Can someone help me understand Canada Savings Bonds?

Question

For example, what exactly is the "issue date" and the "maturity date"... and how long do I have to save for?

Answer 1

The main government site below does a fair job of explaining them. The bonds actually vary in how long you should save them for. (That "term" is the time between the date the gov't issues them and their maturity date -- when the gov't pays you back the principal and interest.)

Of course, you can always buy and sell them anytime during their term, but there's a small cost to doing that.

BTW, you might want to consider other investments. Here's what the CBC says: