Financial, Retirement and Estate Planning

FPSC - Financial Planners Standards Council is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to benefiting the financial planning profession and the Canadian consumer by establishing and enforcing education, examination, experience and ethics requirements for financial planners who choose to earn the CFP designation. There are currently about 13,000 planners licensed to use these marks in Canada. CFP and Certified Financial Planner certification marks are used by FPSC under license agreement with the CFP Board of Standards, Inc. 

Human Resources Department Canada - www.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca - Information releases, updates on Old Age Security (OAS) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Also www.cpp-rpc.gc.ca - Reports on financial reviews of CPP by federal and provincial governments.

Canada Pension Plan - Watch how your dollars are being invested by the CPP Investment Board at www.cppib.ca. Results posted quarterly in August, November, February and May.

www.canadabenefits.gc.ca  - This federal government site offers provincial and federal information about financial benefit programs for individuals, eg. student loans, public pension plans, employment insurance, housing assistance and payments to parents, immigrants, disabled individuals, veterans, athletes and artists.

www.strategis.gc.ca - Industry Canada's site. Tools to help you reduce monthly banks charges and credit card costs. Details on most credit cards. Inquiries encouraged. This site offers general business data from Industry Canada.

Funerals With Love - www.funeralswithlove.com - Trusted advice on funeral planning, burials, writing the eulogy, funeral expenses and more. Free, downloadable "Funeral Cost Calculator."

www.martindale.com  - Jim Martindale's site has over 18,200 calculators. The huge list is alphabetized and cross-indexed. It appears that every conceivable topic is covered--from health to household to financial fields. Take your time!

www.financenter.com  - calculators to compute financial options in 15 topic areas, such as auto, budget, retirement, mutual funds, savings and more.

www.itfigures.ca  - Designed to help you make informed decisions about a variety of areas from your home's mortgage to lease payments on a new car. Calculators include: loan and mortgage calculator, time value of money, net worth calculator, currency converter, investment yield calculator, and how much one saves by not smoking.

www.kidsmoney.org - This U.S. site is chock-full of all money matters for kids and their parents.

CIBC teaches children of all ages how money works and how to think about money. This Canadian bank offers two sectors for youth: "SmartStart for Kids" and "Student Life".

www.bigchange.com - A site devoted to helping parents and their children manage allowances.