Should Eleanor invest her $20,000 in a TFSA or RRSP?

Eleanor wants to split $20,000 between a dividend fund and a bond fund and naturally assumes the type of income should steer whether each one lives in her TFSA or her RRSP. This piece gently corrects that instinct. While money is growing inside either account, it explains, dividends, interest and capital gains all compound without tax, so the character of the income doesn't tip the decision the way people expect. What actually matters is your tax rate when you put money in versus when you take it out. If you'll be in a lower bracket in retirement, the RRSP tends to come out ahead; if higher, the TFSA does; and if the rates match, the two are a wash. It's a clarifying read for anyone who's been overthinking which investment belongs in which account.