Weekend Reading – How to invest in your TFSA, passive income updates, top stocks to own this year and more!
Hi Everyone,
Welcome to my latest Weekend Reading edition where I share some of my favourite articles from the week that was across the personal finance and investing blogosphere.
You can find my previous Weekend Reading edition below!
Leading off this edition, some recent posts from yours truly:
I compared some great, low-cost 100% equity ETFs for set and forget investing when looking at VEQT, XEQT and HGRO funds.
I also shared my latest October dividend income update as we progress down the road towards semi-retirement in the coming years.
Below you’ll find some of my favourite reads and finds from the week that was.
All the best and enjoy your Weekend Reading edition. I’ll be back next week with a post about survivorship benefits from CPP and OAS – from a financial expert.
See you in the comments section!
Mark
Weekend Reads
Henry Mah cautioned us not to underestimate the damage caused to some investors when they react to short-term market volatility.
Rob from Canadian Passive Income highlighted some of his “forever holds” when it comes to his top-5 Canadian dividend paying stocks.
I have a few favourites myself, they are: TD, CAR.UN, CNR, FTS and Telus.
You can review a reader question I answered similarly on this subject on my newly minted FAQs page.
I will continue to add to that page over time!
Wow, well done Tawcan on his October 2020 dividend income update. I just posted my update above but I was busy writing, sharing and updating this 3,000+ word Financial Independence Plan.
Back to Bob Lai/Tawcan it was amazing to see his and his wife have invested some $30,000+ lately in these stocks and ETFs: ENB, TD, NA, low-cost ETF XAW and Canadian ETF VCN.
Dale Roberts was back to try and make sense of the markets this week.
He highlighted the top U.S. stocks to own this year that trounced the S&P 500 index. I bet you can guess those stocks!
He also shared this historical returns by asset class from Visual Capitalist. Love these infographics.
2021 TFSA contribution room is near!
As part of our financial goals, every year, we try and save up money to invest inside our Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA). This year is no different.
I’ll have an update on our 2020 financial goals soon but in the meantime, as you might consider saving and investing inside the TFSA for 2021 as well, here are some considerations for you:
If you tend to spend that RRSP-generated tax refund, the TFSA makes more sense.
Why maxing out the TFSA is always a great idea.
Now that you’ve maxed out your TFSA, here is how to take good advantage of it using low-cost diversified ETFs:
And finally, if you are wondering if you should transfer stocks from your non-registered account to your TFSA in 2021, that’s OK (I’ve done that too) just be mindful of any tax implications.
Should you sell this dividend stalwart? Is the dividend safe?
Mike Heroux was back to discuss one of Canada’s dividend darlings: Enbridge.
My answer: no, not selling. I will continue to hold this company just like I have for the last 10+ years.
Happy investing and see you in the comments section!
Mark
Mark
My name is Mark Seed - the founder, editor and owner of My Own Advisor. As my own DIY financial advisor, I'm looking to start semi-retirement soon, sooner than most. Find out how, what I did, and what you can learn to tailor your own financial independence path. Join the newsletter read by thousands each day, always FREE.
hi everybody,
I am looking to open a TSFA account where I can trade long Put and Call options. What options do I have?
I wish I could offer some takes, don’t trade here!
Thanks Mark,
Are you going to stay fully invested for the next 5-10 years?
The stock markets have blessed us with huge returns in the past 2 years and a drop will just bring returns back to the multi year averages.
Do you have a plan to lock in some profits here, like: trim positions, cover calls, collars?
Yup, staying investing and no plans to change/trim/sell major positions. I might trim some REITs a bit but that’s like a few hundred shares here or there. Nothing major to change for sure.
Count you P’s and Q’s when transferring equities from a non-registered account to your TFSA.
You can not take a loss on an equity when transferring. In that case you are actually better to sell the stock and transfer the money. Then you can claim the loss.
The opposite is not true though. If you have a gain on the stock at the time of the transfer you will be assessed for a cap gain.
No logic to it but that is the way it is.
RICARDO
Correct. I believe the same thing and wrote about it on my site before. You’re better to claim the capital loss if you have one, carry-forward, vs. in-kind transfer.
How are you investing in the TFSA for 2021?
Correct me if I am wrong but I believe that you can not sell for the loss and then transfer the money to your TFSA and re-purchase the same stock. You have to wait, I believe, three months before you can purchase the same stock. Otherwise you loose the ability to claim the lose.
This would only apply if you wanted to claim the lose but still wanted to hold the stock for a potential comeback. A lot can change in a three month waiting period.
RICARDO
I recall there is a superficial loss rule on that one – they do apply to TFSA and RRSP. re: if you sold a stock, you can’t buy back that same stock within 30 days.
Yes, lots can change in a few days, weeks or months!
TFSA feels like a gift from the government, and it does not usually give out gifts. still trying to figure out the catch while i’m working to max it out! For RRSP i have big concerns. A lot of information on the web, but it is rarely mentioned that you lose favorable taxation of divs and capital gains. I was staying away until i saw your blog. now planning to deploy it for the US portion of my portfolio.
Andrey, I do think the TFSA is an absolute gift of an account. I mean, tax-free income and growth? Where is that possible other than your home/primary residence?
You do lose the favourable taxation with CDN dividend paying stocks and you do lose capital gains reporting essentially since the TFSA offers tax-free money 🙂
Nothing wrong with U.S. portfolio portion. Just beware of withholding taxes on U.S. assets. The IRS doesn’t see the TFSA as a retirement account.
I’m a bit of a contrarian to your readers. We are in the RRSP camp and have comparatively very little in our TFSAs. We will eventually max them out by that tax advantage of the RRSP is part of our tax strategy right now with real estate.
Good stuff Maria. I could be wrong, but I suspect you haven’t fully taken advantage of the TFSA yet because you’re focused on building your portfolio (re: RE) in other ways? You can’t do it all – right? 🙂
First thing I do every January: max out RRSP, TFSA and RESP.
Excellent work!
Thanks for the mention Mark! Really surprised to see us getting more than $2,700 in dividend income in October. 🙂
Very impressive!!
Love your picks for dividend stocks Mark! Normally when I try to find “dividend stocks”, I look at the historical performance and they all seem mediocre but the 5 you pointed out all have good historical growth AND a decent dividend. Good stuff!
Thanks Jeff! Happy reading the site and let me know if you have more questions!
We still have room to maximize the RRSP. Once this is over, TFSA will be next. It doesn’t mean we are leaving TFSA behind, as every month, we transfer a small portion to let the money grow tax-free.
Thanks for the update, Mark. I will check the 5I’s promo.
Feel free! And if any questions about any promos, talk to the companies directly and mention my site 🙂
I feel TFSAs to be maxed first are best for me/us but at the end of the day, tax-free (TFSA) and/or tax-deferred (RRSP) investing is outstanding.
How is your Brazil condo build coming along?
Thank you, Mark. I will do that 🙂
We have lots of contribution room, and felt the need to reduce the tax bill. In the next two years this will change, and the focus will be TFSA.
The condo will be ready in December. Unfortunately, we won’t be there to get the keys, but hopefully next year we will visit. Wait for the pics 🙂
Stay safe!
I’ll looking forward to your pics for sure 🙂 Stay well back and stay in touch.
Can’t go wrong with maxing out the TFSA, I usually end up maxing out the new year’s contribution room early in the year. Have a good weekend Mark
-Danish
Nope, TFSA is a great retirement account!
Great advice to max out TFSA as early as possible at the beginning of the year, with quality DG stocks. Thanks for the mention.
Welcome!