Also exhibiting/presenting are:

• The Better Business Bureau
• The Bridgewater Police Services
• The Bank Of Canada
• The Nova Scotia Department of Seniors
• The Nova Scotia Office of the Ombudsman
• RCMP – Federal Enforcement Section
• RCMP – Commercial Crimes Section

Hope to see you!

When:   April 12, 2011

Where:  Bridgewater Fire Hall, 81 Dominion St

Time:    10am to 12pm

1. A person who lives within her means and saves, but still looks good, eats well and lives fabulous.

When I heard Harlequin was publishing a personal finance book a few months ago, I just had to buy it. I have been looking forward to this read for a while, and while it has just been too busy in the office for any fun reading, I was able to take advantage of some sick-leave last week and read on the comfort of my living room couch.

The Frugalista Files is Natalie’s story of digging her way out of debt and reinventing herself in the process. In 2008, at the age of 31, Natalie was in a go-nowhere job and more than $20,000 in debt. Rather than panic (well, she may have panicked a little at first) she came up with an ambitious and realistic plan to cut spending, increase her income, and pay off her debt.

Written in a diary format, the book follows Natalie through the year: from her “no-spend-month” in February, her frugal Memorial Day weekend plans, right through to limiting her Christmas spending to $140.

I loved that this book was so realistic. It’s not a crazy, “I could never do that” story about someone doubling their income, and paying off mounds of debt in less than a year. It’s a practical story of someone just like the rest of us, who makes a plan, sticks to it, and eventually gets where she wants to be. It was inspiring. She freelanced on the side for an extra $200 here, or $40 there – which all added up to thousands off her credit card debt. She cut shopping dramatically, and made smarter purchases when she needed to. She took a risk and took a buyout from her job at the Miami Herald to become a self-employed journalist and blogger. It worked. It wasn’t instant success – but it worked.

Written as a diary in a casual format, it is not a literary masterpiece, and there were a few too many smiley faces and LOLs for my taste. But that is my taste. On the other hand, it was an enjoyable read. My favourite scene was the trip to the emergency room, when her stress over layoffs at work made her ill:

“Have you been stressed?” Dr. Sexy asked.

“Yes,” I whimpered. “We had layoffs at work. But I wasn’t laid off.”

“I’m sure you’ve had to do more work, because productivity usually goes up when people are laid off,” Dr. Sexy said.

Oh my God! He’s kind and understanding, too. What will we name our children?

Yes, there is a bit of the Harlequin in there. Definitely a fun read, and inspiring. Keep in mind that this is not a “how-to” guide, nor does it hold the “secret” to paying off your bills forever – well, unless that secret is hard work and determination. She certainly had that.

Read more about the fugalista lifestyle at www.thefrugalista.com.

From March 2 to March 29 we’re giving away great prizes including gift cards for local restaurants, Chapters and iTunes, and commemorative editions of Canadian currency!

Learn how to play (link to simple rules)

Official contest rules

Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Today’s Trivia question is brought to you by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of the Maritimes.

Answer the question below for your chance to win a $50 Lawton’s card. Draw takes place Friday, 25 March 2011.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:
What is one of the Better Better Business Bureau’s New Year’s resolutions that a consumer should follow?

Click here to visit the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of the Maritimes to find the answer.

Visit www.investinknowingmore.ca to provide your answer.

From March 2 to March 29 we’re giving away great prizes including gift cards for local restaurants, Chapters and iTunes, and commemorative editions of Canadian currency!

Learn how to play (link to simple rules)
Official contest rules

Monday, 21 March 2011

Today’s Trivia question is brought to you by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of the Maritimes.

Answer the question below for your chance to win a $50 iTunes card. Draw takes place Wednesday, 23 March 2011.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:
In the Better Business Bureau list of top ten scams, what is the top scam for 2011?

Click here to visit the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of the Maritimes to find the answer.

Visit www.investinknowingmore.ca to provide your answer.

Today the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) launched a free mobile money management application (app) and interactive web site called My Make it Count to help users better understand and monitor their spending behaviour in real time.

The My Make It Count app allows users to track the money they earn and spend each day, set savings goals, monitor their financial habits, and share smart spending ideas on-the-go. Along the way, it should also help develop good financial habits.

According to a recent survey, young Canadians are struggling to manage their finances. Seventy-two per cent of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 29 had credit cards and 22 per cent had a personal line of credit. Six in 10 reported they had debt, with almost two-thirds of those reporting they had credit card debt, and 44 per cent saying they had student loans.

The easy-to-use My Make it Count app is designed to give users a greater understanding of their relationship with money. My Make it Count tracks the number and type of transactions made during a specified time period and is readily accessible from mobile devices in real time.  With an increased visibility of their spending habits, users can then make smarter choices about their habits and better manage their money.

While designed to work with Make it Count – a program to help parents and teachers teach money management lessons to youth aged four to fourteen, the My Make it Count app can be used by Canadians of all ages. To download the free app, search ‘My Make it Count’ in the iTunes Store. To use the My Make it Count program, go to MyMakeitCount.ca.

The app and website are available in both English and French.

How you can use the My Make it Count App:

• See something you like in a store? Start a savings goal in My Make it Count.
• Bought a snack? Record your transaction in My Make it Count.
• Worried you are spending too much on clothes? Review your recent spending habits in My Make it Count.

About Make it Count

Make it Count information and guides for parents and instructors are available at mymakeitcount.ca and provide tips, activities and plenty of opportunities to engage youth in talking about effective money management. Order or download your free copy at makeitcountonline.ca.

The contest is aimed at helping youth increase their financial literacy and offers them the chance to win an Apple® iPad or a grand prize of $2,000.

The Financial Fitness Challenge runs from February 15 to April 15, 2011 and uses interactive tools and scenarios to raise awareness of important financial concepts such as balancing needs versus wants, budgeting, saving and investing.

The bilingual contest is open to Canadians ages 15 to 21 and offers youth the opportunity to invite friends to join the Challenge, and to compete and engage with contest participants at a local and national level. Classroom materials including lesson plans are available to download from the Teacher and Parent Resource Centre.

At the close of the contest, 13 entries – one from each province and territory – will be randomly selected from eligible participants to win an Apple® iPad, and one national grand prize winner will be awarded a $2,000 scholarship.

The Task Force states that financial literacy is critical to the prosperity of individual Canadians and the nation as a whole. The report stresses how increasing the knowledge, skills and confidence of Canadians in making financial decisions will help them meet their personal goals, enhance their quality of life and make Canada more competitive.

The National Strategy’s priorities are:

•  Shared Responsibility

•  Leadership and Collaboration

•  Lifelong Learning

•  Delivery and Promotion

•  Accountability

The Nova Scotia Securities Commission, working with our partners in the Canadian Securities Administrators, strives to advance investor education and through this increase the financial literacy of Canadians. We look forward to collaborating with these and other providers to assist Canadians in managing their finances throughout their lifetimes.

We encourage you to read the full report, which can be found at www.financialliteracyincanada.com.

I’ve been reading a lot about behavioral finance in the past few years. My role as a financial educator is essentially looking to influence behaviour change, so understanding desires and motivations is important. This book excited me.

When you read traditional economic theory, how the markets “should” work, all ideas are based on the idea that humans are rational decision makers. Its a nice idea. We can pat ourselves on the back and feel smart.

of course the reality is, humans don’t always make rational choices. Which is why so often we buy high and sell low as we enthusiastically follow the latest investing trend.

“We are often advised to use reason, not emotions, when we make investment decisions,” writes Statman. “But this advice is neither feasible nor smart.”

In short – we can’t fight who we are and how we are made. We have to understand it, and work with it.

“What Investors Really Want” provides a wealth of knowledge on the way we make investing decisions, and what we really want from our money. We don’t just want a safe secure retirement.

“We want to be number 1 and beat the market. We want to feel pride when our investments bring gains and avoid the regret that comes with losses. We want the status and esteem of hedge funds, the warm glow and virtue of socially responsible funds, and the patriotism of investing in our own country.”

These are truths I belive more advviers and investors ought to know and understand, to guide them in thier advice and thier decision making. Stop assuming every decision is going to be rational and practical. Remember the people and emotions behind the choice. Use emotion to influence the right choice.

Of course, it isn’t that easy or strait forward. Humans have emotion and reason and want to act on both, but they often are at odds with one another. And we must also account for error. If I mistakenly believe one investment is better than the other – whether due to my own misunderstanding of circumstances or an error in the information I have read, that error goes on to influence my reason and emotions. We can reduce error through financial literacy, but never eradicate it. “The benefits of financial literacy are limited by our ability to learn and to retain what we have learned.”

All in all, “What Investors Really Want” was an interesting and thought provoking book. It was not a particularly easy read. It presents a lot of ideas, sometimes conflicting. But there is no reason to have to sit and read it start to finish. Read a chapter at a time. Read only those that most interest you. Use it as a reference book. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for more insight into the decision making process of their clients of themselves. I’d love to see it ion the bookshelves of advisers everywhere.

Saving for a child’s education is an important goal for many families. But it is also a confusing and often difficult task. Parents are often struggling to balance daily expenses, a desire to buy a home or to pay down an existing mortgage, all while also needing to plan for their own retirement. Education savings is just one more thing on the financial “to-do” list.

RESPs are a fantastic tool which allow for tax-free growth of your education savings, and give access to government grants to top up your savings. But with all the rules and exceptions and options, parents often don’t know how to get started – or chose a plan early on, and later realize that it does not work for them, and it is too late to get out without penalties.

Parents (and uncles and aunts, grandparents, family friends, etc.) I am happy to tell you about a fantastic new resource: Mike Holman’s The RESP Book. Mike, a long-time personal finance blogger (First at Four Pillars, which later became the Money Smarts Blog) has written an easy to read, easy to follow guide to Registered Education Savings Plans. He will help you to understand how the accounts work, how to get one started, what kind of RESP account to set up and what kind of investments to buy. He addresses all the relevant topics: RESP grant eligibility, types of grants, Canada Learning Bonds, contribution rules,  withdrawal rules, how to avoid penalties, and (I was so happy to see this!) basic investing information.

I spend my days educating Nova Scotians about investing. I have heard the complaints, and sometimes the horror stories of those who have gotten into investment products they do not understand. I have helped individuals navigate the often unreadable fine-print of account contracts and websites. Here, finally, is a comprehensive resource written in plain-language, full of easy to understand examples, to help parents and family members feel confident they are investing their education savings safely, and building a nest egg for their child.

The RESP Book is available from Amazon.ca, but one lucky reader will receive a free copy from Before You Invest and the Nova Scotia Securities Commission. Simply leave a comment below with your RESP question, frustration or success. On Monday, November 8, I will draw one name from all commenters and send that person a free copy. Good luck.

Are you stuck unable to afford to start an RESP, but want to somehow get started saving for your child’s education? You may be eleigible to receive $500 from the Canadian government now, and another $100 per year until your child turns 15.

Money is available from the Government of Canada, through Canada Learning Bonds, to help you start saving for your child’s education after high school.

If you start early, your could receieve up to $2,000 (plus interest) in bonds for your child’s education. Unlike Canada Education Savings Grants, you don’t have to put any of your own money into the RESP to get this bond. Plus, an extra $25 will be paid with the first $500 bond to help cover the cost of opening an RESP.

Your child may be eleigible for the bonds if he or she was born after December 31, 2003, and you receive the National Child Benefit Supplement as part of the Canada Child Tax Benefit, commonly known as “family allowance” or “baby bonus.”

For more information on the bonds and how to apply, visit CanLearn.ca.

First you want to teach basic budgeting skills, if you haven’t already. For great online lessons and worksheets, visit The City, a joint project between the British Columbia Securities Commission and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. The City teaches financial life skills to teenagers and young adults, either in class or through independent learning.

To teach similar skills to younger children, check out Make it Count: A Parent’s Guide to Youth Money Management, from the Canadian Securities Administrators.

Want more tips for helping students reduce or avoid debt? Read Finish College Without Student Loan Debt

at the Canadian Finance Blog.

When you contribute money to a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) for your child, the Government could provide:

• up to $200, if your net family income is $40,970 or less
  up to $150, if your net family income is between $40,970 and $81,941, or
  up to $100, if your net family income is more than $81,941.

When you save more than $500 annually, the Canada Education Savings Grant could add up to $400 on the next $2,000.

Note that family income amounts are updated yearly, and the maximum lifetime grant that the Government of Canada can give to your child is $7,200.

If your child doesn’t continue education immediately after high school, your RESP can stay open for up to 36 years and the money can be used if your child returns to school later. If the money is still not used 36 years after the RESP is opened, the amount you saved goes back to you and the Canada Education Savings Grant may be used for a brother or sister’s education. If not, the grant will be returned to the Government of Canada.

A good education is a goal most parents have for their children. But the rising cost of post-secondary education has many parents concerned about whether they will be able to afford to send their children to college or university. To reduce strain on the family budget, and reduce reliance on student loans, it is wise to plan ahead and create a specific education savings fund.

Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) can be an effective way to save because they offer tax benefits and allow you to take advantage of federal government grants. The money earned in an RESP isn’t taxed until it is withdrawn. You can open an RESP for a child, yourself or another adult. This person is called your “beneficiary”. For more information about the tax consequences of RESPs, visit the Canada Revenue Agency website.

Different types of plans are available at banks, credit unions, mutual fund companies, investment dealers or scholarship plan dealers. Before you invest, be sure you understand all your options. Each plan type has its own rules and requirements – be sure to read the fine print. You may have to pay sales fees when you open the plan, plus other costs as long as you hold the plan.

Also, be sure you are aware of the costs of cancelling a plan. For group scholarship plans, you can cancel the plan at no cost within 60 days of signing the application, but it will cost you if you wait longer. For other types of plans, this time frame may depend on the type of investment you bought.

Most plans let you decide when and how much to contribute, up to the annual and lifetime limits. Other plans require you to make contributions according to a set schedule. In this case, if you miss a payment, your plan may be cancelled and you could lose your earnings. You will receive your contributions back, less any fees.

Federal grants can help you save even more. The Canadian government will match contributions to a child’s RESP (adults are not eligible) under the following grant programs:

• The basic Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) will top up your annual contribution by 20%, up to a maximum of $500 each year for each beneficiary. The lifetime limit for the grant is generally $7,200. Additional CESG grants may be available, depending on your income.
• The Canada Learning Bond (CLB) provides an additional grant of up to $2,000 per child to help families with a modest income. Children must be born after December 31, 2003 to qualify.

For more information about federal education savings grants, visit www.canlearn.ca.

Once your beneficiary is enrolled in a qualifying educational program, they can start receiving payments from the plan. These payments are taxable in the student’s hands. Since most students have little or no other income, they will likely pay little or no tax. Note that some plans do not pay out earnings until a student starts the second year of a program.

If your beneficiary does not go on to education after high school, you have a few options. Your plan may allow you to choose another beneficiary. If not, you receive your contributions back, less any fees. In most cases you will receive your earnings. Some plans may keep these earnings and share them with the remaining members. In some cases, you can transfer the earnings to your RRSP. You may choose to withdraw the earnings in cash, but you’ll have to pay tax on them. You have to return any grants to the government, unless you have a family RESP.

We will look at investment classes, including cash, fixed income, equities and alternative investments, and take a closer look at some of the more common types of investments you might encounter.

Before you invest, make sure you understand how an investment works, including any fees, and whether it fits with your goals and risk tolerance. With investing, the higher the potential return, the higher the risk. There’s no such thing as a high return, risk-free investment. If you want higher returns, you have to be prepared to accept the risks that go along with them.

Income tax is another important consideration. Interest, dividends and capital gains are all treated differently for tax purposes and that will affect your return from an investment. A registered adviser can help you assess your financial needs, goals and tax situation. An adviser can also help you build a portfolio and recommend suitable investments for you.

Whether you have an adviser or invest on your own, don’t invest in anything that you don’t fully understand. Take your time when making investment decisions and never sign documents you have not read carefully.

Canada may not have an equivalent “Day” designated, but we do have very impressive programs to help you teach your children or students the importance of money management, including my favourite: Make it Count.

Make it Count is an interactive money mentoring program and information resource from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). The Make it Count program includes a parent’s guide, an instructor’s guide and an online daily budgeting program that uses everyday situations like errands to engage youth in discussions about  money management. Make it Count makes talking with youth about budgeting, debit card use and common sense spending simpler and more effective for parents and teachers.

The  program centers around a series of activities, tips and lesson plans that are simple to follow and more importantly, simple to teach. One of the most exciting new elements of the program is an online, interactive money management tool that allows mentors and youth to set up a daily budget, start and track savings goals and chat with other money mentors in an online forum. Users can see where their money is going, track their financial progress and provide their own insights and activity ideas to the online community.

According to a recent national survey, there is a need for financial skills educational resources that are family-friendly. The CSA Investor Index 2009 survey found that 78 percent of Canadians believe that teaching financial skills is among the most important things a parent can do for their child. And less than half of parents with children 18 or younger have actually taught their children about personal finances and investing.

The Make it Count resources, including the interactive online budgeting program can be accessed at MakeitCountOnline.ca.  All resources are free and available in both English and French.

The Challenge, which runs Feb. 15 to April 15, uses a new, interactive website to quiz youth on their financial knowledge. The contest is sponsored by the Canadian Securities Administrators, of which the Nova Scotia Securities Commission is a member.

The contest allows participants to compete with friends and other  people at a local and national level. It also features its own Facebook page where young Canadians can exchange ideas and tips about managing money, or you can receive contest updates on Twitter.

While anyone can visit the site, the bilingual contest is open to Canadians aged 15 to 21. Thirteen entries, one from each province and territory, will be randomly selected from eligible participants to win a notebook computer, with a national grand prize winner awarded $2,000.

Teachers are also encouraged to use the program as a fun and informative learning tool to support the development of good financial behaviour among their students. Visit the teacher resource page to download classroom materials, including complete lesson plans.

One day while reporting for a team meeting, he was surprised to find the office a-buzz with rumours about a possible corporate takeover. It was all still a secret he was told, but a major international technology firm was  apparently in negotiations with their board of directors. Everyone was wondering what it would mean locally: more investment and more jobs, or perhaps the opposite – cut backs and layoffs?

That evening over dinner, Dick discussed the situation with his sister Jane. While they decided things must be looking up if there was to be a takeover, and he needn’t worry about his job, Jane did bring up an interesting point.

“Don’t you earn stock options as a part of your compensation? I bet a takeover would drive the stock price up. You should buy now to take advantage of that.”

“Great idea, Jane,” said Dick. Why didn’t I think of that?”

The next day, Dick logged into his online account, and exercised his options, buying hundreds more shares in the company he worked for.

Six weeks later, the takeover was announced. Stock prices increased by about 40% in a few short weeks. Dick sold most of his shares to lock in a profit, and was quite excited. He even took Jane to dinner to celebrate their smart investing choices.

The next day, Dick was surprised to receive a call from the Securities Commission. They had questions about his recent account activity, and were investigating whether he acted on confidential insider information.

“I’m not an insider,” he thought. “I’m a programmer. Don’t those rules only apply to senior executives?”

What did Dick do wrong?

Securities laws prohibit a person in a special relationship with a reporting issuer from trading based on material information that is not available to the general public. By definition, an “insider” is someone in a position to know important, non-public information about a company, such as senior management.

However, anyone in an organization who becomes aware of such information,  such as research and development teams or public relations staff, can be considered as a person in a special relationship with the organization, and is not allowed to trade on that information until it is available to the public. These rules keep markets fair for all investors, as everyone is making choices based on the same information.

Dick and Jane were not aware of the rules regarding insider information, but lack of knowledge does not protect them. It is important for anyone investing on their own behalf to know that they are governed by the same laws as professional traders. Ensure that you are aware of the rules in your jurisdiction.

A good resource to start with is the Rule Book of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). Or, if you can handle the legal jargon, read the NS Securities Act.

You may also want to consider investing in more formal training – take a finance class at a university or community college, or sign up for the the Canadian Securities Course. It is a small investment for some valuable knowledge.

*Dick and Jane are fictional characters. The scenario however, is not that uncommon.

Why not use the holidays as a time to pass on good money management lessons? Teach your children the value of saving and budgeting. Give them a holiday allowance to buy presents and treats, and help them spend it properly.

We have resources that can help you do this.

Recently we worked with the Chronicle Herald and Credit Unions of Nova Scotia to produce “Where did all my money go?” an educational supplement telling the story of Taylor and Drew, grade six students learning to save and budget their funds so they can participate in the class ski trip.

“Where did all my money go?” is a 4 page, full colour comic story, which was featured in the November 25 edition of the Chronicle Herald. It is also available online and in hard copy (limited quantities) from the Securities Commission. It also comes with an Instructor’s Guide, providing group activities adaptable for children of all ages & abilities.

To order a family or class set of paper copies, contact us by email, and indicate the number of copies you need. Orders will be filled on a first come, first served basis, while supplies last.

While you are at it, please check out Make it Count, a new and interactive educational resource for parents and teachers and mentors of young children. Turn everyday experiences into learning opportunities. All of a sudden, a trip to the supermarket becomes a lesson in budgeting, or a drive in the car becomes a quick lesson on the cost of transportation. Get the Guide and learn how to talk to your kids about managing their money.

Happy Holidays!

To help you out, I have quizzed staff at the Nova Scotia Securities Commission, as well as our followers on Twitter, for their personal finance book recommendations. These make great stocking stuffers, and offer lessons that last a lifetime.

Our top picks are:

1. The Wealthy Barber, by David Chilton. It’s a Canadian classic. Covers the whole range of personal finance topics in a story format that anyone can understand. A great book for beginners.

2. The New Retirement, by Sherry Cooper. Retirement is changing in Canada, and Sherry Cooper has advice for boomers. The economist draws from studies in psychology and gerontology to offer tips on living the second half of your adult life productively and in good health.

3. The Smart Cookies Guide to Making More Dough, by Andrea Baxter, Angela Self, Katie Dunsworth, Robyn Gunn, and Sandra Hanna. The Smart Cookies are five young Canadian women who formed a “money club” to dig thenmselves out of debt and turn their financial lives around. In this book, the “Cookies” share their stories, offer easy-to-follow steps, and lay out simple plans for meeting any goal, whether it’s eliminating debt, making good investments, becoming a smart spender or saving up for a big-ticket purchase.

Do you have a favourite personal finance book or resource? What should I be putting in my family’s Christmas stockings? Leave a comment below, or retweet this post, and you could win your choice of the books listed. (Draw date Friday, December 18, 2009. Contest open to Canadian residents only.)

The CSA survey indicates 86% of Nova Scotians believe that teaching financial skills is among the most important things a parent can do for their child. However only 21% feel that the primary responsibility for teaching young people about money should fall to the parents, which seems an obvious disconnect. Only half of parents with children 18 or younger have actually taught their children about personal finances and investing.

Perhaps the reasoning behind this is that many Nova Scotian parents admit to being only somewhat confident (59%) or not confident (26%) in their ability to teach their children about personal finances. It is difficult to teach something you don’t understand, and only 11% of Nova Scotians say they are “very confident” in their own investment decisions. 44% are “somewhat confident,” 25% “not very confident” and 15% “not at all confident.”

If you are a parent or mentor who believes in the importance of financial education but need help teaching your children the basics, the CSA has launched a new interactive program, Make it Count, to help you pass on good financial skills.

Make it Count resources center around a series of activities, tips and lesson plans that are simple to follow and more importantly, simple to teach. It includes an online, interactive money management system that allows parents or teachers and children to set up a daily budget, start and track savings goals and chat with other money mentors in an online forum. Children can see where their money is going and how close they are to meeting their goals and mentors can obtain help and support from the online forums.

The Make it Count resources, including the interactive online budgeting program can be accessed at MakeitCountOnline.ca. All resources are free, and available in both English and French.