my investment advice: part i: getting started

assumptions: you have a regular income (finally?) and think you should probably be saving more of it ...

start by opening a second account at your bank ..for your savings. it's free (or relatively so), it only takes ten minutes to walk into your local branch and set up a new account, and it's the most simple way to start saving money ..: make it disappear from your sight!

make this new account an 'investment' account. ask for the simplest and cheapest investment account that your bank offers ... at least to start with. these accounts have many advantages over your regular chequing account: they pay you interest on your money (although rates are low right now), they are not accessible from your bank card (keeps you honest), and they leave open the option of investing your money and making it grow faster ...

while you are setting this up, you can also ask for automatic transfers from your chequing account to your new investment account. these transfers can be planned to coincide with your pay schedule ... for example, you can set an automatic transfer of $50, every-other thursday. this is a very effective way to save! by transferring some money out of sight before you even see it, the impact on your life is minimal and the potential benefits (whatever you are saving for) can be huge!

... coming in part ii: monthly purshase plans, and what to invest in ...

[my credentials: other than 8 years of experience investing my own money, i have my Bachelor of Commerce (Finance & Economics) from McGill]