldn’t look at my phone or even take too long in the bathroom without feeling scrutinized. I knew I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life. Spending 40 years beholden to an employer just seemed stupid. That’s when I came across the FIRE movement on Reddit. It stands for “financial independence, retire early,” and it’s a model for saving and investing enough to retire much earlier than most people.