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.



Cyber security & fraud prevention learning guide

Banks take fraud very seriously and have highly sophisticated security systems and teams of experts to protect you from financial fraud. As a banking customer, there are also simple steps you can take to recognize cyber crime and protect your personal information and your money. Educating yourself, your family and your employees about cyber safety can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be that complicated and the CBA has developed a learning path to help.



Tools for building financial wellbeing in First Nation communities

This collection of financial empowerment tools and resources is intended to support both Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations working to build financial wellness in First Nation communities.

It was created as part of the Financial Wellness in First Nations project (2021-2023) where community organizations in Winnipeg and Sudbury are partnering with Prosper Canada and AFOA Canada to adapt and develop approaches to building financial wellness in First Nation communities.

This toolkit (see below) has been compiled by Prosper Canada, with support from:

SEED Winnipeg,

Community Financial Counselling Services (CFCS),

Sudbury Community Service Centre,

AFOA Canada

This toolkit has been made possible by IG Wealth Management. 

Updates:

Register for a Webinar on benefits and credits for Indigenous peoples hosted by the CRA on March 29, 2023.

 



*Resource is not specific to Indigenous communities

Money Management:

Dollars and Sense Program– AFOA Canada
Financial workshops for youth
Managing your money – Prosper Canada
Worksheets to set and work towards money goals
Financial literacy for Indigenous Peoples – RBC
A two-hour course on financial basics
Money Matters for Indigenous Peoples – ABC Literacy
Money Matters workbooks
Money moccasins – Momentum
Workshops for Indigenous peoples on assets, budgets, banking, credit and consumerism.
Money stories– SEED Winnipeg
Customized money management training program for Indigenous youth
Empower U– Esquao Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women
Financial literacy program
The Game Plan – Indigenous Story Studio
Comic book on financial literacy (paid resource)
Financial Education Online*– Credit Counselling Society
Short online courses
Dollars and Sense* – Texas A&M (USA)
Online simulation for Middle and High School Students
Simple budget template* – Prosper Canada
Student budget worksheet* – FCAC
Gift planning worksheet*- Sudbury Community Service Centre
Budget planner* – Government of Canada

Debt/Credit:

Credit– AFOA Canada
A Money Smarts podcast on how to build and keep credit in good shape
Proper use of credit* – Sudbury Community Service Centre
Tips on how to build good strong credit
Collection Agencies and You*- Sudbury Community Service Centre
Tips on your rights if contacted by a collection agency
Credit report request form* – Sudbury Community Service Centre
Equifax and TransUnion request forms
Credit report sample*– FCAC
Dangers of credit* – Sudbury Community Service Centre
The dangers of the different forms of credit available
Payday loans and you* – Sudbury Community Service Centre
Understanding how pay day loans work
Debt consolidation calculator * – Ontario Securities Commission
Combine multiple debts into one and calculate how soon you could be debt free
The 4 cornerstones of debt reduction strategies & budgeting* – Credit Counselling Society

Retirement:

Low-income retirement planning* Open Policy
A background paper on maximizing GIS

*Resource is not specific to Indigenous communities

Money Smarts -AFOA Canada
podcast series

The shared path- First Nations Financial Wellness– Prosper Canada & AFOA Canada

Financial empowerment: Personal finance for Indigenous and non-Indigenous People – Bettina Schneider
Adaptation of openly licensed textbook Person Finance v 1.0 by Saylor Academy

Financial health & wealth: an initiative by the Native Women’s Association of Canada 

Access to ID:

Access to Identification for Low-Income Manitobans* – Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, MB
Research on what can be done to address challenges around ID
Eyeing the ID: Bio-metric Banking for Saint John* – NB Social Pediatrics and the Saint John Community Loan Fund
Identifies access to identification, as well as stringent identification requirements as the most prevalent barriers to receiving services


Cyber security toolkit

There are also simple steps you can take to recognize cyber threats and protect yourself. With a cyber hygiene checklist and tips on how to spot common scams, the CBA’s Cyber Security Toolkit can help you protect against online financial fraud.



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. 



Let’s talk money- seniors edition

Open, honest conversations about money are one of the keys to building a healthy relationship with your family, across the generations.

With a little preparation, talking about financial matters can help build trust, deepen connections, relieve stress and lead to greater peace of mind.

Yet for many people, these conversations can be difficult. In some families, money is just not something you talk about. The same applies to wills, inheritances, senior living, end-of-life care and many more topics that matter most to seniors.

Let's Talk About Money: Seniors' Edition -- wants to help you change that. There are tips to help parents talk with adult children and tips for adult children to have meaningful money conversations their parents.

The most important thing is to have these conversations early, before there’s a crisis. So let's start talking.



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. 



Municipal Toolkit: A toolkit for embedding financial empowerment supports into municipal services

Financial empowerment (FE) is an approach to poverty reduction that focuses on improving the financial security of people living on low income. Evidence shows that embedding FE interventions into municipal welfare, employment, housing, shelter and health services can significantly boost service outcomes and support the life stabilization framework.

If you are a manager or frontline staff working in municipal services and starting your FE journey, this toolkit can help you to begin embedding FE supports into your existing programs.

Prosperity Gateways: Cities for financial empowerment is an initiative at Prosper Canada which aims to reduce poverty by building financial help into municipal services used by residents with low incomes.

This toolkit has been made possible by the Government of Ontario, JP Morgan Chase and the Maytree Foundation. Prosper Canada is grateful to our financial empowerment community partners and Ontario Works offices for their collaboration in this effort. We also recognize related pioneering work by US-based Prosperity Now and the CFE Fund.

Worksheet resources in this toolkit are available as fillable PDFs. Please open with Adobe Acrobat Reader for full functionality.