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9 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,January 3,2019 insidehalton.com Injured? For 15 years our Oakville lawyers have helped accident victims recover fair compensation for their injuries. Call today for a no-obligation consultation 905.337.9568 1200 Speers Rd., Unit 12, Oakville, Ont. L6L 2X4 (905) 845 - 1408 | Fax (905) 845 - 5931 | ricky@rickywong.ca Ricky Wong CPA, CA, MBA, B. Eng Ricky WongRicky W DIAMONDDIDIDIDIDIAMAMAMAMAMONONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONONONONONDDD DIAMONDDIDIDIDIDIAMAMAMAMAMONONONONONONONDDD Voted BestAccountant by Oakville Beaver Readers for 11 ConsecutiveYears For more information please check our website www.rickywong.ca •Accounting •Auditing • Taxation Return to the Metroland Media by January 14th. 901 Guelph Line Burlington ON L7R 3N8 or enter online: http://www.insidehalton.com or scan and email to frudder@starmetroland.com Rules of Entry: (For Complete List of Rules See Reception or www.insidehalton.com) ONE ENTRY PER PERSON Submit a photo of your Pet and enter toWin a $25Gift Certificate! Name of Pet: Your Name: Address: Phone: I have read and agree to the Full Contest Rules & Regulations (y/n) I have read and understand the full Privacy Policy (y/n) I would like to receive notices, communications, promotional offers and other information that may be of interest to me from Metroland Media. Please contact us for information. You can unsubscribe at any time. (y/n) FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED SINCE 1932 Call us today! (905) 829-1296 atlascare.ca Happy NewYear The Fastest Emergency Service in the GTA Understanding how best to use a tax free sav- ings account could prove to be very profitable. Let's start with the news. The annual contri- bution limit has increased for 2019 to $6,000, up from $5,500 for the previous three years. Contributions to a tax free savings account (TFSA) are not income tax deductible like those to a registered retirement sav- ings plan (RRSP). However, unlike a RRSP there is no tax liability when funds are withdrawn. That has benefits. If you withdraw TFSA funds while you have a relatively high income, then any withdrawn money will not increase your tax liability. Also, if you invest TFSA funds in stocks that appre- ciate over time then you can eventually withdraw significantly more funds than you invested, also tax free. That brings us to a mis- take many people make when deciding how to in- vest within their TFSA. In- vesting for a long-term with low paying fixed in- come options, like a bank savings account, is a lost opportunity. Yes, you will be able to withdraw funds tax free de- cades down the road, but a low yielding investment will only produce a small gain. Instead, choose an in- vestment that will have a good likelihood of paying more impressive returns. The key here is your in- vesting time frame. If you are investing for a long pe- riod, you have time to re- cover from any losses caused by stock market volatility. However, if you will need these funds in just a few years you would not have time to recover from a notable stock market de- cline. In most cases short- term investing is better with lower paying invest- ments that are not subject to sudden and significant declines in value. TFSAs offer important benefits and as said at the start of this column, they can be very profitable. I encourage you to un- derstand how a TFSA can best be used in your per- sonal circumstances. Peter Watson, of Peter Watson Investments MBA, CFP®, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI offers a weekly financial planning column, Dollars & Sense. He can be contact- ed through www.peterwat- soninvestments.com. UNDERSTANDING TAX FREE SAVINGS ACCOUNTS CAN BE PROFITABLE LIMIT HAS GONE UP $500 FOR 2019, WRITES PETER WATSON OPINION PETER WATSON Column Got plans for the weekend? FIND MORE LOCAL EVENTS ONLINE AT INSIDEHALTON.COM