Resources: Books & Helpful Links
Noteworthy Canadian Financial Books
This is a list of personal finance books targeted at Canadians. I’ve read most of these books (and I’m mentioned in a couple of them as source of information on life insurance) and recommend them. I’ve provided links to purchase the books through Amazon, we do not make a commission if you purchase these books using any of these links. For the truly frugal, remember that you can likely borrow any of these books from your local library.
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Debt Free Forever
A budgeting book for Canadians, Gail Vaz-Oxlade shows you how to set up and run a complete budget.
Never Too Late
Getting started saving for retirement in your 50’s? Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s book shows you how to get started and still succeed.
The Wealthy Barber Returns
A general all purpose financial book for beginners, told in a story-like fashion by David Chilton.
The Value of Simple
A book on investing and index funds by John Robertson.
Stop Over Thinking Your Money
Another excellent general purpose financial book by Preet Banerjee. (and I’m credited in the forward as being a source of life insurance information)
Pension Strategy for Canadians
Shows you how to set up your asset allocation, using math and fundamentals. Targeted at the more advanced DIY, not a beginner book. Written by Andrew Springett.
A Random Walk Down Wall Street
Burton Malkiel discusses investments and equities (stocks). The title references ‘a random walk’ which is how the stock market is generally modelled – going forward but could go up or down at any given point.
The RESP Book
A bit of an older book, but still the premier source of information for consumers on RESP’s. Written by Mike Holman.
Saving for School
Another great book on RESP’s by Gail Vaz-Oxlade.
The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
John Bogle is credited with creating the ‘index investing’ book. In this beginner’s book he provides an overview on why a simple strategy of passive investing in indexes will almost always outperform anything else that either you or a professional can do.
Legal, Tax and Accounting Strategies for the Canadian Real Estate Investor
81 Financial and Tax Tips for the Canadian Real Estate Investor
From Canada’s best-selling real estate author, Don R. Campbell, and his team. This book offers practical advice on successfully navigating the tax implications of property ownership and some helpful tips.
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The Beginner’s Guide to Saving & Investing for Canadians
This book is designed to help Canadians make better decisions about their money. We know there are already countless books and articles about saving and investing, but we believe this one is unique. For the first time, it brings together the collective experience of Canada’s foremost personal finance bloggers and online publishers, each of whom writes about his or her particular area of expertise.
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Other Canadian Financial Websites
Category
Title
Summary
Investing
Canadian Couch Potato
Famed author, reporter, and advisor Dan Bortolotti talks passive index investing. Includes sample portfolios for DIY investors.
Practical Index Investing for Canadians
John Robertson’s course on index investing, currently $249.
Michael James on Money
Just another Canadian that spends a ton of their time blogging about investing and finances.
Insurance
The Term Guy
Buy term life insurance online. Includes 'How Much Insurance Do I Need?' calculator and information on different types of life insurance.
Secure Plan Insurance
Home page for Jeff Romanski, author of the Disability Ebook on this site. Jeff is an expert on long term disability insurance as well as group benefit plans.
Budgeting
Mr. Money Moustache
An american blog on fairly extreme frugality and savings. It’s now a full on marketing business for the blogger, but still an interesting read (particularly the early stuff).
Personal Finance
Reddit – Personal Finance Canada
Have questions? Check out the reddit sub on personal finance for Canadians. Lots of good information, lots of really bad information, and then some typical reddit nonsense thrown in as well. I was the first AMA (ask me anything) on this sub, where the moderators approved a thread where I answered questions on life insurance).
Million Dollar Journey
A blog by a Newfoundlander (FrugalTrader) as he makes his way to $1MM in net worth.
Flat Fee Based Financial Planner
Joe the Investor
Educated as an engineer, Joe is a CFA that offers tax and investment planning packages including retirement and tax strategies.
Spring Financial Planning
Providing individualized advice on cash flow (budgeting) and portfolios (investing) they have a variety of fixed priced options.
Money Coaches Canada
With franchises across Canada this may be the largest flat fee based company in Canada. I used their services personally to assist me with my budgeting.
Fee Based Financial Planner
Directory of Fee Based Financial Planners
Maintained by John Robertson (value of simple), this directory lists both fee based financial advisors and flat fee based financial advisors.
A note on financial planners. Planners use a variety of titles and offer a variety of services. Here’s the terminology you should be aware of:
1) Planners -They sell investments, and receive a commission based on the sale.
2) Fee Based Planners -They sell investments, and charge a flat percentage of your investments (typically 1%).
3) Flat Fee Based Planners -They charge a flat fee for their services, based on their time and not on the value of your investments. They typically provide customized plans for consumers, including cash/flow budgeting plans or retirement/tax plans. They will provide investment guidance but don’t sell specific investments.
