ursus__

Hi all,

Does anyone have any tips for websites or particular sources of information for advice on finances and money (in the broadest sense)? I use the website moneysavingexpert.com a lot in the UK and it covers things form bank accounts to phone contracts to travel to car stuff and more. I was wondering if there is anything similar in Canada?

Tried searching but couldn't find anything on this - apologies if I've missed it.

Cheers

Chris

Kentonmag

www.moneysense.ca is not a bad site for general money issues.

Aviator

Most of it is research and commonsense is it not?

crofty82

Which is exactly what the OP was doing - finding a site to assist with said research. There is so much information out there, much of it conflicting and written by people with a vested interest, MSE has become a vital source of financial advice in the UK, especially for those who often don't know where to start with things like pensions, mortgages, loans etc.

If the Op hadn't asked this question, I would have because it's been on my mind in case we emigrate also.

Aviator

If one can make money out of sites such as this, maybe it is worth a shot. Putting information that is already out there for free into one place and selling the data.

crofty82

Almost Canadian

The guy responsible for the site, Martin Lewis, has been putting such information out for well over a decade and he appears on lots of tv programmes giving such advice too. Imagine it as an up to date "Watchdog" type of service purely regarding financial services and products. I used to watch him when he first appeared on a programme on Sky probably 20 years ago.

There really is no equivalent of it in Canada and the service he provides is far more detailed that the layperson can discover for themselves. For example, one of the things he taught me about years ago regarding credit cards is how, if one runs balance each month, the credit card provider will use any such payments to pay for purchasers and cash withdrawals that one has made such that, the "charge" with highest interest rate, is paid off last.

BristolUK

I think this may vary. I have experienced at least three different practices.

Oldest debt paid off first regardless of interest rate.
Payments apportioned to each separate balance.
Payments towards the balance with the highest interest rate first.

The last one was my favourite

ursus__

Thanks for the replies, it's a shame if there's no direct equivalent as that's a whole lot more research and trying to work out who is trying to sell me snake oil on my own ! MSE is an really rich resource for people in the UK that seems pretty upfront about how they run their business. They get commission but actually break it all down for you in very clear terms where an offer or product is appropriate for your circumstances and where it isn't, and what it'll mean x years down the line for you. They also have the critical mass of users finding their advice honest and trustworthy in order to become established as a reliable source of info.

BristolUK

But the Moneysense one mentioned is quite good though.

I always found the great thing about MSE was the forums.
Canadian Money forums not bad.

ursus__

I somehow missed the similarity between Moneysense and MSE until looking again. Thank you @kentonmag!

And thanks for the forum link, looks useful too.

Kentonmag

You are welcome

ChrisBan

I have found https://www.ratehub.ca/ fairly good for comparing different banking products

ursus__

This looks really useful, thank you!

Tumbling_Dice

I work for a large financial planning firm and I will say that, compared to the UK, you can easily get the wool pulled over your eyes here. Especially when it comes to fees and the service you get for those fees. I am not impressed with the financial services culture over here. For example, most banks offer a financial planning service but, if it is run out of the retail network, they cannot advise on crucial stuff like life or critical illness insurance. Financial planning is more making up your portfolio then hoping it performs well enough so that you don't move your business to another broker. Another example: if you go to a bank for a mortgage, you will be offered creditor protection, which is a pile of crap since it is not underwritten until a claim is made. I found it immoral to sell such utter rubbish.

Granted there are snake oil IFAs in the UK, but you can easily find superb ones who will do the full planning job for you. You definitely need to carefully interview advisers and planners here because many simply want your assets.