The RRSP deadline is March 1 at midnight. Chris Olsen has been looking at investment strategies and answers some of your top questions.

How do I know how much I should contribute to an RRSP?

The secret is not about maximizing RRSPs -- it's about optimizing them so you have the highest total income on retirement.

If your RRSP grows too large you can actually start to lose government support, which means you net out with less.

That's why overall financial planning is so important, says BMO's Mark Breakspear.

"We end up with these clients that have these giant RRSP accounts that they then have to convert to retirement income funds and then they are getting taxed like it's income," he said.

Breakspear says putting some money into a tax-free savings account in tandem with RRSPs enables the retiree to take income tax-free -- so they work well together for retirement planning.

Should I pay off my debts first before getting an RRSP?

Paying off your debt is a great idea -- a great goal -- but by itself it is not a plan.

Without a financial plan that involves some small but valuable changes experts say that debt can become a revolving door.

Nelson Simoes of WealthSense Financial Group says paying off all your debt is only good in theory,

"So [people] focus on paying off that debt. They pay it down, pay it down and it may go from $10,000 down to $4,000 but life happens," Simoes said.

People without savings who need access to money tend to get back into debt quickly and find themselves back in their original position.

If you're focusing on paying off debt a great place to start is high interest credit cards, which compound quickly.

Can I buy gold within my RRSP?

The simple answer is yes, but doing it is complicated.

The gold has to be of 99.5 per cent pure and refined by an accredited refiner.

It's got to be held in a registered plan and you can't stash gold bullion or coins in your safety deposit box.

The easier option is to have gold certificates or gold stocks, mutual funds or exchange-traded funds.

Click here for the rules about holding gold in your RRSPs

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen