How I’d Structure My TFSA With $14,000 for Constant Income

Two monthly payers can turn $14,000 in a TFSA into frequent cash deposits, but diversification and payout safety matter more than schedule.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband. Social Media Follow Amy on LinkedIn and Canada Stock Digest. Favorite Investment Quote “October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published August 7, 9:30 am EDT

| More on: EIFSRU.UN

Key Points

SmartCentres offers the higher yield, but its leverage and interest costs need close monitoring.
Exchange Income has stronger growth and improving cash flow coverage, but the yield is low after a big rally.
Together they’d generate about $588 yearly, though both dividends can still be cut.

Twenty-four cash deposits can arrive during one year from just two investments. That won’t replace a salary, yet it can turn a $14,000 Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) into a small income machine that shows up more often than most Canadian dividends.

Blocks conceptualizing Canada's Tax Free Savings Account — Source: Getty Images

Creating constant income

Before we begin, payment frequency shouldn’t be confused with safety. Just saying. A monthly dividend can still be reduced, while a quarterly dividend may grow for decades. Monthly payments simply make reinvesting easier and line up more neatly with bills that display admirable dedication to their schedules.

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) set the 2026 TFSA limit at $7,000, so investing $14,000 requires at least $7,000 of unused room from an earlier year. Unused room carries forward, investment growth inside a TFSA doesn’t consume new room, and withdrawals generally return as contribution room the next calendar year.

In that case, I’d split the money evenly between two monthly dividend stocks with different cash-flow drivers. One would collect rent from value-focused retailers. The other would earn money from aviation and manufacturing, preventing this tiny portfolio from asking one industry to behave perfectly.

The property-income anchor

SmartCentres REIT (TSX: SRU.UN) owns 200 properties containing value-oriented retail, offices, rental housing, and self-storage. Walmart-anchored shopping centres give the portfolio defensive traffic, while development projects offer growth beyond collecting rent from existing buildings.

First-quarter committed occupancy reached 97.6%, and rent on renewed leases rose 5.8% when anchor tenants were included. Its $1.85 annual distribution produces a 6.3% yield at $29.55. Higher interest costs pushed adjusted funds from operations (FFO) per unit down to $0.52, however, while adjusted debt remained 9.7 times adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). That leverage deserves supervision, which makes a second business essential.

The growthier monthly payer

Exchange Income (TSX: EIF) owns aerospace, aviation, and manufacturing businesses. Its subsidiaries provide essential air service, medevac flights, surveillance aircraft, communications equipment, environmental access mats, and precision-manufactured products. EIF stock’s an unusually busy collection of businesses, although that diversity helps cash flow avoid relying on one customer or economic trend.

First-quarter revenue increased 30% to $867 million, while free cash flow rose 48% to $120 million. The trailing payout ratio using free cash flow after maintenance spending improved to 57%, supporting a monthly dividend that increased 5% late last year. At $125.55, EIF stock’s $2.76 annual payment yields only 2.2% after a powerful share-price rally. Acquisition integration, defence-contract timing, tariffs, and that expensive valuation are the trade-offs.

What $14,000 could pay

COMPANY	RECENT PRICE	NUMBER OF SHARES	ANNUAL DIVIDEND	ANNUAL TOTAL PAYOUT	FREQUENCY	TOTAL INVESTMENT
SRU.UN	$29.55	236	$1.85	$436.60	Monthly	$6,973.80
EIF	$125.55	55	$2.76	$151.80	Monthly	$6,905.25
TOTAL	—	291	—	$588.40	—	$13,879.05

Rounding down to whole shares leaves $120.95 in cash. The portfolio yields approximately 4.2% and averages $49.03 per month, although the two payments may arrive on different days.

Income needs maintenance too

Neither payment is guaranteed, and two Canadian companies aren’t a complete portfolio. I’d monitor SmartCentres’s debt and payout coverage alongside EIF stock’s valuation and acquisition performance, then add broader global exposure as new TFSA room appears.

Until the cash is needed, reinvesting every monthly deposit could steadily purchase more shares. The first $49 average paycheque may look modest, but years of contributions, dividend growth, and compounding could make it the opening act rather than the main event.