Invest a few clicks in our Money site

As a lifelong print journalist, I have always faced space constraints. This column, for example, cannot be much longer than 620 words or so. In some cases that’s a blessing. As many a gruff editor has told me, your point is not worth making if you can’t get it across in that number of words…or less.And I agree. At least with columns or articles in which the goal is to cover a single key point.The frustrating part comes, however, when you really do have a lot to say. Because of the broad general nature of this magazine, for example, we are extremely limited when it comes to personal financial information. Michael Graham and I do our best, in two pages an issue, to keep you abreast of key matters.

But there is so much more to tell you, so much important information about retirement planning, investment strategy, estate planning, taxes, insurance and so on.

Well, now we have the means. In the wondrous new realm of the world wide web, the number of pages on a site is not limited by factors such as printing bills and postage costs. And so, as our new website, www.fifty-plus.net takes on a life of its own, I have become increasinglexcited about the range and breadth of information we can provide to the growing number of CARP members who are online.

In the area of personal finance, for example, we have teamed up with Gordon Pape to develop a Money section that is second to none when it comes to information people 50 and over need to know. Gordon is one of Canada’s best-known and most respected financial authors and commentators.

He is the host throughout the www.fifty-plus.net Money section, but he is not alone. Far from it. The site brings you some of Canada’s top financial experts on subjects ranging from taxes to the stock market to estate planning and everything in-between.

It all started with two initial sections

1) The Mutual Fund Centre, including a comprehensive directory which rates all Canadian funds with track records of more than three years; tips for successful fund investing; a question and answer feature; mutual fund basics and up-to-date fund news.

2) The Retirement Centre with everything you need to know about RRSPs, RRIFs, the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, and investment strategies. For ease of use, we’ve divided this Centre into two parts, one for those still at the RRSP stage of their retirement plan, another for those who have moved into RRIFs. Just go to the appropriate section and you’ll find a wealth of information – much more than a page or two — tailored for your specific needs.

And the fifty-plus.net Money section continues to be a work-in-progress. New sections coming soon deal with:

Taxation Advice

Advice from experts on how to save tax dollars, reports on changes in tax laws and how they might affect you, special tax calculators and explanations of valuable tax shelters such as RESPs.

Investing

Stocks, bonds, preferreds, options, index-linked GICs, royalty trusts, suggested portfolio weightings, plus timely market outlook commentaries.

Estate planning

Whether it’s basic advice on drawing up a will or complex trust strategies, you’ll find it on our site, along with valuable calculators to help you estimate the size of your estate and the probable tax bite.

Insurance

From universal life to segregated funds, we’ll explain how to make use of a new range of insurance products to build your personal wealth and reduce taxes.

Invest a few “clicks” in fifty-plus.net’s Money site. The payoff will be instant access to a world of useful, meaningful, practical financial information and advice.