Feline-nance

Personal finance… via cats. Let’s talk money. Meowny, if you will.

Note: I know hypoallergenic breeds are a bit of a myth, but just roll with it for the sake of the Venn, mmkay? Don’t @ me, bro.

Most people use their Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) as a savings account only. I don’t blame them since, you know, ‘savings’ is directly in the title—even though a TFSA is an investing boon. Maybe the government thought ‘TFSIA’ didn’t exactly roll off the tongue?

The beauty of the TFSA is that you can make money on it: whatever investment gains you earn are yours, tax-free. Free. FREE. Very few things in this world are now, bar when an onion ring slips into your fries order. Score.

The average rate of return on stock market investments is around 7% a year. Our American friends at NerdWallet suggest up to 10% pre-inflation, but we’ll go conservative for now. Surprise surprise, we can’t predict the annual rates, ‘dem slippery things. Maybe that skill will come with my Smell-O-Vision and teleportation abilities one day.

Let’s say you contributed the maximum amount for the year, which is $7000 for 2026:

$7000 * 7% (0.07) = $490. 

That’s almost $500 that you wouldn’t have had before, versus keeping your money in a regular savings account whose rates are microscopically low. CBC reported in 2023 that Canada’s top banks offered rates between 0.01 and 0.035 on their basic savings accounts. (Big 5 Bank rate? What rate? I don’t see a rate. Oh.) Unless you’ve got a thing for nickels, that’s not much.

The government instituted the TFSA in 2009 for anyone who was 18+ at the time. If you’re part of the Oldest Millennial group—*cough* like me *cough*—it’s possible you have a contribution room of $95,000.

If you maxed that out, that’s up to $6650 in annual tax-free money:

$95,000 * 7% (0.07) = $6650.

You can invest in whatever works for you, from mutual funds and Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and stocks. Just don’t use your TFSA for day trading. You’ll get in big trouble for that, yeesh.

For more info on the TFSA, Wealthsimple has a super handy article, aptly titled Everything You Need to Know About Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs).

The proverbial yarn ball is in your court.

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