[...] In terms of which books to get started, my favorite beginner book is "The Wealthy Barber".  Rich Dad Poor Dad is also good book to read to get you started.  It's not a "how to" book, but a book to help you get in the frame of mind of how a wealthy person thinks.  Another great Canadian read is: Spend Smarter, Save Bigger. [...]

[...] is a Donation Tax Credit for all donations made to a registered Canadian Charity. As stated by Margot Bai in her book "Spend Smarter, Save Bigger", the donation tax credit is the government's way of ensuring that the we donate with pre-tax [...]

[...] MillionDollarJourney [...]

[...] Tools that I Use TaxTips.ca DinkyTown Calculators 1&1 Web Hosting Canada Helps _uacct = “UA-1049109-1″; urchinTracker(); Home > Contests > Contest: Win a Free Book “Spend Smarter, Save Bigger” Book Review: Spend Smarter, Save Bigger [...]

Long time no talk! Glad to see you stopping by again!

Busy around the house hey? Doing some renovations in your spare time?

When you say that your expenses dropped significantly, what was that due to?

FT

Great articles this past month.

Sorry I haven’t dropped by lately but things have been busy around the house :-)

I specifically enjoyed your Retiring Early articles.

After two months, my expenses have dropped significantly and I use MS Money to keep track of things.

The recent market drop had me sweating a little, but I decided to chill and remember that I was euphoric when the market hit this level on the way up :-) and remind myself that I am interested in cash flow, not capital gains.

Looking forward to more great articles.

Q

Thanks for stopping by, it’s an honor to be graced by the presence of the author herself. :)

Do you have any future books in the works?

FT

Thanks for your flattering book review – I’m so glad that you enjoyed it and found it worthwhile.

Mike, you are quick to notice my mention of disability insurance. The truth is I wrote a whole section on Disability and Critical Illness Insurance that did not make the final cut.

In response to your enquiry, I have posted the text on my website at http://www.spendsmarter.ca/sample.php

Quick summary is that disability is best obtained through work when available, otherwise a private plan may be necessary. I also explain the various types of disability insurance you may already have.

Critical Illness insurance is great but can be pricey. You have to decide for yourself if it fits into your budget. I personally have Critical Illness insurance.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck as you investigate your options.

Critical illness can stop you from working but not all of them are insured ie stroke, heart attack…critical accident could stop you from working too…

Anyways – feel free to post anything you find out.

I noticed that the cover of the book was very attractive to even those not very interested in personal finance. When i was reading the book while visiting my mother in law (who is not financially savvy), she started to ask a bunch of questions about the book just based on the cover.

I have very limited experience with disability/illness insurance, but a financial advisor friend of mine only keeps critical illness insurance. I guess the way he figures it is that the only way that would stop him from working is if he had a serious illness.

My wife on the other hand, has own occupation disability insurance, and i’m in the process of doing some research on it for my own needs.

FT

One question for Margot or anyone else – in the book it mentions disability insurance but not in any detail. We’ve been working on getting our insurance in order and two types of insurance that I’ve seen are Critical Illness and Critical accident – my wife has some crit accident ins. ($13/month) and we’re wondering if it’s worth keeping. And what’s the deal with the illness insurance – scam? good idea?
It seems that both of these types of insurance are very (too?) specific in what they cover.