Spare Change

Money tip

Love actually can’t conquer all. For that reason, people in committed relationships should know key pieces of each other’s personal financial information — things like the contact information of each other’s broker, accountant, attorney and insurance agent, plus copies of retirement plans, wills, insurance policies and birth certificates.

Market tip

A Bank of New York currency strategist says the Canadian dollar is his “favorite currency of 2006” because of a supportive monetary policy that he believes will keep inflation at bay, as well as Canada’s fiscal surplus, strong domestic consumer spending, robust investment from abroad and surging exports of energy and farm commodities.

Fund fact

As important as it is to pay attention to a mutual fund’s expense ratio and sales charges, other expenses come out of your return but aren’t reflected in the fund’s expense ratio, such as brokerage commissions. To keep fund trading costs from dragging on your bottom line, you could focus on funds that don’t trade much, such as index funds.

Net nugget

In recent years, a dark specter has floated over the tax-filing landscape: the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). These Web sites can help make sense of the perplexing rules governing AMTs:

www.fairmark. com/amt/amt 101.htm

www.irs.gov/ individuals/ index.html, then click “alternative minimum tax assistant for individuals.”

www.taxfounda tion.org/publica tions/show/ 498.html

www.turbotax. com/articles/ FAQontheAlterna tiveMinimum Tax.html