First, she needs to stay away from the blood-sucking  mutual fund industry, which only works if you have a great deal of money to get into the best funds with the lowest fees. Second, she should pick three or four low-fee ETFs and just stick with them through the market ups and downs.  (Read Rob Carrick in the Globe on ETFs). Her emergency money should be put into her TFSA  so she can earn some tax free money and retain access, preferably in a relatively stable dividend EFT, not one of those pathetic savings accounts. Lastly, she should read The Wealthy Barber and Tony Robbins' book Money: Master the Game. The latter is American-focused and sometimes corny, but has valuable insights into a lifetime of investing.