I am 32 and I work as a General Contractor. I do not have a company pension plan so I must invest for the future on my own. I take home roughly $4900 after taxes each month. My wife, who was also a self employed contractor, gave birth to our first child recently. She is now not working and she gets no maternity leave as she stays home with out baby. Therefore as a family this year our total income will be somewhere around $60,000 which is not a whole heck of a lot. We are middle (or lower middle class) by any definition and we think the TFSA is a great tool for us. We've been investing small amounts each month for the past 14 months and we have a balance of about $2,600. The notion that the TFSA is just a tool for the rich is ridiculous. The ability to save and invest our money tax free in a world where EVERYTHING is taxed out the you know what is the sole reason we pursued the account in the first place. It is the reason I got into investing. That is my personal experience.