Tax free savings accounts are good. anything to help save money on taxes. i'm glad the government implemented these to make people want to save their money

this country is going to go bankrupt if people don't get their act together and start looking out for themselves. i read in the paper that canadians are still increasing their debt level. you would think they would learn by now!!

Emergency funds like Fast loans should only prefer in emergency because they have high interest rate.

You have to send them cheques to link accounts.

Question: has anybody dealt with ING Direct? Has anybody used their tax-free savings account?

the question I have is, if you set up an account with ING direct, how do you send them the money, and how you receive the money back if you want to make withdrawals? Can this all be done online or do you have to send them a cheque?

"that those dollars can be re-deposited down the road without the contribution room being affected. "

That is what is amazing about the TFSA. Most people dismiss it as just something insignificant but it is one of the greatest wealth building tools out there. More so for young people but still not bad for middle aged as well.

Here's an article that arrived in my inbox today comparing the TSFA & RRSP savings methods. Increased marginal tax rate in the retirement years, and how the TSFA can be of more benefit is discused.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/rrsp/tfsa-trumps-rrsp-report-says/article1446307/

With respect to my gains, well, a year or so ago I opened my TSFA and sunk a good chunk of change into a company that I had followed for years, but had been beaten up after a nasty eco-incident. Anyway, company is almost fully back on track and that's reflected in their share price - hence the gains I was talking about. I'm holding out for another 200% return on top of where I'm at now; I expect within another year I'll see those numbers, too. It's alrady nice to know that any funds can be withdrawn tax-free, and, that those dollars can be re-deposited down the road without the contribution room being affected.

Nice. That is what I like to see in a TFSA. I had a similar gain in my TFSA. The philosophy behind investing in an account like this is to be aggressive. You want to build room more than anything else. This year was a very good year as there were at least two sure shot picks so I expect a lot of people will have 200-400% returns. In the future it likely won't be as easy. Once I get the size big enough to have sufficient scale I plan to start an options strategy but that is likely at least a year away.

That's a big gain.

My TSFA is with Trade Freedom. The investments (stocks) within have gone up substantially over the past year and a bit.

Joe, I'm surprised you would have questioned my enthusiasm. After all, why would anyone get a hard-on over a 2% gain? Geezz... ;-)

Are you sure its not 2.00% and not 200%.