Websites www.80s.com/cgi-bin/80smain.cgi Features a piece called "Children of the Eighties." If you're still not sure if this book is for you, read this. If you can relate, it is. www.coupland.com This is Douglas Coupland's official website. In case you're not familiar with the name, Coupland is the author of Generation X and Girlfriend in a Coma, among other things. He's like the official spokesperson of your generation, so check this site out. It's so coool that I have no idea what it is about! www.netwalk.com/~duchapl/ The baby boomers' home page. A good way to scope out the competition.

Websites 206.75.36.123/services_public/serv_pub.html The address should give you a hint. Despite appearances to the contrary, this is the chartered accountants official site. Not the most exciting page, but, hey, they're accountants! www.caifa.com/informed_consumer/inf_consumer_body.html The official site of the Canadian Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. This particular address will take you to their section on finding the right advisor. www.cba.org The Information Service of the Canadian Bar Association. Click on "Sections" and then go to the area you need help with. Lots of good basic information, but pretty dry reading. www.cga-canada.org/eng/designation/profiles.htm A touching, in-depth portrayal of a life lived as a Chartered General Accountant-the debits, the credits. … How can you possibly resist reading this right away? www.gettingadvice.ca/ Operated by Fidelity investments, this is an excellent site on finding a financial advisor. In addition to providing information on building your relationship, the site lets you download information booklets in PDF or order them-free. www.investorlearning.ca/ilcdev/ The Investor Learning Centre has excellent information on investing and how to choose a stockbroker. www.lawsocietyalberta.com/public_legal/default.asp This site will give you a good basic understanding of the process of going to a lawyer: what is needed, what is expected and what you can reasonably ask for. It features a sample lawyer FAQ page-and if you don't know what a FAQ is, I'm not sure you're under 35.

Websites www2.cibc.com/english/personal_services/borrowing /credit_cards/quick_compare_main.html The CIBC Card Comparer. A good example of the type of credit card site all the banks offer. www.equifax.ca/EFX_Canada/consumer_information_centre/ overview_e .html One of the best sites in Canada on consumer credit. Get some popcorn and read through the FAQ section. www.frugal-moms.com/ This site uses forums and articles to demonstrate that "being frugal is not about being stingy-it's about being smart with your money so you can afford the things that are really important to you." www.life.ca/subject/simplicity.html The "Voluntary Simplicity" site. Although some might consider this an anti-financial site (it's run by Natural Life magazine and is fairly "green"), I figure that part of financial planning is helping clients quantify and then achieve their goals. Essays like the ones posted on this site may help us discern what is truly important to us. www.simpleliving.net For the hardcore "change your life, don't fret the money and hug a tree" crowd. Books The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy, by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, (Pocket Books, 2000). Your Money or Your Life, by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, (Penguin USA, 1999).

Websites www.theabsolutegroup.com A very clever site, and the fellow who runs it is witty, tender-hearted and ruggedly handsome. He would certainly be a member of Mensa if they didn't have that tricky entrance exam, association fee and strict code of conduct. (If you haven't figured it out yet, this is my site!) www.canoe.ca/MyMoney/index_tools.html www.quicken.ca/eng/life/rrsp/how_much_calc/index.jsp These two websites contain excellent Java-based calculators that can make planning for retirement or choosing an asset allocation (among other things) much easier. Just print the results and file them away. Software Quicken MS Money Excellent, multi-purpose financial planning software that allows you to create budgets and then generate reports showing how far "off" you are, plot the progress of your investments and even do your online banking (downloading the transactions directly into the software). I use Quicken Deluxe, but have heard good things about MS Money.

Websites www.apa.ca/main.htm The Automobile Protection Association's site. The APA provides an excellent service that will tell you what the dealer paid for the car that you're trying to buy, and will also link you with a dealership that will offer you that price plus a set fee, such as $1,000. www.bizsmart.com/english/servlet/PreLogin A banking service offered by Staples-the office supply store. Your small business account gets free chequing, interest and discounts on purchases. www.canoe.ca/CNEWSGas/oil_oct8-cp.html An article about how car-sharing works. www.carinsurance.ca/informationindex.asp Good basic information on car insurance, including some quick quotes. www.citizensbank.ca/insidecitizens/different.html The online banking arm of VanCity Credit Union, the Citizens Bank offers an alternative to regular banks. www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/ The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's site offers all sorts of information about mortgages and the home-buying process. They will also send you a great booklet called A Consumer Guide to Buying a Home. www.cooperativeauto.net The website of one of the car-sharing organizations. www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/homeec/cba28s01.html This is the branch of the Manitoba government that tracks the costs of raising a child. They put out an excellent summary of this information every year. www.ingdirect.ca/www/howdoesitwork.jsp ING Direct uses the Internet to provide high-interest savings accounts, term deposits and alternative loans. www.orea.com/consumer/default.asp The consumer area of the Ontario Real Estate Association's website provides basic information on buying and selling a house. www.tdcanadatrust.com/mortgages/ Lots of fundamental information on mortgages. The site includes an excellent mortgage calculator that will help you determine the savings you'd realize if you paid your mortgage off quickly. It also helps you strategize how best to do this. Books Don't Get Taken Every Time, by Remar Sutton, Penguin, 2001. How to Buy Your Home, by the Ontario Real Estate Association, 1999. Order free by calling 1-800-563-4663.

Websites Most of the sites listed here offer an e-mail service that is very handy when it comes to keeping up to date with changes. www.fundlibrary.com Since I am the managing editor of this site, I will disclose my bias: Fundlibrary.com is the best mutual fund aggregation site in the country. There, I've said it! -Stephen Kangas The Fund Library is unique because it provides an aggregation of all mutual fund ratings in one easy-to-use filter tool. It includes the Morningstar, Globefund, Fundata and Gordon Pape ratings. In addition, it consolidates the ratings into a single composite score out of 100. It also includes a plethora of content from financial advisors and investment professionals, return information and statistics, and an e-mail service that keeps you informed about anything (a fund, a firm, a particular topic) that you wish to track. www.Globefund.com This site features some Globe and Mail content and indexes all of the paper's articles by fund company. It includes a proprietary five-star rating system, as well as lots of return information, charts, statistics and a great portfolio tracker. Users can sign up for an e-mail service to receive updates. www.globeinvestor.com/ The stock market site from the Globe and Mail, complete with a simple stock list, filters and a portfolio service. money.msn.ca/ Part of the monster MSN conglomerate, this site has some original financial content I find useful. www.Morningstar.ca The Morningstar site features its own five-star rating system; content provided by a stable of mutual fund writers like Gordon Powers and Rudy Luukko; lots of return information and statistics; and an e-mail summary of recent articles. www.nationalpost.com The best thing about the National Post website is that they store articles here for up to 60 days, making it possible to find material from papers that are weeks old. They also have a free daily e-mail that sends out the headlines. www.quicken.ca/ This site borrows heavily from the even larger quicken.com (its American big brother), but provides information that's directly applicable to Canadians. Comes complete with calculators, portfolios and real-time quotes. Books Beating the Street, by Peter Lynch, Distican Incorporated, 1994. Fund Monitor 2000, by Duff Young, Prentice Hall Canada, 1999. Top Funds 2001: Building Your Mutual Fund Portfolio for the 21st Century, by Nick Fallor, Riley Moynes, Prentice Hall Canada. The Warren Buffet Way, by Robert G. Hagstrom, Jr., John Wiley & Sons, 1994.

Websites CCRA help sites: www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/t4040eq/t4040-e.pdf PDF guide on RRSPs, RPPs and RRIFs. www.fin.gc.ca/budget98/pamphe/edupae.html PDF guide on the CESG for RESPs. www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/rc4112eq/rc4112-e.pdf PDF guide on the lifelong learning program.

Websites www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/menu-e.html The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency site is relatively painless to use. The search engine makes up for the drab layout and somewhat disorganized format. It essentially stores all of the budgets, tax forms, interpretation bulletins and booklets (in PDF format) you will ever need. www.kpmg.ca/english/services/tax/ An excellent example of one of the big six accounting firms' sites, complete with headlines, tax tips and summarized strategies. Like any commercial site, it is designed to lure you into the nearest KPMG office-but the no-cost, hassle-free information available here is worth delving into. www.waterstreet.ca/ This is Tim Cestnick's website. For those of you who may not be aware, Cestnick is the world-famous (well, in Canada, anyway) accountant who writes for the Globe and Mail and other publications. He has a couple of books and also tours the country opening for Marilyn Manson … I think. If accountants are too funny, their own associations make them pay fines. All of Tim's Globe and Mail articles are collected here and there is an excellent tax discussion forum as well. Books 201 Easy Ways To Reduce Your Taxes, by Evelyn Jacks, McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1999. Jacks on Tax Savings: 2001, by Evelyn Jacks, 2000. Winning the Tax Game 2002, Tim Cestnick, Prentice Hall Canada, 2001.

Websites www.ca-probate.com/wills.htm A site that publishes the wills of celebrities and ordinary people (1493-1998). A little wacky, but fun if you're into that stuff. www.harbour.sfu.ca/gero/pubs/pensbook.html This site offers a beginner's guide to Canada's public pension system and includes a great explanation and exploration of the CPP, OAS, etc. www.life-line.org/life/index.html The Lifeline site offers basic insurance information and an excellent INA (that's industry jargon for insurance needs analysis) calculator. It's also full of warm, cuddly photos of extraordinarily good-looking, well-adjusted and well-insured people. www.quicken.ca/eng/life/rrsp/insurance/showcontent.jsp?cid=100357 A good summary of disability insurance issues from quicken.ca. www.take-a-wiz.com/default.asp This is actually an estate planning site. Trust me. It is filled with "wizards" to help you complete your estate planning needs, locate your important documents, etc.

For more information about The Screaming Capitalist Inc.: kevin.cork@screamingcapitalist.com
All rights reserved. Copyright 2001©Media Dog Productions Ltd.