Last fall, Glenn Cooke approached me with an idea. In addition to his work as an online life insurance broker, Glenn manages the FinanceAds.ca network that includes some of Canada’s most popular money bloggers. He wanted to bring together several of those bloggers to collaborate on a book, and I agreed to help out as editor.
After many months of work, I’m happy to announce that The Beginner’s Guide to Saving and Investing for Canadians is now available. The 100-page book is divided into five chapters, each written by a contributor with expertise in a specific area of personal finance. I’m sure you’ll recognize the names and the blogs:
Krystal Yee, a columnist at Moneyville and the blogger behind Give Me Back My Five Bucks, shows you how to create a budget. This may be the most important step in a financial plan, because investing won’t help you if you’re spending more than you earn.
Jim Yih of Retire Happy Blog explains where to save your money. He covers the basics of pension plans, RRSPs, Registered Education Savings Plans, Tax-Free Savings Accounts and other account types.
Ram Balakrishnan, the legendary Canadian Capitalist, lays out the case for passive investing and explains how to implement the strategy with index funds and ETFs, even including some model portfolios to get you started.
Frugal Trader of Million Dollar Journey shows you how to become a dividend investor, either by selecting individual stocks or by using dividend-focused ETFs.
Glenn Cooke of Life Insurance Canada.com explains basic insurance principles and helps you determine what coverage is most suited to your needs.
As the title suggests, the book is not designed for advanced investors: it’s an easy-to-read guide intended to help Canadians lay the foundation for a solid financial future. It would be ideal for a young family or anyone else who is just getting started in managing their finances.
How to order the book
The best way to order the book is through Amazon (it’s currently listed on the US site only), where it’s available for $19.95. An electronic version (in PDF format) is also available for $10.
I’m pleased to give away a free copy to one lucky reader: to enter the random draw, just leave a comment below or share this post on Twitter with the hashtag #savingsbook before midnight on July 26. [The draw is now closed.]
Please include me in the draw. Thanks in advance for this giveaway.
Looks like a great roster of authors…
I’d love to read the book. I read these authors’ blogs all the time, and can imagine it’s a very practical and worthwhile read.
Would love a copy :)
Please count me in the draw, sounds like a good read and to share with family…
Please include me in the draw for The Beginner’s Guide to Saving and Investing for Canadians. I would love to read a copy.
This book is exactly what my better half and I need right now! Thanks for entering me in the draw.
sounds like a great book
I subscribe to most of those bloggers as they give sound financial advice. This would surely be an interesting read!
I am still reading every edition of your column. Keep up the good work. Include me in the draw please.
I’m definitely interested in the book. Insurance is the one area in my financial plan that is still somewhat murky — I’m sure the book would help. Thanks in advance!
Please include me in the draw. Thanks!
I’m a religious reader of your blog. I would love to win this book. Thank you for the great work you put into this site.
Hi,
Looking forward to reading your book!
I sure could use this great book !
Please consider this my entry for the draw – looking forward to reading the book!
nice.
Enjoy your writing.
Need the book for my friend.
This book looks interesting.
I am discussing/educating investing with my friends. We have learnt a lot from you, Dan. Please enter me for the draw.
Thanks so much.
Looks like a fantastic resource. Count me in.
Looks great, do you have any idea when the e-book will be available so I can put the date in my calendar?
I want to get this book!
Hello sounds like a great book. I look forward to reading it.
Try my luck here.
Woot! I am familiar with all the authors, so I am on top of some things! I would love this book.
an informative book. Would have like to see a chapter on how capital markets work. Most people don’t know the difference between interest and dividends
Please enter me for the draw. Thanks.
This book looks great! Please enter me into the draw. Thx!
Love to win the book.
love to read this one!
Thanks for the review! Would be great to have a copy.
Thanks for putting together this starter book. I look forward to reading it and recommending it to beginner investors.
Please enter me in the draw.
Thanks.
I sure could use this book
Love a copy!
Please include me in the draw and thanks.
Put me In the draw please.. I need all the help I can get
Id love a copy….
Great Publicity for book! Please enter me in draw
This should be a great book to help educate my kids on financial management! Please include me in the draw, Dan.
Thanks.
Thanks for putting together this book. Please include me in the draw. Thx.
Congratulations on the book.
Thank you Dan for the book. I will share the book with nieces and nephews.
Regards,
Linda
This book sounds great! I’d love to win it for my daughter to get her started on the right path.
I’d love to win the book on investing and savings!
cheers
Darn, missed the draw but I will be picking this book up on Amazon. Love the Canadian focus.
Thanks a lot,
James
Hello CCP, I was speaking with a life insurance sales person with regards to term vs permanent. They were saying that in a permanent insurance, you pay higher premiums ($177 vs $5112/yr for $250,000 coverage) but that you get paid tax sheltered dividends. They stated it was another means of tax sheltering. The company they used in their example was Equitable life Canada and they stated the 20yr average returns were 8% annualized with a standard deviation of 1.1. What made me skeptical was how high this number was, as well as the fact that they did this via active management. Do you have any words of wisdom regarding picking life insurance plans?
@Jon: I’m very wary of people selling permanent insurance for its tax benefits. That can certainly be appropriate in some circumstances, but it is frequently overstated by insurance salespeople. The most important consideration has to be making sure the death benefit is large enough to protect your family, and the most cost-efficient way to get a lot of coverage is through term. Life insurance is not an investment: it’s risk management.
I did an article for MoneySense about this some time ago. It explains that permanent life insurance can indeed by right for some people, but the vast majority should stick with term:
http://www.moneysense.ca/magazine-archive/life-insurance-is-term-life-always-enough
Glenn Cooke (one of the authors of this book, who is also quoted in the article) is the go-to guy for this question.
http://www.lifeinsurancecanada.com/top-10-rules-for-purchasing-life-insurance