Thank you to my grandparents, parents, and brothers for the lessons you have taught me. You are all sources of inspiration on this topic. Mom and Dad—thank you for everything. You have instilled in me important values that fundamentally shaped this textbook. Your support and experiences over the years have contributed greatly to the creation of this textbook.

Thank you Jeff, Aiden, Riley, and Brittany. Jeff, without your support, this adaptation would not have been possible. I am so grateful for the time you, Aiden, and Riley gave me. Jeff—you are the best personal finance teacher I have ever had. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. Bob and Donna—thank you for all of your support as well.

Thank you to Saylor Academy and the original authors of this open access textbook in the U.S., Rachel Siegel and Carol Yacht. Certainly, there would be no text without their shared knowledge, hard work, and vision. I want to thank University of Regina Press for giving me this opportunity. I am particularly thankful for Elsa Johnston’s unwavering support and guidance in helping me to publish the first edition of this text. Elsa Johnston was the original Program Manager for the Open Education and Publishing Program at the U of R. I couldn’t have completed the first edition without her. I am also very grateful to Shuana Niessen, the current Program Manager for the Open Education and Publishing Program at the U of R. Shuana’s help, advice, and encouragement throughout the development of this second edition has been excellent and so appreciated. I also appreciate the support received from Isaac Mulolani, the former Program Manager, in helping me to evolve the text after its 2018 publication.

I am incredibly thankful for the support of the First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv), my colleagues there, and the Elders who contributed to this text. Many thanks to Elder Florence Allen, Elder Millie Anderson, Elder Rose Bird, Elder Norma Jean Byrd, Elder Audrey Cochrane, Elder Willie Ermine, Elder Gilbert Kewistep, and Elder Margaret Reynolds. I am very grateful to the Elders for their time and insights. Thank you to Grace McLeod for her assistance with the Kehte-ayak Council and her encouragement to create the Financial Empowerment course that led to this textbook project. I would like to thank my colleagues at FNUniv, Dr. Bob Kayseas and Jason Bird, for their review of the 2nd edition. I would also like to thank Dr. Kayseas for his original review of the introduction in 2018 and his support over the years. The evolution of this project and my work in personal finance would never have come to be without the support of FNUniv and my colleagues there.

Many thank to Lisa Bednar and Angela Lyrette for their support and reviews of the 2nd edition. Lisa and Angela have contributed important new content, insights, and revisions throughout the 2nd edition.

Lisa Bednar has been teaching Family Social Science courses at the University of Manitoba since 2006. She has also worked on several research projects as well as on the Manitoba Child Poverty Report Card at the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg. Her graduate work examined the relationships between gender, family and unpaid work through a feminist economic lens. She currently delivers the online section of the Family Financial Health course at the U of M and teaches other Family Social Science courses on and off-campus.

Angela Lyrette is a full time Business Administration Finance Professor and Educational Developer at Algonquin College. Angela holds a Master’s Degree in Education, specializing in workplace and adult learning from the University of Calgary, a Teaching Adult Lifelong Learners Certificate (with Honours) from Algonquin College, and a variety of financial services designations from the Canadian Securities Institute. In her teaching role, Angela uses active engagement strategies, game-based learning, and group activities to make learning fun. Angela is the Algonquin College 2024 Philanthropy Champion Award, recognized for her commitment to a philanthropic culture through personal financial support for students and her community. Angela’s embodiment of the College’s core values; caring, learning, integrity, respect led to her 2022 nomination for the College and Institute Canada’s Leadership Excellence Award for Faculty. A self-professed life-long learner, her curiosity and enthusiasm is an inspiration to others.

Thank you to Dr. Inés Hernández-Ávila for all of her guidance, encouragement, and support over the years. I am so grateful to Inés for all of her teachings and mentorship. I wouldn’t be where I am today without Inés. I also want to thank Dr. Robert Anderson for his support of my graduate research and mentorship. I would not be able to do this work in Canada if it wasn’t for his support. Kim Jacobs also deserves a big thank you for giving me my first opportunity to work for a Community Development Financial Institution and for teaching me so much about Community Development. I would also like to thank Kim Wenger, the Newo Yotina Friendship Centre, and the Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network for supporting the initial research that eventually led to this textbook adaptation.

A big thank you to Karen Duncan (University of Manitoba) for your review of the textbook and your detailed feedback. I greatly value your extensive knowledge in the field of Canadian family finance. I would also like to thank Brenda Spotton Visano (York University) for her review of the text and her very valuable comments. Many thanks to Jodi Letkiewicz (York University) for your revisions and significant contributions to Chapter 4; I am extremely grateful for your help. A big thank you to Randy Linton (University of Regina) for your review of Chapter 6; Jim MacKenzie (University of Regina) for your review of Chapter 10; Kris Wanner (Conexus Credit Union) for your review of Chapter 11; and Arturo Rubalcava (University of Regina) for your review of Chapter 13. Many thanks as well to Jane Rooney and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada for its valuable contributions to the text. Thank you, Juliet Bushi, for your work on the original text as a research assistant and the help you provided me. Many thanks to Terry Massey and Merelda Fiddler for their assistance with the video production of the Elder interviews. I am also very grateful to Ryan Perks for his detailed copy-edit of the text, to Marionne Cronin for her thorough proofreading skills, and to Mo Mirbagheri for the creation of searchable tables. Thank you to James Holobetz, Trevor Cunningham, and Trevor Kiel at the University of Regina for all their technical support and assistance with hosting and promoting this textbook and the Elder interviews. This text is far better because of all of you.

I am grateful to the First Nations Development Institute, First Nations Oweesta Corporation, AFOA BC, and other Indigenous organizations for their innovative work and the teachings they have provided with regard to Indigenous-relevant financial literacy. I also want to thank the Conexus Credit Union for their support which greatly contributed to this textbook project. I want to particularly thank Eric Dillon, Annette Revet, and Kris Wanner from Conexus Credit Union. Thank you to Meaghan Daly, President and Founder of Forward Visions Games, for all of her support as well.

Bettina Schneider