Working in the Canadian entertainment industry is exciting. But the work may not always be steady. You might have a good stretch of projects and then things slow down. Not knowing when things will get busy again can be stressful emotionally and financially. One way to avoid the stress is to set up an easy “between gigs” money saving strategy. The TFSA, or Tax Free Savings Account, is an ideal solution because your money will grow tax free and you can access your money tax free.
Here’s how to get started.
First, get a clear idea of your monthly fixed expenses. For example, how much is your rent, utilities, transportation costs and how much do you spend on groceries. Now, when it comes to other expenses, what can you give up (i.e. coffee shop, streaming services) and what must you have (i.e. utilities). All this information can be the basis of a rough budget and and the base of your saving strategy. (The CEIRP website has several articles about creating a budget.)
Next, open your TFSA on mycanadalifeatwork.com. When it’s open, you can transfer money from your online bank account as a bill payment. In the bill set up screen, do a payee search for “Canada Life Group TFSA”, enter in your group number (62724) and your certificate number, then “save”.
Now that your account is open, set the amount you want to save based on your monthly expenses that you listed in step one. For the sake of simplicity, let’s say your total amount is $2500. Ideally, you want to save at least four to six months of this amount.
So, 2500 x 4 is $10,000, or 2500 x 6 is $15,000.
Next, set up regular transfers into the “between gigs” TFSA. If you’re currently on a six-month gig, and you want to put aside $15,000, divide the amount weekly or bi-weekly for the period of your current project. The best thing about having the TFSA “bill payment” is that you can set it up as a recurring bill and then it’s effortlessly transferred — set it and forget it.
Need more help? Call Canada Life at 1-855-729-1839 (Until June 1, when this new number 1-833-531-6418, goes into effect on that date.)
Here’s a quick cheat sheet about the TFSA:
- TFSA stands for the Tax Free Savings Account
- Anyone can have an account—almost: Any Canadian resident, 18 years old and up, can contribute to a TFSA.
- Annual limit: In 2025, the contribution limit for TFSA is $7000. The lifetime cumulative contribution limit this year is $102,000.
- Withdraw funds with ease: Unlike an RRSP, a TFSA is a registered savings product that will allow you to make withdraws anytime tax free.
- Tax-free, but also Tax-receipt-free: Unlike an RRSP, you will not receive a tax receipt for your investments. The tax savings occurs at the source (i.e. salary) and you will not be required to pay taxes on earned interest.
- To learn more, visit our website.
