How I'd Structure My TFSA With $21,000 for Consistent Monthly Income

How I’d Structure My TFSA With $21,000 for Consistent Monthly Income

Here’s why TFSA investors should consider owning monthly dividend stocks such as Whitecap and RioCan REIT right now.

Aditya Raghunath

Aditya Raghunath joined the Motley Fool Canada team in 2019 and has close to seven years of experience in covering publicly-listed companies. With a post-graduate degree in finance, Aditya aims to educate and engage Canadians by writing extensively about growth, dividend, and value stocks. If you are considering investing in the stock market, he recommends reading The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham before taking the plunge.

Published October 30, 2025 3:45 pm EDT

Canadians looking to build a low-cost, passive-income stream should consider investing in stocks that pay monthly dividends. Further, these qualified investments can he held in a TFSA (Tax-Free Savings Account), making dividend payouts and capital gains tax-free for life.

So, let’s see how I’d structure my TFSA with $21,000 for a consistent monthly income in 2025 and beyond.

Piggy bank with word TFSA for tax-free savings accounts. — Source: Getty Images

Is this TSX dividend stock a good buy?

Valued at a market cap of $12.88 billion, Whitecap Resources (TSX: WCP) is engaged in the development of petroleum and natural gas properties in Western Canada. Its development programs are primarily located in northern Alberta, British Columbia, central Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Whitecap has increased its annual dividend per share from $0.21 in 2021 to $0.73 in 2025, which indicates a forward yield of almost 7%.

Whitecap Resources delivered impressive third-quarter results following its acquisition of Veren. In the third quarter (Q3), Whitecap produced 376,230 barrels of oil equivalent (Boe) per day. This strong operational performance prompted management to raise full-year guidance to 305,000 BoE per day.

Whitecap now projects $300 million in combined synergies for 2026, a 40% increase from the original $210 million estimate. These gains break down into three categories:

$130 million from capital efficiencies through better procurement and rig optimization
$135 million from operating cost reductions
$35 million from corporate savings, including lower general expenses and interest costs

Management expects capital expenditures of between $2 billion and $2.1 billion, below the initial forecast of $2.6 billion. Whitecap attributed the lower guidance to improved capital efficiency of 10%, while maintaining its production guidance of 370,000 to 375,000 BOE per day. It expects to exit 2026 producing over 380,000 BOE per day, delivering 3% per-share production growth.

Whitecap expects to generate $1.2 billion in free cash flow in 2026, which indicates a dividend payout ratio of less than 75%. Analysts forecast its free cash flow to increase to $1.46 billion in 2029, making it one of the top dividend stocks to own in October 2025.

Is this TSX REIT a good buy?

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: REI.UN) is another monthly dividend stock you should add to your watchlist today. The REIT owns, manages, and develops necessity-based and mixed-use properties in densely populated communities. It ended Q2 with 178 properties and an aggregate net leasable area of approximately 32 million square feet.

In Q2 of 2025, RioCan reported FFO (funds from operations) of $0.47 per unit, a 9.3% increase from the prior year, driven by robust leasing activity and operational efficiency gains.

The REIT’s leasing momentum remains robust with new leasing spreads reaching 51.5% and blended spreads hitting 20.6% for the quarter. Management executed 1.3 million square feet of leases while maintaining committed retail occupancy at 98.2%.

These spreads reflect strong demand for quality retail space in major Canadian markets where RioCan properties average 277,000 people and $155,000 household income within a five-kilometre radius.

Same-property net operating income grew 4% after adjusting for prior year provisions and settlements. Around 85% of RioCan’s properties are anchored by grocery tenants, which provides stability during economic uncertainty.

Management emphasized that the limited supply of premium retail space, combined with high barriers to new construction, creates favourable conditions for sustained growth.

The balance sheet continues to strengthen with adjusted debt-to-EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) improving to 8.88 times.

Management expects to repatriate between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion in capital through 2026, including proceeds from RioCan Living asset sales valued at $1 billion, plus presold condominium closings.

Year to date, the company deployed $100 million buying back 5.6 million units at an average price of $17.99, viewing this as attractive given the net asset value of $24.89 per unit.

RioCan is forecast to increase its annual dividend per share from $1.11 in 2024 to $1.16 in 2025 and $1.19 in 2027. This indicates a forward yield of 6.2% which is quite attractive.