Tools – Prosper Canada Learning Hub

Canadian Shelter transformation network

About Affordable Housing in Canada

Banks responding to unique financial needs of seniors

Options you can trust to help you with your debt

Housing law: free legal information

This resource produced by Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) provides a list of free legal information about paying rent, eviction procedures and much more.

Make it Count is a parent's resource for youth money management provided by the Manitoba Securities Commission that provides activities and tips to help you incorporate youth money management lessons into your daily routine. You can easily turn errands into education.

Disponible en français

Money management worksheets

CPA Canada has a selection of money management worksheets you can use with your clients.

Goal Setting
Set SMART goals that are specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, time-framed.

Financial Fitness Self-Assessment
Determine how well you are currently managing your finances.

Values Validator
Determine the things in life that are most important to you.

Monthly Budget for Teens
Help teenagers living at home create a monthly budget.

Role Model Self-Assessment
Determine what kind of financial role model you are.

Document Organizer
Organize your documents in preparation for filing your taxes.

Cash Flow Organizer
Get a clear picture of your cash flow — what is coming in and what is going out

Net Worth Worksheet
Get a snapshot of what you own (your assets) and what you owe (your liabilities)

Post-Secondary Student Budget
This worksheet will help students accurately estimate the total budget they need

Financial wellness guide: questionnaire

CPA Canada developed the Financial Wellness Guide to help you understand money basics. Complete the online questionnaire to get straightforward tools and information, based on your financial situation, that will help you with your financial goals.

Your financial toolkit

A comprehensive learning program that provides basic information and tools to help adults manage their personal finances and gain the confidence they need to make better financial decisions. Learn more about the program and how to use the learning modules.

Economic abuse screening tool (a toolkit for social service providers)

Women’s shelters are often the first point of contact for victim-survivors fleeing abusive relationships. Therefore, safety and shelter are logically at the forefront of staff members’ immediate concerns. Once the victim-survivor is in a place of safety, it is crucial to explore the patterns of abuse the person has experienced. Economic security is an often overlooked pattern of abuse linked to physical safety. It is, therefore, crucial and the goal of this screening tool for shelter workers to identify potential Economic and Financial Abuse amongst their clients and to assist victim-survivors in accessing essential economic resources.

Watch the webinar: Recognizing and responding to economic abuse; empowering survivors to thrive and succeed.

Disponible en Français

Cyber security awareness quizzes

Discover a new quiz site to help Canadians and Canadian small businesses protect against phishing scams.

The Canadian Bankers Association has created four quizzes for Canadians to learn more about cyber fraud and how to prevent becoming a victim.

Quiz #1: Phish, vish, smish

Quiz #2: Social engineering: a peek behind the curtain

Quiz # 3: Protecting your small business from phishing attacks

Quiz #4: How to protect yourself and others

Do you know how to prevent fraud?

Test your knowledge on fraud prevention by answering these 11 questions.

Benefits & credits: factsheets from the CRA

The CRA has compiled benefits and credits factsheets for:

These are available in English and French.

Financial Literacy for Black and African American Students

In honor of Black History Month, BestColleges in the United States interviewed financial expert Terrance Dedrick to help curate a financial literacy resource for Black and African Americans.

This article includes links to these organizations in the United States that cater to Black and African Americans:

"Brown Ambition": A popular podcast for Black and African American students covers important financial literacy topics and provides advice from others who have learned financial literacy and used it successfully.

Urban Wallet: A selection of free guides and resources to help students learn about spending and budgeting, investing in cryptocurrencies, and using credit cards responsibly.

Association of African American Financial Advisors (AAAFA): for Black and African American students looking to work with a financial advisor to learn more about money.

Operation HOPE: This nonprofit works with students and other adults alike to provide financial dignity through financial literacy training, coaching, and other services to build confidence and resilience.

Building Bread: Designed for Black students and young professionals, Building Bread provides a free financial planning course along with other low-cost advanced classes.

Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)

A Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) can help you save for retirement while also saving at tax time — or even getting a rebate. The articles from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) can help you understand more about opening, contributing to, and withdrawing from an RRSP.

Money matters

Money Matters is a free introductory financial literacy program for adult learners that has been delivered to Canadians since 2011 and has reached over 80,000 adults. It was developed by ABC Life Literacy Canada in partnership with the Government of Canada and TD Bank Group and was designed by literacy practitioners.

The newly released resources as part of the Money Matters program are:

Managing your money in a changing world

Managing your finances means finding the right balance. Inflation and higher interest rates signal that you may need to adjust your budget to find the right balance between daily spending and paying down debt. The right balance will depend on your financial situation and goals.

This selection of tools from the FCAC provides information and tips on:

How to manage your money when interest rates rise

Make a plan to pay off your debt

What to consider before borrowing money

Know your rights when borrowing money

Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 10, Reduced Inequalities

An infographic from Statistics Canada highlighting the advances made in reaching Goal 10, reducing inequalities, of the sustainable development goals.

Cash flow calculator

Use this calculator by the Ontario Securities Commission to estimate your positive or negative monthly cash flow.

Spending habits calculator

Use this calculator to see how changes to your spending habits can impact your budget and help you save more of your money.

Make it easier to save

It pays to make saving a habit. Look for easy ways to build saving into your life and to make it automatic.

Crypto Quiz

Are you considering investing in crypto assets, but aren’t sure whether it’s right for you, legal or just a scam? Test your crypto knowledge and learn how to spot the warning signs of fraud using OSC's quiz.

Financial literacy self-assessment quiz

Take this self-assessment quiz to figure out how your financial literacy skills and knowledge measure up compared to other Canadians.

Investment knowledge quiz

Most people know a little about investing, but they need to know more to be able to manage their investments to meet their goals. Try this quiz by the FCAC to see if your knowledge is basic or more advanced.

Start Your Investment Journey

Before you start investing, it is important to consider your budget and financial goals, and how much risk you are comfortable taking on. Like many things in life, investing comes with its own share of risks and rewards. You can do this on your own or with the help of an advisor.

Fraud alert videos

Learn more about fraud in this latest set of videos by the Ontario Securities Commission.

Investment fraud
Pump and dump scams
Fake government messages
Warnings about your finances
Work from home scams
Quick high-return schemes

Investment recovery calculator

This calculator will help you find out how long it will take for your investment to recover its value after a market downturn and identify how long it will take to get back on track to reach your original goal.

Cyber security awareness

The Canadian Bankers Association has created a new Cyber Security Awareness Quiz site to test your knowledge and ability to spot a “phishy” email, message or text.

Cyber security checklist

Getting cyber safe doesn't have to be complicated. With the right resources and tools, you can stay safe and secure online. Here's a handy checklist for protecting your data online.

RESP savings calculator

Reporting fraud

A comprehensive set of articles are available on the Ontario Securities Commission website on how to identify and report fraud as well as what to do if you have been defrauded.

Introduction to behavioural insights for the social sector: a capacity building course

This self-paced online course will help you learn about behavioural insights and how they can help you increase impact in simple, practical ways. In this self-paced learning experience, you will learn foundational skills and tools that you can apply immediately to your work, creating a long-lasting social impact.

TFSA Calculator

A Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) can be used to save for any goal. You put after-tax dollars into a TFSA, but your investments grow tax-free and you won’t pay any tax on withdrawal.

Use this calculator to estimate the value of the investments in your TFSA when you’re ready to withdraw them, and compare this amount to the value of your investments in a non-registered plan to see your overall estimated tax savings.

Checking registration

Checking registration helps protect you from unqualified or fraudulent individuals. Always check the registration of any person or business trying to sell you an investment or give you investment advice by using the Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Registration Search.

Titles like financial advisor, financial planner, investment consultant, and investment specialist aren’t legally defined terms or official registration categories. Some advisers or dealers may have designations that allow them to use specific titles, such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Checking registration tells you what specific products and services they are (and aren’t) qualified to offer you, regardless of title.

Debt consolidation calculator

Debt Consolidation is the process of combining multiple debts into one. Use this calculator to calculate what your new monthly payments would be, how soon you could be debt free, and how much your total interest amount would be when you consolidate your debts.

Take the stress out of budgeting

Making a budget is one of the most helpful financial tools you can use on a regular basis. A budget can give you a clear picture of where your money is going. It’s easier to plan for the life you want, when you know how much money you have for saving, spending and paying off debt.

If you’ve never made a budget, or have not created one in a long time, it can be an intimidating reality check. Don’t let stress or worry keep you from creating a budget. The best budgeting method to use is the one that works for you.

8 ways to prepare financially for retirement

This article from OSC provides 8 tips to help you plan for retirement.

Transitioning from working life to retirement takes careful financial planning and decision-making – give yourself plenty of time to prepare. Here are some things you can do ahead of time.

Financial wellness tools

The National Disability Institute's Financial Wellness Toolkit is full of free resources for disability service providers, nonprofits, financial professionals and municipalities, including Financial Education Handouts and Quick Reference Guides.

This infographic highlights income, banking and credit inequality based on disability, race and ethnicity.

Multilingual financial resources for Ontarians

Investing for your future is important. And no matter how much (or little) money you have to invest, having the right information and resources can help you make better decisions for you and your family.

The resources and tools provided here are intended to be a starting point for new investors, including those new to Canada. The information here can help you make more informed investment decisions and help you better protect your money.

Behavioural bias checker

Being aware of potential biases can help you become a better decision-maker. Use this tool to improve your awareness of different behavioural biases or “blind spots” that may influence your decisions.

Investing basics

Whether you’re a first-time investor, thinking of saving for your education, or planning for your retirement, FAIR Canada's investing basics may help you on your investing journey.

Your trusted contact person and why they matter

The Trusted Contact Person initiative has been adopted across Canada.

It is part of new regulatory measures to support advisors in their efforts to help investors, particularly older investors and vulnerable, protect themselves and their financial interests.

Canadian seniors are increasingly called upon to make complex financial decisions, with higher stakes, later in life than ever before. For many, health, mobility, or cognitive changes that can occur with age, may affect their ability to make these decisions. This can make seniors more susceptible to financial exploitation and fraud. In fact, about half of the victims of investment fraud are over age 55.

Watch this new video on understanding the importance of appointing a trusted contact person.

Compound interest calculator

Using OSC's online calculator, find out how your investment will grow over time with compound interest.

Emergency fund calculator

Some emergencies in life can affect you financially. You could get sick, lose your job, or have a costly repair to your car or home. An emergency fund can provide a financial safety net. Ideally, this fund would provide enough money to cover your essential living expenses so you can avoid taking on debt.

Use OSC's calculator to estimate how much money should be set aside to pay for financial emergencies.

Introduction to investing: A primer for new investors

Whether you’re new to investing, or new to Canada, InvestingIntroduction.ca can help. Visit the Ontario Securities Commission's refreshed website and find resources to help you make more informed investment decisions and better protect your money.

The information is available in 22 languages.

Translated financial terms

The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau has developed resources to help multilingual communities and newcomers in a selection of languages. The translated financial terms are available in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Tagalog.

This website has many other multi-lingual resources, covering a range of topics from opening a bank account, money transfers, money management, debt collection and many others. Some terms are US based but most are universal.

Retirement budget worksheet

Good financial planning starts with knowing what you spend. Try out this budget worksheet, prepared by the Ontario Securities Commission, to see the difference in your costs before you retire and after you stop working.

Scam spotter tool

Are you considering a new investment?

Use this tool to learn how to spot the warning signs of fraud, and to learn how to protect yourself from suspected scams.

FCAC new consumer information – electronic alerts

Le français suit l’anglais.

As of June 30, 2022, banks will be required to send electronic alerts to their customers to help them manage their finances and avoid unnecessary fees. Some banks have already started sending these alerts to their customers. The electronic alerts are part of the new and enhanced protections in Canada’s Financial Consumer Protection Framework (the Framework) that comes into effect on June 30, 2022.

To inform Canadians about electronic alerts and their benefits, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) published new consumer information on electronic alerts, developed an infographic, and prepared social media content that you can use on your own social media channels.

Under the Framework, banks will be required to:

disclose key information to help their customers make timely and informed decisions
provide customers with more timely complaint-handling services
offer and sell products or services to customers that are appropriate for their circumstances
respect new rules to avoid misleading customers or applying undue pressure on customers when selling them products and service

À compter du 30 juin 2022, les banques seront tenues d’envoyer des alertes électroniques à leurs clients afin de les aider à gérer leurs finances et à éviter de payer inutilement des frais, ce que certaines ont déjà commencé à faire. Ces alertes font partie des mesures de protection nouvelles ou améliorées prévues dans le Cadre de protection des consommateurs de produits et services financiers du Canada (le Cadre) qui entre en vigueur le 30 juin 2022.

Pour informer les Canadiens et les Canadiennes à propos des alertes électroniques et de leurs avantages, l’Agence de la consommation en matière financière du Canada (ACFC) a publié de nouveaux renseignements à ce sujet pour les consommateurs. Elle a également créé une infographie et préparé du contenu pour les réseaux sociaux que vous pouvez utiliser dans vos propres comptes de médias sociaux.

En vertu des dispositions du Cadre, les banques seront tenues :

de communiquer aux consommateurs des renseignements importants pour les aider à prendre des décisions éclairées en temps opportun;
de fournir à leurs clients des services plus rapides de traitement des plaintes;
de veiller à ce que les produits et services qu’elles offrent ou vendent à leurs clients leur conviennent, compte tenu de leur situation;
de respecter de nouvelles règles de protection des consommateurs afin d’éviter de leur fournir des renseignements trompeurs ou d’exercer des pressions indues sur eux lorsqu’elles leur offrent ou leur vendent des produits et services.

Investor readiness quiz

Investing is an important part of planning for a financially secure future. It can battle the effects of inflation on your savings, grow your wealth, and provide sources of income in retirement. The sooner you invest, the longer compound interest can work to grow your savings exponentially. However, there are some important milestones to achieve and questions to consider before you start investing.

Are you ready to invest? Take this quiz to find out!

Community volunteer income tax program (CVITP)

Need help filing your taxes? You may be able to avail of the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program.

The Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) has existed since 1971 and is a longstanding partnership between the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and community organizations and their volunteers.

Tax clinic volunteers complete tax and benefit returns for eligible individuals to ensure they receive, or continue to receive, their entitled benefit payments. In Québec, volunteers prepare both the federal and provincial tax return.

The CVITP service is offered free of charge to everyone who meets the eligibility criteria, and includes doing taxes for the current and previous years.

For the 2022 tax season, community organizations are hosting free in-person and virtual tax clinics.

Pay down debt or invest tool

If you have extra money, this calculator helps you decide whether to invest or pay off debt.

Banking for newcomers to Canada

Banks offer extensive information on how newcomers to Canada can get started in their new country, including checklists, information, financial services and advice.

The Canadian Bankers Association has compiled some basic information to get you started including an infographic with features of the Canadian banking system.

How income tax works

Filing your taxes might be one of the most important financial actions you’ll take each year. It can also feel confusing or stressful at times.

Find out more about how income tax works, including tax deductions and tax credits using the Ontario Securities Commission's interactive chart to see what tax bracket you are in.

Making more purchases online? Beware of fake websites and phony retailer apps

Many of us have shifted some of our shopping online during the pandemic – it’s easy and very often you can have items delivered right to your door. Criminals are taking advantage of the increased popularity of online shopping by creating fake websites and apps that look authentic but are just a ploy to steal your personal information.

The Canadian Banker's Association helps you identify fake websites and apps and shares tips on how to protect yourself while shopping online and what to do if you are a victim of an online shopping scam.

Dimensions of poverty hub

Statistics Canada has created an "Opportunity for All"; a dashboard of 12 indicators to track progress on deep income poverty as well as the aspects of poverty other than income, including indicators of material deprivation, lack of opportunity and resilience.

These indicators are broadly grouped into three categories: dignity, opportunity and inclusion and resilience and security.

It’s time to get ready for taxes!

Intuit is committed to helping students across the country work towards a more prosperous financial future by equipping them with the education they need to feel confident about their taxes.

Through the Intuit TurboTax Simulation, we are helping students overcome the fear of Tax Day. You do not need to be an expert to teach taxes, and we recommend teaching to grade levels 9-12.

Debt got you down?

The CBA partnered with Credit Counselling Canada, an association of accredited non-profit credit counselling agencies, to offer the Debt and Money Quiz.

The online tool helps Canadians assess their financial health and provides recommendations to help those who are struggling financially.

Take a short “Yes” or “No” quiz to find out if you need support managing money and debt. See how you compare with other quiz respondents.

Trans PULSE Canada COVID Data Dashboard

In September – October 2020, the Trans PULSE Canada study team conducted the COVID Cohort to assess the social, economic, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on trans and non-binary people in Canada.

This dashboard serves as an interactive tool for community members and researchers to explore key findings from the Trans PULSE Canada COVID survey, and to break down the results by one or more socio-demographic characteristics. The proportions in the dashboard are weighted to represent the 2019 Trans PULSE Canada sample.

Nurturing Supporting Relationships: The Foundation to a Secure Future

This handbook provides a guide for actions to take when nurturing supporting relationships for people living with a disability.

Disability Tax Credit Tool

The Canadian Disability Tax Credit (DTC) can help reduce the taxes you or someone who supports you owe. It also offers a lot of other great benefits.

To apply for the DTC, your healthcare provider will need to fill out the Disability Tax Credit Certificate (form T2201). This tool is designed to give them the information they need to fill out that form

OpportuNext (career transition online tool)

OpportuNext from The Conference Board of Canada is a free-to-use career tool created in partnership with the Future Skills Centre. The tool can be used by anyone looking to plan a career path with a similar skillset or for anyone providing employment services.

Communicating on Race and Racial Economic Equity

This document is a compilation of best practices and recommendations from a wide range of resources that Prosperity Now’s Racial Wealth Divide Initiative (RWDI) and Communications teams thought would be helpful for naming, framing, defining and understanding the issue of racial economic equity. Design guidelines on visually depicting diverse communities and definitions of important terms and concepts for understanding the nuance and complexity of racial economic equity, the racial wealth divide and racial wealth equity are provided.

Financial Relief Navigator

The Financial Relief Navigator is an online tool that can help you find support to raise your income or lower your expenses in these challenging times.

The tool will suggest income benefits or other support programs you may be eligible for in your province/territory in Canada.

Racial Equity Impact Assessment Toolkit

Creating Financial Security: Financial Planning in Support of a Relative with a Disability

This handbook covers the following topics:

An understanding of why financial planning is important and how to align your financial objectives with your life goals and values.
An overview of common financial planning components and tools available to individuals with a disability (including the ODSP, RDSP, DTC, and more).
Common financial planning strategies for young, middle-aged and older families.
Tips for finding a good financial advisor.
Common pitfalls people make when it comes to planning for a loved one with a disability, and how to avoid them.

Money Mentors – Savings & Debt Resources

Collection of money management resources, including how create effective budgets, realistic spending plans, deal with your debts, save more money, build a stronger credit rating, and prepare for retirement.

The MIX Challenge Toolkit: Tools & Techniques for Challenge-Based Innovation Partnerships & Procurement

The Municipal Innovation Exchange (MIX) project team created this Toolkit to assist municipalities - individual line managers or project owners, or municipal strategic teams (like a Smart Cities Office) - that are contemplating or undertaking a procurement by means of innovation partnership.

The Toolkit can help municipal staff decide which projects are a good fit for this approach to procurement. It can help them initiate and manage an innovation partnership. It can also help them assess the whole experience afterwards and determine if and how to apply innovation partnership again.

Consumer Price Index Personal Inflation Calculator

This interactive tool created by Statistics Canada allows you to explore your personal rate of inflation, based on the goods and services you consume.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the official measure of inflation in Canada. It is representative of the change in prices experienced by the average Canadian household. However, your personal experience of inflation may not perfectly match the Canadian average due to differences in your spending habits. The Personal Inflation Calculator accounts for those differences and provides a measure of inflation unique to you.

Northwest Territories Income Assistance Handbook

The Income Assistance Program provides Financial Assistance to Northerners to help meet basic and enhanced needs. The program encourages and supports greater self-reliance to improve the quality of lives.

This plain language handbook is for people who may want to play for Income Assistance. It provides information on:

The program
Who is eligible
How to apply or appeal

The handbook also contains helpful contact information on the following resources in the Northwest Territories including:

other income security programs
health and medical resources
renters rights
federal disability, seniors, and family supports

Guide de recours : Lors d’un conflit avec un fournisseur de communication

A guide for consumers to help with problems related to communications services. Information is provided to allow consumers to better assert their rights and facilitate the resolution of a dispute with communication service providers. (Please note this is a French-language resource.)

Union des consommateurs - communicationservices

Creating Communities Where We Live – A Good Practices Guide

Creating Communities Where We Live - A Good Practices Guide is a locally-driven community-based researched project conducted in Edmonton, Alberta, by e4c and the University of Alberta Community Service-Learning program. The project seeks to add to the knowledge and practice of community care around supporting people to achieve a safe, secure, and affordable housing experience.

The 10 good practices in this guide describe structures, roles, and relationships which promote community and wellbeing for tenants who live in affordable housing. The practices are informed, in part, by research into tenant and staff experiences at affordable housing complexes run by four Edmonton housing providers.

G20/OECD INFE Core Competencies Framework on financial literacy for Adults (aged 18+)

This document describes the types of knowledge that adults aged 18 or over could benefit from, what they should be capable of doing and the behaviours that may help them to achieve financial well-being, as well as the attitudes and confidence that will support this process. It can be used to inform the development of a national strategy on financial education, improve programme design, identify gaps in provision, and create assessment, measurement and evaluation tools.

COVID-19 Financial Resource Centre

Credit Canada has pulled together financial information from trusted sources and released original content to help Canadians manage their finances during COVID-19.

The Common Approach

The Common Foundations are a minimum standard for how to do impact measurement without prescribing a particular tool or approach. This can help to overcome a widespread challenge of grantmakers, donors, lenders and investors imposing impact measurement approaches on the social purpose organizations that they give money to. They do this for assurances that the impact measurement is of a sufficient quality and comparability. The Common Foundations solves part of this problem. Funders can require social purpose organizations to demonstrate that the are doing all five essential practices while leaving the social purpose organization to choose which tools and approaches to use.

In addition to the quick guide, videos, key documents, and a self-assessment are provided as tools to meet the standard of impact measurement in Canada.

Questions and answers to legal topics in Ontario

The Community of Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) website contains answers to common questions pertaining to a number of legal topics, including: COVID-19, debt and consumer rights, and employment and work.

Dimensions of Poverty Hub

The Dimensions of Poverty Hub, sponsored by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), enables Canadians to track progress on poverty reduction. The updates as of September 2020 include poverty statistics based upon the new 2018-base Market Basket Measure (MBM).

Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub

Launched by the Centre for Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics (CGDIS), the Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Hub focuses on disaggregated data by gender and other identities to support evidence-based policy development and decision making.

Youth Reconnect Program Guide: An Early Intervention Approach to Preventing Youth Homelessness

Since 2017, the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and A Way Home Canada have been implementing and evaluating three program models that are situated across the continuum of prevention, in 10 communities and 12 sites in Ontario and Alberta. Among these is an early intervention called Youth Reconnect.

This document describes the key elements of the YR program model, including program elements and objectives, case examples of YR in practice, and necessary conditions for implementation. It is intended for communities who are interested in pursuing similar early intervention strategies. The key to success, regardless of the approaches taken, lies in building and nurturing community partnerships with service providers, educators, policy professionals, and young people.

From the Margins to Center: Responding to COVID-19 with an Equity and Gender Lens

On June 30th, AFN presented an Expert Insights briefing on what it takes to center women of color in the relief, recovery, and rebuild plans for the current health and economic crisis and beyond.

The speaker is Dominique Derbigny, deputy director of Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap (CWWG) and author of the report, On the Margins: Economic Security for Women of Color through the Coronavirus Crisis and Beyond.

Learn why women of color are suffering severely from the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis, opportunities to advance gender economic equity in near-term recovery efforts, and possible strategies to prevent wealth extraction and foster long-term economic security for women of color.

Expert Insights: Preventing Evictions in Communities of Color During COVID-19

COVID-19 is radically reshaping many aspects of people’s financial health in America, including their housing security. The economic fallout is disproportionately impacting communities of color due to systemic inequities related to race, housing, employment, and more. As the protections put in place at the start of the pandemic fade away, the United States are facing an eviction tsunami that will disparately displace Black and Latinx families.

On August 25, AFN’s summer Expert Insights briefed attendees on rental risks and evictions related to COVID-19. Speakers were Solomon Greene with The Urban Institute and Dr. Christie Cade of NeighborWorks America.

Identity theft

Identity thieves try to use your personal information to take money from your bank account, shop with your credit card, or even commit crimes in your name. This publication explains how to spot the warning signs of identity theft, how to protect yourself, and what you can do if it happens to you.

Your rights at work

This publication explains a worker’s legal rights under the Employment Standards Act regarding hours of work and pay, overtime, breaks, holidays and vacations, and leave from your job. It also has information about how to make a claim against an employer.

Workers’ Compensation: Making a claim

This resource explains what a worker should do if they have a job-related injury or disease, how they can apply for benefits from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and what happens when the Board gets a report of their injury. It also has sections about what their employer must do, and where injured workers can get legal help.

Legal Resources Catalogue: Free legal information

This resource provides a list of free legal information resources produced by Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO).

Beware of scams related to the coronavirus

Scammers are taking advantage of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to con people into giving up their money. Though the reason behind their fraud is new, their tactics are familiar. It can be even harder to prevent scams right now because people 62 and older aren’t interacting with as many friends, neighbors, and senior service providers due to efforts to slow the spread of disease.

This blog post presents consumer protection toolkit resources produced by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in addition to tips for consumers regarding COVID-19 related scams.

Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app

Part of the Canadian Labour Market Observatory, this interactive data visualization application showcases publicly available labour market information. The fully interactive applications allow Canadians to quickly and easily personalize the information in a way that is relevant to them and their interests.

Prosperity Now Scorecard

The Prosperity Now Scorecard is a comprehensive resource featuring data on family financial health and policy recommendations to help put all U.S. households on a path to prosperity. The Scorecard equips advocates, policymakers and practitioners with national, state, and local data to jump-start a conversation about solutions and policies that put households on stronger financial footing across five issue areas: Financial Assets & Income, Businesses & Jobs, Homeownership & Housing, Health Care and Education.

Low Income Retirement Planning

This booklet contains information on retirement planning on a low income. Topics include four things to think about for low income retirement planning, a background paper on maximizing the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), and determining Old Age Security (OAS) and GIS eligibility for people who come to Canada as adults.

OAS cheat sheet for 2023

open policy ontario - retirement booklet

Elder Fraud Prevention and Response Networks Development Guide

This guide provides step-by-step materials to help communities form networks to increase their capacity to prevent and respond to elder financial exploitation.

The planning tools, templates and exercises offered in this guide help stakeholders plan a stakeholder retreat and training event, host a retreat, reconvene and establish their network, and expand network capabilities in order to create a new network or to refresh or expand an existing one.

Canada Learning Bond – Get $500 for your child’s future

This two-page brochure describes the benefits of acting now to receive $500 to help start saving for a child's education after high school. The brochure is also available in the following Indigenous languages:

Financial Literacy Outcome Evaluation Tool

The Financial Literacy Outcome Evaluation Tool offers organizations a collection of evidence-based financial literacy outcomes and indicators. The tool guides users through a series of questions about their program and evaluation goals and then suggests scales (sets of questions) and individual questions they can use.

Service Design Tools

This website shares tools, tutorials, and resources on service design. The tools will help you prepare for different stages of the service design process, think through who to engage and how, and plan or improve a service. Includes templates for tools such as empathy maps, personas, service blueprints, and more.

Retirement Literacy Website

The ACPM Retirement Literacy Program complements the financial literacy education efforts by the federal and provincial governments, and other organizations.

The website contains a series of quizzes to help improve your knowledge of pensions and retirement savings plans as well as links to financial literacy resources.

Budget Planner

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)'s online tool helps you create a customized budget.

Emergency Fund Calculator

Some emergencies in life can affect you financially. You could get sick, lose your job, or have a costly repair to your car or home. An emergency fund can provide a financial safety net. Use this calculator to estimate how much money should be set aside to pay for financial emergencies.

Rainbow Framework

The Rainbow Framework organizes different methods and processes that can be used in monitoring and evaluation. The range of tasks are organised into seven colour-coded clusters: Manage, Define, Frame, Describe, Understand Causes, Synthesise, and Report & Support Use. Users can use the framework to plan an evaluation that covers all necessary tasks or choose from an approach which contains a pre-packaged combination of task options.

My money in Canada

Are you a newcomer to Canada, or someone who works with newcomers? This online tool will help you explore five money modules to better manage your finances in Canada. Learn about the financial system in Canada, income and expenses, setting goals and saving, credit and credit reports, and filing taxes.

Updated July 26, 2022:

My money in Canada provides important information about Canada’s financial system and promotes positive money management habits to support Canadians to succeed financially. Interactive exercises and checklists support you to make informed choices and to create a customized financial plan that works for you.

Originally designed to support newcomers to Canada as they settle and establish themselves financially, My money in Canada has been updated to serve all Canadians, including those who are new to Canada.

RDSP calculator

Enhance the quality of life for a family member with a disability. By answering a few simple questions, the RDSP Calculator can help you project the estimated future value of an RDSP, and the approximate value of future withdrawal payments. Run various scenarios to see how it would affect the value of your RDSP.

The RDSP Calculator is a tool to help you assess the potential of opening and contributing to an RDSP. The estimates provided by the Calculator are for information purposes only. The profile of your RDSP may differ from the RDSP Calculator projection.

2017 Bank On Data Pilot: Accessing Local Data

Bank On coalitions are locally-led partnerships between local public officials; city, state, and federal government agencies; financial institutions; and community organizations that work together to help improve the financial stability of unbanked and underbanked individuals and families in their communities. The CFE Fund’s Bank On national initiative builds on this grassroots movement, supporting local coalitions with strategic and financial support, as well as by liaising nationally with banking, regulatory, and nonprofit organization partners to expand banking access. This tool details the 2017 Bank On Data Pilot and includes instructions for accessing the local Bank On data at the city and zip code level.

Proliteracy.ca: Plan Finances for University or College

Proliteracy.ca analyzes historical living expenses from over 160 cities and tuition from over 100 universities and colleges in Canada to predict the cost of post secondary education in the future.

Their tool suggests financing options based on your profile. Learn about RESP, grants, scholarships and various government and commercial programs with their online resources.

Canada Revenue Agency Child and Family Benefits Calculator

This online tool released by the Canada Revenue Agency can be used to determine the eligibility and payment amounts of child and family benefits. Additional information on child and family benefit programs may be found on the Canada Revenue Agency's child and family benefits page.