TFSA > RRSP > Non-reg

oh ya i agree with both of you.

like i said i have this years room to top up.

i also know alot of people don't want to put their money into RRSP's to invest so that's why i was asking about investing in regular funds.

Top up RRSP --> get tax refund --> put refund into TFSA --> top off TFSA. Rinse, repeat.

There are a lot of strategies, but for the average person the above is the best strategy.

It's the most ideal because you're putting money into your RRSP, which should act as a "don't touch me ever" account. So, you're forced to save and you're guaranteed to have this money when you retire. One of the best parts of this is, every dollar you put into your RRSP, that amount lowers your yearly income, which will generate a tax refund. So CivicBlues is saying use this tax refund to put into your TFSA. This is a very common strategy, and I would suggest this for the average person.

That being said, I don't use this approach. I always max out my TFSA first, and whatever I have left over, I put towards my RRSP, the refund I get I either keep it as cash or invest it in a non-registered fund with a dividend paying stock. The reason I do this is because I plan to still have a high income when I retire and having money in my RRSP isn't ideal. I've learned this from my parents and friends parents as they have too much money in their RRSP's and they're forced to withdraw at unfavourable marginal tax rates.

If you believe your income will still be high when you're older/retire, then maxing out your TFSA is more favourable. I'd rather have my money grow in my TFSA than my RRSP.

$6000 invested in a TFSA at 7% interest for 30 years = ~$49,000
I would rather pay my marginal tax rate on the $6,000 now, than pay my marginal tax rate on $49,000 when I retire. As I'm expecting to still earn a high level of income into my retirement years.

So, It really depends on where you see yourself in 30 years.

Interestingly, I just asked this question to the TD waterhouse.

"If I have USD cash, and I deposit into my TFSA USD account, at what rate will it be at so I know how to calculate my contribution room"

TD Waterhouse pretty much told me it's at whatever rate TD is giving at that moment, but there is room for error. Which means, if your TFSA is maxed this can cause problems if you don't account for the exchange rate. So you'll always have to undercontribute to make sure you're not over after the exchange. You'll this same problem with any broker though, even with questrade. You'll have to calculate what rate they're exchanging USD to CAD to for your records so you know how much contribution room you're using.

That's just too annoying for me. Just deposit the CAD cash into your TFSA and convert your CAD to USD inside your TFSA to save the complication.


XAW is probably one of the top 5 etf's to have. It's an all in one, so it's easy. I also like that you want to pick some ponies as the ROI is generally higher, especially with Apple and MFST. I love both. The problem you're going to have in the future is allocation. Say you buy some APPL and MFST now, next year, do you continue to buy APPL and MFST, or do you buy TSLA or DIS or AMZN? Then you have too many ponies.. haha, that's my problem right now. I have too many ponies, when i should be focusing on a core group of stocks. That's the fun part.

Yes something to also consider if you're expected to get a big defined benefit pension when you retire. But then how many of us are still getting those? FeelsBadMan

Just out of curiosity Peanutbutter, I know 30 years is a long time, but what do you expect your high income to be from at age 71? Presumably you will be done with working? Passive income streams? Running your own business?

Max out TFSA to invest for trading then touch RRSP, no matter what income level. I hear a lot of people say buy RRSP (free money back yada yada yada). There is nothing "FREE", you will get taxed with RRSP sooner or later, might not be now but when you retire and take it out. Many people feel/think when they are retired and take it out then they will pay less tax or little to no tax due to less income. Assume you retire at 60 yrs old, say you stash away $5,000/yr RRSP x 30 yrs = $150,000, it's quite hard to keep your income level low at that point because you'll be getting OAS/CPP/GIS depending your income you report and for which year they start considering income for certain benefits. Also you don't want to lose certain benefits the government provides if your income is too high, so you are always trying to figure out how to keep it low, but it's impossible to do so when you have too much RRSP stashed away. So max the fuck out of your TFSA first. Everyone will have a different approach, whichever works in your favor.

Yeah, second on what Euro7r said.

RRSP's main purpose is to defer the tax and assuming one's income will drop once in retirement, you can potentially be in a lower tax bracket as well as saving of having to pay tax every year vs. defer until retirement.

TFSA is still a much better option.

Good question. You know what, I didn't really think about how much i'm going to be making, I just assumed i'm going to be making a lot. Which isn't very objective if you I think about it.

Based on my parents who worked $60k salaried jobs and they invested in the market and their portfolio's are both in the upper six figures, they're having trouble taking money out of their RRSP's.

I make significantly more than them and I started investing early and my TFSA is already over $100k, my RSPs around $50k and my non-reg is about $50k, so i'm not really interested in my RSPs too much, but I did put a good chunk into them this year.

Back then your parents generation didn't have TFSA, so by default RRSP. My parents are on the same boat, always having to calculate this and that to ensure they stay within threshold and yet the same time having to take out the RRSP in retirement phase. It sucks because they aren't low income to be low income, but not high income to be don't give a fuck, kinda stuck in that middle ground.

It's good that you max out TFSA first and then dive into RRSP. I'm not a big fan of RRSP for whatever reason...

I look at RRSP's as a insurance vehicle. If all these go sideways, at least you'll have some money in your RRSP account when you're older. Focus on growing your TFSA and then the money you put into your RRSP is all bonus.

Honestly, as long as you're putting money away, and investing it, it doesn't really matter. Having "too much money" in your RRSP isn't the worst thing in the world...haha

Maxed TFSA>RRSP>Non-registered accounts IMO.

In AMD and Suncor atm. Anyone else long on these? I believe AMD will seriously challenge Intel for the next 2+ years..

Just got out of my oil short last week and in on Suncor at $39. I'll happily hold it long term for the dividends.

the RRSP VS TFSA... lol

I don't plan on retiring poor. I would hope I make more and more passive money as I get older... like 50% tax bracket kinda passive. lol

We generally go heavilly into RRSP to offset rental income..

in hindsight probably should have never claimed the rental income and just taken cash..

so i'm in that situation now.

1) Don't claim primary residence
2) Don't claim income on rental
3) Don't claim the home owner tax benefit
4) Not vacant, empty tax no applicable

revenue canada is going to piece 1 and 1 together and say.. where the fuck is the rent.

Because of this, I'm 100% going to submit my rental income starting now. It's going to crack down hard this yr and I don't wnat to get in shit.

I always tell people the goal is to have non-reg accounts haha.

Why don't you claim primary residence and the homeowner tax benefit? Wouldn't that be less shady that the 4 above.

I'm going full 100% legit, i don't live at both of my rental property so i ain't claiming as primary not home owner grant

This is exactly it. If you're contributing to a non-registered account, I think you're in the top 10% of the population. Especially if you live in GVRD. It's not easy to max out TFSA and RRSP.

Yes, you're gonna have to start claiming income, otherwise the city will figure it out sooner or later. Honestly, paying tax isn't the worst thing in the world. The older I get the more I don't mind paying taxes.. The more taxes I pay, the more money i'm making and i'm doing my part for my community.

Most people don't think like that, but as I grow older, I don't mind sharing the wealth.

If you're renting from your primary residence, I don't see why you would claim rental income (besides being lawful). How would CRA or the city know you have renters? Unless a neighbour narks on you and the city comes knocking. That's why I always make it my priority to get to know my neighbours, they help you out so much, and people generally want to be helpful and friendly.

There's also nothing wrong with paying your fair share too. There's honour in that for sure.

i do the 5% of income matched RRSP contribution through work and all my bonuses go to RRSP instead of taking as income. As my income and bonuses increase, it helps with the income offset more.

I then still max out TFSA on top of that.

Being self employed, I am always jealous of this income matching companies do.

A friend gets stock from TD and she's been working there for 10 years and her shares are worth BANK! I can't remember what her match is, I think it's at least 5%.

My other buddy works for lululemon corporate and he gets 9% matched, which is JUST CRAZY!

I would max out your companies rrsp/matching plan as much as possible. It's free money and it's definitely worth it!

Don't be jealous, the harder they work, the more money their boss makes. The harder you work, the more you potentially will make yourself.

anyones weed stock make any gain after cannabis 2.0?..


still kinda early IMO...

ya it is a nice benefit, definitely don't see why everyone doesn't but that's up to them