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9 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,D ecem ber 13,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca How do you contribute to your registered retire- ment savings plan (RRSP) and your tax-free savings account (TFSA)? Do you make regular contribu- tions through the year? Do you contribute when a friend or family member nudges you? Do you re- member to do so when your professional advisor re- minds you? Or do you want to make up for last year when you forgot to invest in or top up your RRSP or TFSA? It really doesn't matter what motivates you to con- tribute to your RRSP or TFSA - what matters is that you do make regular con- tributions. Here's why: Investment experts agree: An RRSP is the best retirement savings strate- gy for most Canadians. Your contributions and all the investment earnings that accumulate in your plan are tax exempt until you start using the money in retirement. Add in the fact that your contribu- tions can be used to reduce taxes and the magic of com- pounding that enhances RRSP growth over time and it's easy to see why a registered plan makes such good financial sense. To get the most in imme- diate tax savings and long- term growth from your RRSP, always make your maximum contribution each year. For 2018 the maximum RRSP contribu- tion is $26,230 (Contribu- tion room is based on your previous year income, how much you can contribute can be found on your most recent notice of assess- ment from the Canada Rev- enue Agency). The RRSP contribution deadline for the 2018 tax year is March 1, 2019. If you have any un- used contribution room left over from previous years, fill it up as quickly as possible for maximum long-term tax-deferred growth and additional tax savings. Your RRSP contri- bution tax deduction can be carried forward to fu- ture tax years, which can be useful if you expect a jump in income in the next few years. TFSAs are an excellent and flexible way to save. You put your money into a TFSA and you get your money back out - at any time, for any purpose. With a TFSA, there is no tax de- duction for your contribu- tions but all TFSA invest- ment earnings are totally tax-free and will not trig- ger clawbacks on federal tax credits or benefits pro- grams (such as the Guar- anteed Income Supple- ment, Old Age Security, Age Credit, GST Credit, or Canada Child Benefit). The current annual maximum TFSA contribution is $5,500 plus the full amount of any previous year with- drawals. If you don't use all your contribution room right away, it accumulates year after year - fill it up any time you want. By the way, your TFSA contribu- tions do not affect your RRSP contribution room. There's no doubt that regular contributions to a RRSP and TFSA are vital to your financial future. Your professional advisor can help you get the most from a RRSP, a TFSA and every other element of your over- all financial plan. This column is provided by McEachnie Group Pri- vate Wealth Management. Contact Russ McEachnie, CFP, CPCA, CDFA, RRC at 519-886-2360 ext. 6241 or russell.mceachnie@igpri- vatewealth.com. WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR RRSP OR TFSA? OPINION YOUROPINIONS SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA RUSSELL MCEACHNIE EXPLAINS WHY YOU SHOULD CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR RRSP OR TFSA REGULARLY RUSS MCEACHNIE Column Kate Dickson, a Grade 10 student at Waterloo Colle- giate Institute, is one of 250 students participating in the National Ballet of Can- ada's production of The Nutcracker, which plays at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, Dec. 8-30. As a parent at the K-W Bilingual School, where Kate was a student along- side my daughters, I saw her dedication and strict commitment to dance. I am so proud to see Kate now performing - for the second year in a row - on a world- class stage, and I asked her what it's like. "The atmosphere of the Four Seasons is over- whelming as it is such a big stage and knowing there are so many people watch- ing," said Kate, who has been dancing at the Con- temporary School of Dance in Waterloo for the past 12 years, taking classes in ev- erything from ballet, pointe, and jazz to contem- porary, hip hop and musi- cal theatre. Seeing The Nutcracker, now in its 23rd year with unforgettable music by Tchaikovsky, has become a holiday tradition for mil- lions. One of the many strik- ing aspects about the Na- tional Ballet's production is the elaborate costuming, and I asked Kate what it's like to perform in the unique stage attire. "It is physically de- manding because the cos- tumes that we wear are so heavy and they heat up quickly," she said. "When you're practicing in the stu- dio you think nothing of it, but as soon as you put on the costume it is really heavy and challenging to do many of the moves, es- pecially jumping." Having seen both Kate and my oldest daughter perform in K-W Bilingual School's Operetta, I can't even imagine the excite- ment backstage at a perfor- mance the size and scale of the The Nutcracker, I told Kate. "Backstage is really big, like twice the size of the ac- tual stage," she said. Then there's the massive Christmas tree that towers over the entire stage. "It takes about eight-10 people to push out the giant Christmas tree," said Kate. "It is on a track and they have to push it out and can't really stop it, so everyone has to clear out of the way." I asked Kate if the shows, from a dancer's per- spective, feel different from night to night over the course of 26 performances. "The first show is al- ways the hardest, making sure you remember every- thing," she said. "But after the first show it becomes a lot easier and by the time the last show comes you don't really feel that ner- vous." I have great admiration for young performers like Kate, who face their nerves head-on for the sake of en- tertaining audiences through live performance. There's a special magic that happens when per- formers onstage can trans- port an audience to a fanta- sy world, and I know that Kate and her fellow danc- ers in The Nutcracker will leave audiences spell- bound. Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Email is welcome at mar- shall_ward@hotmail.com. DANCING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND WATERLOO STUDENT KATE DICKSON PERFORMS IN 'THE NUTCRACKER,' WRITES MARSHALL WARD MARSHALL WARD Column Kate Dickson dances in the National Ballet of Canada's holiday tradition, The Nutcracker. Hilary Gauld Camilleri/Photo SUBMIT YOUR HOLIDAY BAZAARS AT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA