I have no RRSPs, my tax planning is a little more complicated than most peoples. Some reasons not to have RRSPs:
- My Dad is the most frugal person I know, he is living on his pension, and saving a ton of money every year. He has a paid off house, no car, no new clothes, no hobbies, and eats cheap food. His RRSPs will soon require that he be withdrawing the cash, but he has no need for it, he could live on half the pension. When I look at his life, I think that he should have had more fun, not saved more.
- Other investments can show better returns, even with the tax savings. There are numerous tax advantages to operating a small business, including a large (and likely to increase) capital gains exemption. The beauty of real estate is that you can buy with a lot of leverage and make a very large return. Tom Vu was right.