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The deadline to contribute to your Registered Retirement Savings Plan, or RRSP, is February 29. But the financial situation for many this past year has been tough. Inflation, higher rates, hints of a recession-- it's a lot to deal with. So how do you prioritize where your money goes today and continue to contribute to your RRSP for the future? Manish Jain, Vice President, Personal Savings and Investing at TD, joins me now with more. Manish, thanks very much for joining us.

Thanks for having me here, Anthony.

OK, so the deadline is coming. Let's get into some of the benefits of an RRSP so people understand the value of continuing to contribute.

Yes. An RRSP is a savings plan that lets you save for retirement and offers special tax benefits for those that qualify. I'll share three main benefits of an RRSP. First, any contributions that are made within your contribution room are tax deductible and may help you to reduce the amount of income tax you pay for for that year.

Another benefit of RRSP is the qualifying income earned on the investments within your plan are tax deferred, as long as they stay within the RRSP. And lastly, if you earn more than your spouse or your common law partner, contributing to a spousal RRSP may also help you reduce the total amount of tax you pay.

Now, when it comes to 2023 tax year specifically, there is one key thing to remember, which is the contribution limit. And that's 18% of your earned income that was reported on your 2022 tax report or $30,780, whatever is lower, subject to certain adjustments.

OK, and how can someone contribute to their investments in an RRSP if they feel like their budget is stretched too tight?

See, you don't really have to feel the pressure of coming up with a big, large lump sum amount during the tax season. Consider taking advantage of recurring contributions through the preauthorized purchase plan. There are many advantages of doing that. It, of course, helps to avoid the hassle of coming up with one large lump sum amount. It also takes the guesswork out of timing the market for your lump sum purchase. And your investments continue to grow over time.

Like many things in life-- be it continuous education, regular exercise-- more you put in, more you may get out of it. And it works exactly the same way with investments as well.

OK, and finally, people, of course, are naturally inclined to deal with the problems of today. But you don't want to forget about planning for the future, because let's face it, you do face bills and expenses in retirement as well-- you know, utilities, health care, travel. So with all of that, how do people know if their finances are on track?

Yeah, see, the most important thing here is to have a tangible goal in mind. It's difficult to know whether you're on track or not if you don't know where you're going, what your destination is. Savings and investing can feel overwhelming at times, but a TD personal banker can help. A TD personal banker can help you build a roadmap using TD Goal Builder and provide you customized investment advice based on your personal financial goals and situation.

You can also track your progress online through EasyWeb, which is our online banking service, and can connect with us at any time to review or adjust your goals or add new ones. Remember, achieving your goals is not a sprint. It's a marathon. Meet with your TD personal banker at least annually to make sure that your plans and your goals and your plan to achieve them are up to date. And we are here for you through whichever channel that works best for you.

Manish, thanks again for joining us.

Thank you. [AUDIO LOGO]

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