Canada has the highest investment fees in the world, as well as a confusing tax system that features four-letter words like RRSP and TFSA. Fortunately there are low-cost index funds that make it easy and rewarding for you to become a do-it-yourself “couch potato” investor.
With a focus on developing good processes to minimize the room for human error and step-by-step instructions, the book will walk you through the elements of managing your finances for the long term: how to devise a savings plan, stick to it through automation, determine how to allocate funds balancing risk and reward, invest using low-cost index funds, track your investments, and deal with the inevitable issue of taxation. Putting your money to work can look suspiciously like math at times, but this book lays out a simple approach that anyone can follow. Inside you will find tools and templates, along with easy suggestions and rules-of-thumb to help prevent analysis paralysis and get you started fast.
Control what can be controlled; minimize fees and effort. Investing doesn’t have to be complex to be successful. Keep it simple and you will succeed.
John Robertson is a scientist, writer, investor, teacher, and all-around nice guy. He has a PhD from the University of Western Ontario in Medical Biophysics, and spends his days as a science writer & editor for the Techna Institute in Toronto, part of University Health Network. Winner of multiple scientific presentation awards and the Macklin Teaching Fellowship from the University of Western Ontario, he specializes in explaining complex topics – scientific or financial – for the lay reader.
John blogs regularly at www.holypotato.net under the pen name of Potato.