Week 35 | Canadian Personal Finance News

(I realize it's an American blog. But the thinking is universal) Not too long ago, I was driving my family along the foothills of Southern California, at the base of the magnificent San Gabriel mountains. Believe it or not, the San Gabriels top out at over 10,000 feet; and while the panorama from the top of Mount Baldy is stunning, I think the view from the base of the range is arguably even more impressive as you cast your eyes up its steep and craggy face.

Let me start by saying that my father would be very disappointed in this piece - expecting maximum results from minimal work. But no one is saying that you can become a master of your finances the lazy way; that's like saying you can get healthy by doing a few sit-ups a week.

We've created a 6-step plan to help get you there faster.

Money nerd. Ex-banker. Fee only financial planner. Wary of banks, brokers, the financial industrial complex.

It seems like everywhere you look these days, there's a back-to-school sale. Frankly, I'm somewhat skeptical as to whether returning students actually need a new home-theatre system to succeed, but electronics retailer Best Buy, in an online ad, claims that "Studies show great sound improves GPA."

Current issue: There are many reasons why relatively few Canadian investors use ETFs compared with actively managed mutual funds. There's about $900 billion in mutual funds in this country, while ETF assets total about $60 billion-just over 6% of the total.

Reprinted by permission of the authors, Kyle Prevost & Justin Bouchard, from More Money For Beer and Textbooks. Copyright©2013 by Young and Thrifty Publications. If you have ever been to a post-secondary campus during the first two weeks of the fall semester, you've probably noticed the attractive displays and booths set up by credit-card distributors.

Week 35 | Canadian Personal Finance News - a list of all the most relevant news and blog posts on personal finance in Canada released this week.

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