Now that you have followed rule Number 1, it is time to put Rule # 2 into action. MAKE YOUR SAVINGS WORK AS HARD AS YOU DO! If you have followed Rule 1, you should have some money sitting in a Savings Account.
Here is a list of investments from lowest to highest where you can have your money working. Savings Account, GIC, Mutual Funds, Stocks. Let’s look at each one, to see how SAFE it is, how it works, and the return.
A Savings account will give you some interest, especially if it is a high-interest savings account. the current non‑promotional High Interest Saving Accounts landscape. (typical ranges)
• 2.75%–2.85%: Saven Financial, EQ Bank Notice Accounts, Oaken Financial
• 2.25%–2.60%: Neo, Wealthsimple, WealthONE, Canadian Tire Bank
• 1.75%–2.30%: Maxa, Hubert, Outlook, Achieva
• 0.30%–1.50%: Big‑bank standard HISAs (TD, RBC, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC)
Promotional rates (4.5%–4.75%) exist but only apply for a few months and don’t reflect the true ongoing average. This is BOLD because these are the advertised rates for switching institutions, and as BAIT. These rates are short term (2-6 months). Let’s put some numbers to this. If you have $1000.00 in the account, at 2.85% you would get $28.50 in one year. At .30% you would get $3.00. Your money is not working very hard. How ever. There is almost NO chance that you will loose any money you have invested.
The next level of Investing is the GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate.) Take the Guaranteed part with a grain of salt. The only thing that is guaranteed is the principle amount of the investment. These also have an amount of time you need to keep them for. These times range from 6 months to 5 years. The interest rates change with the length of time. The longer the time, usually the higher the rate. Average GIC Rates in Ontario (Non‑Redeemable, Non‑Registered)
1‑Year GICs; Typical range: 3.0% – 3.4%
2‑Year GICs; Typical range: 3.2% – 3.6%
3‑Year GICs; Typical range: 3.3% – 3.7%
4‑Year GICs; Typical range: 3.4% – 3.75%
5‑Year GICs; Typical range: 3.6% – 3.8%
With GICs your return on $1000.00 is from $30.00 to $38.00 a year. If you invest for more than a year, the previous years interest is added on to the principle and you get interest on that interest in the next year. Good for you. But be cautious. If you take out the money before the term is up, you will only get the interest for each completed term. Example. If you have a 5 year term and you take your money out half way through year 4, you will only get interest for the full 3 years you had the GIC. These 2 investments are very safe. These also require very little effort on your part. Your money is not working that hard.
The next step is Mutual Funds. Now you will start using the services of a “Financial Planner. (Mutual Fund Sales person). There are about 7000 individual Mutual Funds for sale in Ontario. This does not include ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) You can buy ETFs without a Mutual Fund Sales person. There are over 1600 ETFs available in Canada. At this point it is very helpful to have more than just a limited understanding of investing. Mutual Funds and ETFs are the first investments where you can loose money. Please Note, Mutual Funds are designed to have a minimal Down side. 
Now we have to talk about the relationship of Risk versus Reward. The Lower the Risk, the Lower the potential Return. The higher the Risk, the Higher the potential reward. This is a LAW of Money. No exceptions!
Your Financial Planner will do a Risk Analysis when they first meet you. Basically, how much sleep will you loose if your investment goes down. It is advised that the younger you are the more high risk Funds you can have. As you get older you would shift into less riskier Funds. The High risk early is because you will have time to recoup any losses. Personally I would recommend a Fund that generates a minimum of 6% a year, pays out earnings every month, and has a low MER. (Management Expense Ratio) The MER is how much money comes out of the value of the fund to pay for costs. (Trade commissions, and Sales commissions.) Your Representative can show you the funds they have that meet these criteria. Mutual Funds are designed to be held for the long term (20 years). This type of investing requires little work on your part once you have chosen your Funds.
Fund returns over the last 2 years look like this: This is an average across all major fund categories. Individual categories varied significantly:
• Canadian bond funds: ~2% annualized
• Money market funds: ~1.8% annualized
• Balanced funds: ~5.7% annualized
• Canadian equity funds: ~10.1% annualized
• U.S. equity funds: ~12.7% annualized
The Risk Reward applies. Bond and Money Market Funds are very low risk. Low return. Very safe investments. As you go down the list the risk increases. Equity (Stocks) Funds are the more risky. But in my opinion not as risky as Crypto Funds.
Buying Individual Stocks (Equities) I believe this is one of the best ways to make your money work for you. But it requires a lot of work and attention on your part. If you want to get started, my strongest suggestion is that you open an online PRACTICE account and practice only with an amount you can actually invest. Most practice accounts give you $100,000.00 to play with. This is not realistic. The investing you would do with $100,000.00 is very different than what you would do with $1000.00. Take every online course that your Bank offers and ask people who do it for help.
One of the easiest ways to get started is to buy Canadian Dividend Paying stocks. Sign up for the Dividend Re Investment Plan (DRIP) of each stock that offers it. This is one of the best ways to build wealth. Under the Courses and Tool tab, lookup and download the lists of Canadian Dividend stocks. There are 2 lists. One for monthly paying stocks and one for quarterly paying stocks. I personally prefer the Monthly paying stocks. There several posts on Dividend stocks on the site. I would also do this in a TFSA account.
What ever you do, make your money work as hard as you are comfortable with.