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Last week I had the pleasure of reading a really great book while I was living out of hotels throughout Alberta. The Beginner’s Guide to Saving and Investing for Canadians kept me entertained when there was no Wi-Fi and I was cut-off from the digital world. It was written by a group of Canadian personal finance bloggers and online experts who are well known in the personal finance blogosphere.
Each author contributes their own personal area of expertise to give you a well rounded approach to take control of your financial life.
Crystal Yee, blogger of givemebackmyfivebucks.com, starts off the pack with the most important step of all: making a budget and living within your means. After all, you can’t save for the future if you spend all of your money today.
Crystal helps get you past the misconception that budgets are boring and shows you how empowering they really are. She also shows you the ins and outs of making goals, getting organized financially, creating an emergency fund and includes tips on how to save money as well.
Jim Yih of retirehappyblog.ca, shares his expertise of where to put your money once you start saving for your future. He explains all of the saving vehicles available to Canadians and compares them, giving the reader a better idea of which one will work better for them.
Jim also goes into great depths as to what an RRSP is and how they work, including the penalties and withholding taxes when withdrawing from them. If you ever had questions about the RRSP, then Jim’s chapter is for you!
Ram Balakrishnan from canadiancapitalist.com introduces you to the rewards and risks involved in the world of investing. He also explains the ins and outs of index investing and exchange traded funds(ETFs).
Ram also covers hedging currency exposure, lowering portfolio volatility by investing in foreign stocks, laddering GICs, rebalancing portfolios, investing in bonds and passive investing using ETFs. He really helps you weigh the costs associated with investing so you can learn which investing style will be efficient for you.
Frugal Trader from milliondollarjourney.com delves into the world of dividend investing. He starts off with explaining some common terms and tax efficiency when holding U.S stocks. He then goes on to explain what dividend ETFs are.
Frugal trader then explains the difference between investing in high yield stocks or dividend growth stocks (I prefer the later). He also explains the pros and cons of living off your dividends, which province is better to live in with dividend income, and how dividends are treated differently in regards to OAS clawback.
And last but not least there is Glenn Cooke from lifeinsurancecanada.com who reminds us how important it is to buy the right insurance. After all, once we grow our net worth through saving and investing, it’s important to protect it for when life throws you a curve ball.
Glenn also explains the difference between term and permanent insurance, and breaks down the different types of permanent insurance. He shows you how to shop around for the best insurance prices using a broker. He even explains how disability insurance, although expensive, can give you the peace of mind to protect you and your loved ones.
We become complacent in our daily lives as we get stuck on the proverbial hamster wheel of getting up, going to work, and paying the bills. The Beginner’s Guide to Saving and Investing for Canadians is a one stop information source to finally take control of your finances and break free from the bad money habits we have developed over the years. It really is an excellent source for anyone that has finally had enough and has made a conscious decision to take their financial matters into their own hands. After all, there is no one who cares more about your money then you do!
That being said, I am happy to announce that Glen Cooke has provided me with a hard copy of The Beginner’s Guide to Saving and Investing for Canadians to give away to one lucky Loonie Bin reader. I’ll also be giving away two $10 Tim Hortons gift cards to the runners up. To enter, just login with your Facebook account OR email below. Good luck to everyone who enters! Contest is open to Canadian residents only at this time.
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