First time Investor - TFSA questions

[AppleJack83]

Hi All.. I have been lurking on these forums and have learned a great deal. I am starting to get my and my husband's finances organized to be able work towards FIRE. I will probably eventually post a full Case study. Right now, we have scraped together $10K and would like to open a TFSA but I am not sure where to start. I am overwhelmed with the options.  I plan on using the TFSA as additional savings for retirement. My RRSP will be maxed by end of next year ( my plan prohibits lump sum contributions, so I am making 25% + 7% company match payroll deductions until it is maxed). DH is currently contributing 20% plus 5% company match to his. Our only debts are the HBP (15 years remaining, will be paid in full this year) and mortgage ($154,000, 3.99%, 22 years remaining) on which we have started making extra payments.

Do you have any recommendations on where I should start to open TFSA? Or books that are geared towards a Canadian first time investor?

Thanks in advance, if any other details are needed, please let me know and I will update.

[Mmm_Donuts]

Do you manage your investments in your rrsp yourself? Do you need investment advice, or something more basic?

Any bank will open a self directed TFSA for you. I opened mine wih TD, but others here use Questtrade because you can purchase etfs for free. (Most banks charge around $10 per trade.)

For investment advice, I would check out Canadian Couch Potato website, or Andrew Hallam's book, Millionaire Teacher. Both offer advice from a Canadian perspective.

Something to keep in mind is that you need to look at your portfolios as a whole. A good place to start, then, is for you to develop an Investment Plan and establish asset allocations including all accounts (I.e. Your and your husbands RRSPs and both of your TFSAs.)

https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Investment_policy_statement

[RichMoose]

Start with establishing an investment plan. You need to recognize that the TFSA is a retirement savings account, just like the RRSP. It is not an account at the bank where you put your money in at 1% interest like the commercials suggest.

Once you've established an investment plan, fund a self-directed TFSA with a bank. I personally feel that RBC Direct and Questrade are the better options for Canadians with Questrade getting the edge where many small amounts are invested frequently using ETFs.

[AppleJack83]

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. I spent some time today looking at questrade and will spend some time this weekend looking at investment plan. Looking forward to beginning this journey.