Canadian Politics Today

I'm not very risk-adverse, although obviously I'd prefer not to lose my money.   I don't know what a broad-based index fund is.

Generally, an index fund is an investment (you can get it from a bank) which tracks the stock markets. (They do so by buying stocks in proportion to the Toronto Stock Exchange, or something similar. )

The advantages? Since you're not betting everything on one stock (or one sector of the economy) then it can be much more stable and you're less likely to loose money. Index funds also tend to have lower management fees (since whomever is offering the fund doesn't actually have to do any work to pick which stocks are going to do better... they just look at whatever the exchange is doing).

The disadvantages? Well, many index funds are based on the stock market, which can be volatile (like after the problems in 2008) so there is some risk.

They usually do pretty good... on average, you might expect them to go up around 5-10% per year (although keep in mind that some years they may actually go down in value.) I'm risk-adverse, but I use Index funds for the majority of my investments.
 

The other option I'm considering is to do a small kitchen reno, because I plan to sell this townhouse in a year or two and kitchen reno would make it pretty and easier to sell.  it's a bit 'dated' and has some minor cosmetic damage.

If you want to put money into your home, the best investment is to paint or put up new siding. Maybe put in a new front door or do some landscaping. (And make sure there are no leaks.)

Remodeling a kitchen may improve your home's value, but you don't always get as much increase in value as you put into the renovations. Remember, what YOU might like in a kitchen may not be what a potential buyer wants in a kitchen, and they may decide your renovations are horrible and will want to make their own changes.