There’s a bunch of people out there, including Gordon Pape, who want retail investors to think that investing in a RRSP account is valuable. You need to read the post I wrote yesterday to better understand why RRSP contribution is of no help when it comes to create financial health. It’s just too bad I wasn’t able to realize that a lot sooner. I am stuck with a 40k value stuck inside a RRSP that isn’t doing nothing for me, expect pushing later the tax payments.
Let’s start with Gordon Pape. Gordon Pape recently came with a RRSP portfolio investment idea. We find in it the very fabulous Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corporation (FC), a stock that I hold in my non-registered portfolio for a little while now following Gordon Pape recommendation. FC is a superbe wonderful stock, very reliable and the chart is a rocking rocket.
Great. But Gordon Pape has a darker side. Fact is, Gordon Pape is actively promoting RRSP account to screw up retail investors and to make good money by promoting a banking product (RRSP) simply made to make banks and government richer, but not individuals.
RRSP is a real industry. Banks had come with special loans design for the RRSP. Banks actively promoted those products in major marketing campaigns. And for what reason? To make money on the back of the middle class, on the 99%. On a salary of 40k+, if I make a RRSP contribution of 4k, I save about 1k in tax. I save 1k on a 4k investment, which means that it’s costing me a 4k out of my pockets to get back a 1k. The 4k will be put away, untouchable until I hit my seventies. Does it really worth it? Not really.
Fact is, once I hit my golden years, I will have to pay taxes on RRSP withdraws. At that time, with a bit of luck, the 4k invested today will worth much much more in 4 decades from now. And oh surprise, I will have to pay taxes on the 4k AND on all capital gain realized during those 4 decades... On top of that, the money hold in the RRSP will affect what the government will give me on my senior years.
So basically, for someone like me of the middle class, earning close to 45k yearly, it doesn’t worth it to invest in a RRSP for that specific reason. There’s no benefit to invest in a RRSP account.
And by the way, it’s not because you don’t invest in a RRSP account that you are not properly prepared for retirement, especially now that we have the TFSA.
On the other hand, a TFSA is a very powerful tool. I haven’t used all of my TFSA contribution room because I have a margin account on my non-registered account. For very practical reasons, I prefer to invest all cash available in my non-registered account. Why?
1) To increase the value of my margin account so I can use the margin money to pay off more debt of mine at a higher interest.
2) To secure my margin account situation (the more you have, the better).
3) To do numerous of operations without having to deal with the one withdraw TFSA rule that really suck at TD Waterhouse.
I guess those are the main reasons.
Also, while investing in a RRSP, the fact that I cannot access the money freely, whenever I want or feel like, and that suck too.
To celebrate the mediocrity of the RRSP account, I decided to invest a 1 000$ tomorrow in Crescent Point Energy Corp. (CPG) in my non-registered account (gotta bring that margin stronger) and not to contribute ever again to a RRSP. Gordon Pape? An author with sometime good stock picks, a pusher of the RRSP so banks and government can make a huge amount of money on my back. Oh yeah, Gordon Pape.
Gordon Pape.