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carrick on money

One of the most notable personal-finance changes for 2019 is the increase in the annual contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts to $6,000 from $5,500. The Globe and Mail’s TFSA calculator has been updated accordingly.

The calculator is designed to show how much money you’re on track to make in your TFSA over time, based on how much you have in your account now and how much you plan to contribute in the future. If you’re not contributing the maximum every year, it shows how much extra you could make if you did reach the yearly contribution limit.

We recognize that people use their TFSAs differently, so you can get a projection for a TFSA that is based on investments or a savings account. We’ve selected 5 per cent as our default investment return, but you can change that to suit your own situation. Our default savings rate is 1 per cent, which can also be adjusted.

The calculator shows that the cumulative amount of contribution room since TFSAs were launched in 2009 is $63,500. I encourage you to play around with our TFSA tool to see how you can maximize its potential to generate tax-free wealth.

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Rob’s personal finance reading list…

Millennials vs. boomers

Saturday Night Live has some fun with the generational tensions between young adults trying to establish themselves in today’s economy and the boomer generation. Gen Xers get mocked as well.

How to save money on family vacations

Budget travel expert Barry Choi offers a bunch of useful tips for shaving costs while travelling with the family.

Retirement for low-income Canadians

Social-policy expert John Stapleton believes there should be a “disclaimer” for low-income retirees when retirement advice is provided. Read here to find out why.

The frustrating thing about pensions

People who belong to a company pension get better returns on their outside investments, research from Statistics Canada shows. However, the percentage of workers covered by company pensions is on the decline and reached just 37.5 per cent in 2016, the most recent year for which there are numbers.

Today’s financial tool/app

Here’s a list of the best budgeting apps for Canadians. It’s like “having your own personal financial manager.”

Ask Rob

Q: I have forwarded your newsletters to my two daughters and adult grandkids – some very good advice for them. As an 85-year-old, I wonder about getting information/advice about my financial concerns.

A: Retirees and people approaching retirement are really important to the Globe personal finance team. Here’s a web page that collects our recent stories and columns on retirement.

Do you have a question for me? Send it my way. Sorry I can’t answer every one personally. Questions and answers are edited for length and clarity.

In case you missed these Globe and Mail personal finance-related stories

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