Three spreadsheets.
One net worth I couldn't see.

I could see pieces of my wealth. Never the whole thing.

Every month, I wrote my bank statements out by hand. Then I typed the totals into Excel. My rentals lived in one spreadsheet. My stock projections lived in another. Excel could only show me so much.

So I went looking for a tool. Some did one job well, like budgeting or net worth. The retirement tools were built for Americans. Nothing put it all together for a Canadian investor.

I didn't learn this from a screen.

I've been in real estate since I was 20. I've built multiple portfolios, run renovations, and used the BRRRR strategy. I've done private lending and put money into other people's funds. I've managed tenants in more than one province.

I learned strategies from some of the best in the business. There were more wins than struggles. There were still plenty of struggles.

Real estate taught me patience. Stocks taught me conviction.

After the financial crisis, I knew something was wrong. I wanted my investing in my own hands. The pattern I kept seeing was simple: budget, control your spending, save. Then own a business or invest. I started with real estate.

I still love real estate. But it's a long, slow, steady play, not the fastest way to build wealth.

About five years ago I started buying stocks, and I studied hard with the help of a mentor. In 2021 I watched one position fall more than 70%. I bought more on the way down. It was the most painful and the most useful lesson I've had. You can only ride out the drops if you know your numbers and trust them. That's why I built my own research and projection system, and why it lives inside FinCommand.

My story, not advice. Investing carries risk, and past results don't predict future ones.

So I built what I couldn't buy.

With the help of AI, I built a tool shaped around how I actually manage money. It brings the real estate pro formas and the investing methods I trust into one place. I use it for my own money.

I figured if it works for me, it will work for other Canadians who think like me. Every module is here because I needed it.

Why I wrote the book.

Once people see what's possible with their finances, life gets more exciting. I wrote Health, Wealth, and Real Estate to give back some of what I learned the hard way.

A book gets read once. A tool gets used every day. That's why I built FinCommand too.

The book

Health, Wealth, and Real Estate

A Blueprint to a Prosperous Life

Ryan Lake · Paperback · 234 pages

Real estate lessons from a small-town Saskatchewan start, the link between money and health, and a look at how retirement works in Canada.

Get it on Amazon.ca →