I’m only 31 years old. Do I have to save and invest for retirement?

At 31, retirement can feel impossibly far off, and this piece meets that honest doubt without scolding. It makes the case for a balanced approach: yes, starting early lets compounding do remarkable work over the decades, but a good life now matters too, and the goal is to fund the present and the future rather than sacrifice one for the other. The thinking touches on setting goals you actually care about, building the habit of saving something steady, and letting time rather than heroics carry the load. It speaks directly to younger Canadians who feel pulled between living today and preparing for a tomorrow that seems abstract, and reframes the choice as a both-and rather than an either-or. The encouraging takeaway is that modest, consistent steps begun now beat dramatic efforts started much later.