Short-term investing (over the next five years or so)
Your short-term investment goals might include a new car, a down payment on a home or saving for a child’s education.
There are many ways to invest for the short term, like guaranteed investment certificates, mutual funds, stocks and fixed-income securities like government or corporate bonds. Before you invest, make sure you’ll be able to access your money when you need it.
A good strategy is to take advantage of registered plans, like a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). You can hold all of the investments we mentioned above within registered plans, and they have tax advantages over non-registered accounts.
Investment income isn’t taxed in a TFSA, so your portfolio grows tax free. When you withdraw from your TFSA, your withdrawal is also not taxed. And to ensure you can keep saving, whatever you take out of your TFSA is added to your contribution room the following year.