The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) was introduced in the February 2008 Federal Budget and will be available January 1, 2009. It is touted by the Government of Canada as 'the single most important personal savings vehicle since the introduction of the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)' in 1957. As always, there are some rules:
It's been a long and volatile quarter in the financial world. Markets are taking most investors on a wild and sometimes frightening ride, the news about corporate failures and bailouts is confusing and the economic news is almost certainly disheartening.
As some in the media eagerly seek to assign blame for the current stock market turmoil, others are predicting a global doom reminiscent of the 1930s.
Despite the media's best efforts to draw comparisons between today and the Great Depression, there are KEY facts that often get overlooked.
Our parents raised us; we moved out, had children of our own and raised them. Then our children moved out and had children of their own to raise. It was supposed to stop there for us, but then one day we had to look after one or both of our parents.
According to a 2007 survey by Market Probe Canada, 38% of those between age 35 and 75 have already provided long term care to a family member or friend. www.Howtocare.com suggests that we may spend as many years caring for a parent as we did raising a child.