Jeremy4At 32, you sound like most 32 year olds I've met at more than twice your age.
I like your enthusiasm and optimism but I can tell you up front there are and never will be any "free shares" that you don't have to pay for.
You're falling into the "over time" trap and not considering what the markets may look like when you approach the age you want to retire.
I know all sorts of folks that had accumulated their million dollar goal, then 2008 wiped out 75% of that nest egg, because it was all invested.
The same thing happened ten years later when Covid appeared and the list goes on.
There are no easy investments, that you or anyone else can sit back on and collect distributions or DRIPs.
I'm not going to tell you to change your investment style, especially if you're comfortable with it.
I tried it and it soon became apparent I was not getting ahead fast enough to attain my goal of early retirement, which was the same as you aim for, 55.
The 2008 debacle hit my and almost every other investments very hard and it caused my retirement date to be delayed by three years.
Many of my friends that poo pooed my investment style, which I borrowed from a very astute and famous investor after he called me and gave me advice on how to invest.
I passed that onto you. It's always your choice.
When the 2008 debacle hit, there were many ominous signs that weren't being publicized in Canada and the US. Information was actually very hard to get, even on internet and you couldn't trust the information you did find.
This started about 2006 and the markets looked rosy.
The red flag was energy. It was too exensive for industry to utilize profitably in Canada.
Without energy, nothing runs profitably, not even banks and especially other types of financials.
I was one of the lucky ones when the waterfall began.
I only lost appx 40% of my capital and overall investements, which wiped out close to a decade of profits.
I was also 50% in cash. NOT GICs. With the resulting blow out and very fast hit hard bottom I was able to build my capital back up, with a few losses along the way to enable retirement at 58.
Now, depending on the markets, I net around $100K per year.
I have no debts at all, live in a decent house, have money to take nice vacations, hunt, fish etc and sleep well at night.
If I had stuck with my previous investment style????????.
Be nimble, don't tie yourself to any investment vehicle "over time"
Investment vehicles are always in flux for reasons beyond your control.
What you do have control of is your capital, unless you lock it into terms or don't watch it carefully.
Never fall in love with or expect any investment vehicle to be a forever or put it away and don't worry about it thing. It will bite you when you least expect it.
GLTA the good folks here.