Modern technology makes it easier than ever to access information. Forget university courses and textbooks. You can find a wealth of information that’s much more specific and relevant to your chosen topic online. 

Sometimes I think that my business degree at university prepared me for the world of ten-to-twenty years ago. These traditional forms of education are often slow to adapt to a continually changing world. That’s especially true with personal finance. There was no mention of Robo-advisors, SRIs, or passive income strategies throughout my degree, and I only graduated two years ago!

I hope that potentially eases your anxiety or guilt if you didn’t take finance in school. You’re still in a great position, with so many opportunities to learn more and without such a heavy financial burden. There is never a bad time to start, even in later stages in life. 

You would never tell someone who hasn’t exercised their whole life that it’s not worth starting their fitness journey, and the same goes for building financial wellness. 

The learning also never stops! Like I mentioned before, the world is continuously changing, and financial advice from a decade ago may not be relevant now. Even licensed financial advisors and portfolio managers, the “experts” of the industry, must educate themselves on an ongoing basis by Canadian regulators. 

As someone who loves learning and is constantly feeling nostalgic whenever she sees a cute backpack or agenda, why not breakdown my favourite non-traditional financial learning resources, other than us, of course! Here at Mixed Up Money, we like to shoutout our fellow Canadians and financial educators, and we understand that you may be interested in learning in different ways. You may be missing the classroom too, or looking for a useful way to spend your time during the quarantine.

Below are some other excellent resources to learn more about personal finance at different levels of experience, cost, and stages in life.  

Podcasts:

The Mo’ Money Podcast – Jessica Moorhouse

Cost: Free. Listen here.

Experience: Beginner – Intermediate

Life Stage: Mainly targets millennials, but content can apply to other demographics

Jessica is a bubbly Canadian that hosts various exciting guests to discuss personal finance topics related to millennials such as ‘Baby-proofing your finances’ and ‘Reaching financial independence if you’re single.‘ In addition to her lengthier discussions with guests, Jessica also hosts ‘Money Minutes’. These are solo episodes where she covers trending financial topics in short, easily digestible segments. Recent ‘Money Minutes’ include discussing the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), investing during the pandemic, and managing anxiety during market turbulence. 

Jessica’s podcast was one of the first I discovered when looking for relatable Canadian content online, although her information is not limited to Canadians. She does a great job of racking her expert guests’ brains in a way that’s easy to follow for the listener. I feel that beginners would learn a lot from this podcast without feeling overwhelmed, especially in her ‘Money Minutes.’

The Rational Reminder Podcast – Benjamin Felix & Cameron Passmore 

Cost: Free. Listen here. 

Experience: Intermediate – Advanced

Life Stage: Anyone looking to take their financial knowledge to the next level

Benjamin Felix & Cameron Passmore are portfolio managers at PWL Capital in Ottawa, Ontario. Their podcast seeks to inform and encourage sensible investing and rational decision-making for Canadians. Ben and Cameron have a wealth of knowledge about all things personal finance between the two of them. As a beginner, you may have a hard time with the terminology. Still, if you are at the intermediate to advance level, I find they do a great job of discussing various topics while keeping you engaged with how they present their information. I’m continually learning new things when I tune-in weekly. 

They have various segments such as ‘bad financial advice’, where they deconstruct recent financial articles and comment on why that advice isn’t useful or incorrect. Often, they use historical data and analysis to answer popular financial questions such as ‘Are financial returns affected by U.S. elections?’. They also bring on expert guests to talk about their specific specialties, such as behavioural finance or sustainable investing. If you are already familiar with the basics and want to learn more, I highly recommend this podcast. 

Books 

Worry-Free Money: The Guilt-Free Approach to Managing Your Money and Your Life – Shannon Lee Simmons

Cost: CDN$19.99 on Amazon

Experience: Beginner – Intermediate

Life Stage: Anyone looking to improve their relationship with money

Instead of spreadsheets and numbers from the get-go, Shannon focuses a lot on money’s emotional side. Our money and spending behaviours are deeply rooted in our feelings of success and belonging. You can budget all you want, but little success will come if you don’t fix your relationship with money. 

Shannon doesn’t preach perfection or judging others for their money mistakes. If your budget isn’t working for you, ditch it and try something else. She’s a big believer in simplifying budgeting; that way, you’re less likely to fall off track each month and be discouraged. 

Shannon is empathetic, thoughtful, and relatable, something you can tell from her also being a life coach and speaker. She is a highly recognized voice in the Canadian financial planning industry. In addition to her writing, she also runs an unbiased financial advice company called the ‘New School of Finance’ and appears as a financial expert on The Marilyn Dennis Show. 

Rich Bitch: A Simple 12-Step Plan for Getting Your Finance Life Together…Finally – Nicole Lapin

Cost: CDN$21.99 on Amazon

Experience: Beginner – Intermediate

Life Stage: Millennials

Nicole Lapin is a 30-something American news anchor for CNBC, CNN & Bloomberg, who initially entered the industry by fluke. With very little business or financial knowledge, she continually persevered to pay her bills. In her book, she shares essential financial tips she has picked up through her various jobs and struggles. 

Rich Bitch is known for being the first finance book that swears and is in plain English. Nicole compares her financial plan to a sustainable eating plan – without the fad diets and restriction, and something that you can stick to. In her book, she outlines twelve financial topics that build on each other but can be looked at exclusively depending on your needs. These include ‘Your New LBD (Little Budget Diary)’ or ‘That Monkey Off Your Back (Debt).’ Nicole does a great job of providing crucial financial advice uniquely and hilariously for young women. 

Courses

The Canadian Securities Course (CSC)

Cost: CDN$1,065 on the CSI website  

Experience: Beginner – Intermediate 

Life Stage: Anyone looking to get a comprehensive financial education in Canada 

The cost of this course may be on the high-end of your price range, and that’s understandable because same. But, if you’re looking for a reputable financial course that looks great on a resume, this is for you. It’s also completely online and independent study, except for the in-person exams, although that may have changed. This course covers all aspects of the Canadian financial marketplace. Honestly, I received all the financial knowledge in my business degree at a fraction of the cost. It’s excellent for beginners to get a thorough financial education and apply to those more experienced as it touches on less familiar topics like reading financial statements and industry ethics. 

If you’re interested in receiving a more traditional financial education outside of the classroom, this course is for you. Just know the course is separated into two exams. For many Canadian financial designations, like the Certified Financial Planner (CFP), or the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM), this course is also the first step.  

‘Money’ & ‘Wealth’ – courses by ReisUp

Cost: Money – USD$379, Wealth – USD$249

Experience: Beginner – Intermediate

Life Stage: Young American adults

Reis Up is a company founded by Tara Falcone. Tara grew up low-income in the Midwest and landed a Wall Street job purely on her dedication and drive, as she had no previous financial experience. From there, she found her passion for financial education. She began Reis Up to level the playing field for low-income people, as she felt that their lack of knowledge was a significant contributor to their hardships.

ReisUp is a U.S.-based company that offers courses and programs to help improve financial literacy. Their program LIT is for college students to prepare better before they enter the ‘real world.’ It was named in the top 50 best college financial literacy programs. Also, ReisUp offers two independent courses called ‘Money’ and ‘Wealth.’ The programs are interactive, video-based programs that cover seven critical financial topics, including money mindset, credit & loans, and income taxes. The ‘Wealth’ program covers two financial topics, while the ‘Money’ program covers all seven. Although some of the concepts carry forward to other parts of the world, I would only recommend this to any U.S. citizens!

Online Sites

Money Sense 

Cost: Free. Read it here. 

Experience: You can find content for all experience levels

Life Stage: You can find content for all life stages

Money Sense is a Canadian online personal finance and lifestyle magazine. It’s been a long-standing publisher but went fully digital as of 2016. They pride themselves on providing relevant, expert advice that is unbiased and transparent. With so much content unknowingly sponsored nowadays, it’s nice to have a financial magazine preaching these values. 

I like the site because it’s easy to navigate with a search bar at the top, categorizing all of their articles into topics such as insurance, retirement, and home. They also offer essential tools for Canadians on their home page, such as comparing the best mortgage rates, GIC rates, and rewards Credit Cards. This is a great place to get Canadian-specific financial content that you’re sure to know is legitimate (in addition to us, of course!). 

The Financial Diet

Cost: Free. Read it here. 

Experience: Beginner – Intermediate

Life Stage: Gen Z, Millennials

The Financial Diet began as a personal finance blog by its founder Chelsea Fagan. It has now evolved into a woman-lead, Manhattan-based company with a long list of writers and contributors across different platforms. I mostly consume their articles; however, they also have an impressive YouTube channel with 800k subscribers and a podcast called ‘The Financial Confessions.’ If you’ve ever had a question about personal finance, no matter how small, they’ve likely touched on it in their thousands of article archives. 

Mixed Up Money founder, Alyssa, has contributed to their site a few times if you want to search for her! The articles are fun, women-focused, and touch on other women’s issues, including politics, career, and health & wellness. If you’re on-the-go or don’t feel like reading content for any particular reason, you have those additional options of watching a Youtube video or listening to a podcast. Since they are U.S.-based, some topics may not relate to Canadians or may not be covered through their content. 

We are very fortunate to have so many fantastic learning resources at our fingertips. Nowadays, you don’t need to spend thousands or take a university course to get a good financial education. If you’re starting from square one as a makeup artist, stay-at-home mom, personal trainer, or anything in between, that’s a-ok. These tools are for you.