Happy new year!
I have a feeling 2026 will be great.
I am looking forward to reading the books on my list (especially The Art of Spending Money) and looking forward to the trips we have planned. We are planning to visit Yellowstone National Park for about two weeks and are planning to go to Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan for three weeks. I’m also wishfully planning for a trip to Hawaii or Cancun later in the year but we will see if it pans out.
Here are my 2026 personal finance goals:
Max Out TFSA
The 2026 TFSA contribution limit is $7000 this year.
If you have never contributed to a TFSA before and you were of age when the TFSA was first introduced, you will have $109,000 in contribution room. That is six figures! If you are still using it as a “savings account” please don’t.
It is a powerful investing tool that can supercharge your retirement plans, and the full market value of your TFSA will be received tax free to your estate or beneficiary upon death.
| Year | TFSA Contribution Room |
| 2009 | $5000 |
| 2010 | $5000 |
| 2011 | $5000 |
| 2012 | $5000 |
| 2013 | $5500 |
| 2014 | $5500 |
| 2015 | $10,000 |
| 2016 | $5500 |
| 2017 | $5500 |
| 2018 | $5500 |
| 2019 | $6000 |
| 2020 | $6000 |
| 2021 | $6000 |
| 2022 | $6000 |
| 2023 | $6500 |
| 2024 | $7000 |
| 2025 | $7000 |
| 2026 | $7000 |
| Total | $109,000 |
I plan to move $7000 in my non-registered account to my Questrade TFSA on January 1 (12:15 am haha).
Max Out RRSP
As with other years, I’m not sure what my RRSP room will be. This goal will be done once I find out what my RRSP contribution room is from the 2026 Notice of Assessment after my taxes are done.
Last year I transferred US dollars from my margin account, contributed some US dollars, and transferred some shares in kind. It was a hodge podge of contributions.
My RRSP contribution room is usually low because of my defined benefit pension.
Increase Dividend Income to $45,000/ Year
In 2025 my goal was to reach $39,000 in annual dividends. I ended the year with $42,066.
This year I am going to go for $45,000 in projected annual dividend income for 2026.
I tend to be overweight in Canadian dividend stocks (I try to keep it under 33% of the portfolio) though I suppose I comparatively have a lower home bias compared to other personal finance bloggers out there.
Since I don’t need the income right now because I am still working part-time, I will focus more on ETFs, exchange traded funds like VXC and VTI.
I am scaling back even more on my investment contributions (by about 30%) to build my cash pile up.
Build Up Cash Pile
I still feel uncomfortable with the lack of cash and would like to build my cash reserves back up but at the same time I would like to continue to invest.
It’s not going to be 28% cash like Berkshire Hathaway but I would like to aim for 8% cash allocation for my portfolio.
I planning to reduce my monthly investment contributions by 30% compared to last year to facilitate this cash savings.
The large cash pile I had in 2020 really helped when the Covid circuit breakers were happening and in effect helped me “time” the market quite well I suppose.
Read 5 Personal Finance Books
Here are the 5 investing and personal finance books that I hope to read and then write about in 2026.
- The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel
- The Fairfax Way by David Thomas
- How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free by Ernie Zelinksi (I see he frequently comments on Retire by 40’s blog and his book was mentioned in another book I was reading so I thought I would add it to the list)
- Good to Great by Jim Collins
- Quit Like a Millionaire by Kristy Shen
If you are looking for reading inspiration, here are other personal finance books and dividend investing books I recommend.
New Year’s Resolutions That I nEver Seem to Get
Non-financial resolutions are difficult for me. I struggle with them. Much less will power.
- Sleep before 12 (I was really bad with this the latter half of the year. I think I just need better time management… and more time to myself- pipe dream!)
- Meditate 10 minutes at least 4 times a week (I will put this in my schedule- in the last month of 2025 I was able to do this for 21 days in a row- as James Clear says it is all about the systems in place to form habits)
- Continue with the exercise of running 5km three times weekly, two 30 minutes weight sessions, and one pilates session per week.
- Stop snacking on chips or other non healthy snacks at night
Happy new year again and good luck with your goals for 2026!
GYM is a 40 something millennial writing about personal finance since 2009 and interested in achieving financial freedom through disciplined saving, dividend and ETF investing, and living a minimalist lifestyle. Before you go, check out my recommendations page of financial tools I use to save and invest money. Don’t forget to subscribe for a free dividend yield spreadsheet and the free Young Money Bootcamp PDF.