Your Financial Toolkit

Gail Packwood

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) is “an independent body working to protect and inform consumers of financial products and services”.  Among other services, the FCAC provides toolkits and worksheets to help consumers understand and make smart financial decisions.

The website is divided by “life events” so you can narrow down your search for topics of interest based on your stage of life.  So whether you are having children or planning for retirement there is a section aimed at just what you need.

They answer many frequently asked questions from the more complex “how to chose a financial advisor” to the more straightforward “what happens if I make a late payment on my credit card?”  There is a range of advice offered to suit most levels of financial knowledge and aptitude.

Your Financial Toolkit is a new tool available both on their website and in hardcopy to assist ordinary Canadians in managing their money

Written using ordinary language and available in both English and French, the toolkit continues short videos, calculators, quizzes and checklists to help you assess the areas of your financial management that are of concern to you. It helps you focus on what you may need to learn more about in order to become more financially secure and aware.

It covers a wide variety of topics including creating budgets, saving more money, managing debt, retirement planning, avoiding fraud and many others.  A great place to start is the “self-assessment tool” which will help you pinpoint which modules and tools would be most useful to you.

I myself worked through the “retirement and pensions” module and found it full of useful tips as well as some jarring realities.  The website is very easy to navigate and has many different options for how to look at the material which you can select based on what works for you  - if you prefer to read a checklist or watch a video for instance.

The FCAC’s website can be found here http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/index-eng.asp