[rogermexico]

Hi all. I’m hoping to get a bit of advice on how to be smarter with the money I save.

I spent my twenties completely oblivious to saving. I had money at various points and was always good at finding new and exciting ways to just as quickly not have money.

In my thirties I got a little smarter. I started saving for a house and also regularly putting into an RRSP. That’s the extent of it though.

The last few years I’ve generally been able to save about 25-27% of what I’ve earned. 2 thirds of that I’ve just been socking straight into a high interest savings account for the house downpayment and the other third has been going into a Manulife group retirement plan from work.

This summer I’m going to be building the house I’ve been saving for. So once that milestone gets passed, I’ll be in a spot to be able to change my approach. But what I’ve really been learning is just how totally ignorant I am of how this stuff works. I do not have a good grasp on the terminology, and outside of a basic understanding of compound interest and that I ought to buy low and sell high, don’t know much about investing.

Assuming I keep saving roughly the same percentage of my income, what’s the smartest way to invest it?

I’m going to be getting a pretty good tax refund this year – should I peel a little bit off of that and invest it in some stocks?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!