Personal Finance for Canadians is a down-to-earth guide offering straightforward financial advice. It never pushes products or investment schemes. Rather than promise a get-rich-quick plan, the authors caution that "too much emphasis on making and saving money can warp your perspective on what's important in life….Your health, relationship with family and friends, career satisfaction, and fulfilling interests should be more important." No surprise, then, that the authors are not shy about exposing purported experts as charlatans; they don't spare financial advisers and planners either. Much of what you hear about financial planning, they maintain, is biased--because it comes from sources that want to sell you things: "Their best interests often conflict with your best interest."

Avoiding the pitfalls of personal finance is certainly important, but its prescriptions for taking financial action are what make this guide especially useful. Part I helps readers assess their financial standing. Subsequent sections offer sage advice on saving, the basics of investing, and the ins and outs of insurance. There is an especially useful chapter on real estate, since for many people their homes are their biggest financial commitment and their largest asset. Throughout, helpful icons point out tips, common mistakes, and "scams and scoundrels that prey on the unsuspecting." The "Dummies" label might put off some people, but there is nothing stupid about the ideas. The information is presented in a format that never talks down to the reader, although it is perhaps most appropriate for those who are just starting to think about the future. --Edward Trapunski --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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