I am definitely on the lower end of the wealth spectrum, but the story is not too bad. I hold about $2.2MM CAD

From the time I was 18-19 (2000), I started to get interested in the stock market and made a few trades. I quickly lost everything during the dot com crash and was basically in debt for $10K. I didn't do any due diligence and knew very little about the markets, so I spent the next 4-5 years studying it on my free time. I finished college and started working. I slowly saved for a down-payment, enjoyed my early and mid 20's, and in 2007 started investing again. I had gains, around $50K in 2010, but used all of it and my savings after a child resulted from a short term relationship. The court process lasted for a couple years, but was able to secure custody/guardianship and became a single dad. From that time on, I had basically been living pay check to pay check until recently. A rough 5 years, but highlighted with memories and time spent with my child.

Before I needed to use my holdings and savings for my child, I had invested $5K in a high risk venture and purchased a small condo to live in. I did the research on the investment and to me the fundamentals of this investment were great. A couple years later, nothing had really changed because of constant delays with policies and US politics in the sector. I was at a low point, very little net worth considering my age and facing the reality of having to 'start out' again from virtually nothing. I had to reduce work for child care and had more expenses, was not able to save anything to invest. I had all but written off my prior investment, but interest slowly started happening. The fundamentals were still very good and I thought to myself that this is my only chance to make some real money, but I had none. I knew the investment well, so I decided to go all in and scrape up whatever I could get my hands on.

I took some big risks to raise capital, sold my home for the smaller amount of equity I had put down. A home equity loan was not possible because they are capped off at 80% of the home's value in Canada. I resigned from work, after being there 10 years, so I could access pension and pay outs. After selling and resigning, I moved to a small basement suite, which I still live in, and started a new job that fits my parenting schedule well. I am still currently working at the moment, part-time 25hrs/week. Up until recently, I was working full time.

After making my 'all in' investment, I sold whatever I had of value and any extra funds leftover and invested more until 2016. Although I and others knew the value of the investment, it took another 3 years before larger companies took notice. The changing of The President of the United States to Trump played a major role as the main holding of the investment was located in the US. All said and done, the company was bought out for low 9 figures.

Because this investment took so many twist and turns over the 8 years to materialize, I had lots of time to think about what to do with the earnings. $1.1MM, or half of it, is in a LRSP (Locked-in RSP), which is inaccessible until 55 by law. I can invest it in whatever I like, but cannot access it for another 18/19 years and there are strict limitations for early withdrawal, ie. Terminal Diagnosis. The other half, $1.1MM, grew within my TSFA (Tax Free Savings Account) Brokerage, so not a penny taxed on my gains. Canada Revenue Agency inquired, but activity showed that I used my TFSA for ‘investments' rather than ‘trading' because of the infrequent activity from 2010.

I plan to finish a contract I have at work and resign by the summer. I want to relax and travel a little over the summer, my last vacation was over 6 years ago. I also want to take my child to Disneyland in September. I have no immediate plans for the money other than keeping it parked in ‘safe’ holdings and wait for the stock market to go upside down. I don't trust the markets, there seems to be a lot of irrational exuberance this past year especially. I feel 2019 will have a lot of undervalued stocks after a 1 year+ downtrend. My investment strategy would be to purchase a lot of devalued stocks during the upcoming market downturn and ride the wave back up.

I live in a part of Canada where the average detached home is around $1MM. I am in the process of exploring a strategy of unlocking my LRSP and using it in real estate for me to live in. After relaxing, traveling, and enjoying the summer I plan to get a newer car and start thinking of moving/buying a home. The real estate market is going down in Canada and will plan my move once I got all my ducks in a row and a good entry point/home is found. I don't plan on moving for some time after so I am not worried about price fluctuations in the short term. My simple lifestyle, combined with a good investment strategy, would likely mean that I could live modestly with current holdings even with a real estate purchase.

I grew up with very little means, especially when I was younger, my parents struggled hard in the 80's and early 90's. We lived in social housing, but the school district and catchment we lived had some nice neighbourhoods with good schools and funding. That provided me with a above average public school education that I feel payed dividends later on. From elementary school I worked to pay for things I wanted, newspaper routes, assembling electronic components through my mom's work, high school summers working in landscaping/construction/carpentry, and a after school bakery job during highschool. I paid my own way and worked through college and saved to buy my first car. My parents know of my (now former) financial struggles and helped out on a few occasions when I asked, but they and my brother have no idea of the ending. They think I lost a lot of money on the stock market because of the dot com bust fail, exposure to the 2008 financial crisis, and previous stagnant status of my last investment. I will give some money to my brother and his family and take them and my parents for a family vacation when the time is right. I don't know how I will tell them, as money is something we don't talk about often and they think I sold my home to pay for bills and changed work to be home more often. They may be a little disappointed in my reckless behavior, taking huge risks considering my situation, but "When it feels scary to jump, that is exactly when you jump, otherwise you end up staying in the same place your whole life, and that I can't do." - Abel Morales, A Most Violent Year (2014). My child is a little too young to fully grasp the situation and knows that we will be going to Disneyland before the end of year and got a few gifts.

I'm sure my family will be surprised and happy for me. My goal is to get by with as little to no stress and financial obligations, living modestly within my means, and investing wisely/safely so I can make this opportunity last my lifetime