YMMV, but I often advise my friends up north: 1. open a First Home Savings Account (FHSA) as it doesn't trigger a tax event when matured [tax free income captu

YMMV, but I often advise my friends up north: 1. open a First Home Savings Account (FHSA) as it doesn't trigger a tax event when matured [tax free income capture] 2. open a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) [tax free capital gains] when a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) [deferred income tax] event can hit you harder later 3. The returns on Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) are now well over 5.4%/18 months. Some report these near zero-risk products hitting over 6.2% in some places. Highest we've seen these in several decades, and a good choice to hold in a tax-efficient account if you don't have time to manage portfolios. 4. Chartered Banks have depositors insurance limits. If you are stuck with cash around for various reasons, than you will end up having accounts in each of these banks eventually. (lending institutions are a different risk, as they usually focus on insurance sales.) If you have the cash issue burning value due to inflation, than you may want to consider these options till you figure out a safer plan. If you have under $1m in a registered self-directed RRSP trading account (stocks/bond purchases), than the stock-market statistics are simply not in your favor. A legally bonded fiduciary financial advisor is the only people who are obligated to be honest with you, and can help match ETF/index-funds to your risk exposure profile. After many years, one will determine evil and or stupid people often affect your pocket book in pretty much the same manner. Always talk with a few people before triggering a financial commitment: your lawyer, commercial accountant, and __bonded__ __fiduciary__ financial advisor. It would be crass to suggest all banks externalize risky garbage-products on customers, but I have yet to meet one that didn't try. Best of luck, =)