Opening the Account Is Not the Same as Investing It

Shane Hewitt and The Nightshift · Apr 8, 2026 · 9m

Young people and money is a conversation that usually starts with what to open. Anita Bruinsma says the more important conversation is what happens after. Most people open their TFSA, make the contribution, and stop. The money sits earning 0.2 percent. Step two is getting it invested and a lot of people never take step two.

What does it feel like to find out you have had a savings account for five years and lost ground to inflation because you thought putting money in was the whole thing? The order matters too: for most people in their early twenties, first home savings account first, TFSA…