Many people want to understand their finances better by taking a course that will help them with their income taxes and investments. But with financial scandals occurring on a regular basis, it's difficult to know who to trust. In Part II of a two-part series, Graydon Watters, president of the Financial Education Institute of Canada and Bruce Sellery, founder of BNN, explain how you can find the course that best suits your needs. (To read part one of the series, click here)

Graydon Watters, president of the Financial Education Institute of Canada, says the trust factor is "a huge" issue when it comes to selecting a course on finance. But people have many options at colleges and universities.

He advises people to consider enrolling in a certified financial planner education program. Even if you don't want to become one, the course will be of great assistance.

With everything going on in the world economy these days, and income tax time approaching, it pays to understand your personal finances.

Many people want to take courses to improve their knowlege. But who are you going to trust? In Part I of a two-part series, Dave Chilton, author of The Wealthy Barber books and Gary Rabbior, president of the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education, explain how you can find the course that fits your personal situation.

, , Dave Chilton admits he is not like many other Canadians.

The author of the Wealthy Barber Returns and the original The Wealthy Barber actually likes to read the fine print in a company prospectus and many other financial documents – while many others don't.

Groups across Canada are teaming up to help fight the lack of financial literacy in young and old alike.
Ottawa has declared November as Financial Literacy Month with government agencies and various non-profit groups partnering and hosting special events throughout the country. The Financial Literacy Action Group (FLAG) is heading the campaign along with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, the federal government's lead agency on financial literacy.

If you're like many Canadians, all you want for Christmas is a free flight home – or someplace hot – for the holidays.
But try as you might, you can't find a way to redeem all those frequent flyer miles or other travel rewards points that you have accumulated through credit card purchases because of restrictions imposed by the airlines and other factors.
The mystery has remained unsolved for years. Well, there is a way, says Patrick Sojka, founder of Calgary-based Rewardscanada.ca.

Visa is advising consumers to be on the lookout for devious online and telephone marketers that charge unauthorized fees.

According to Visa's second annual deceptive marketing survey, 21 per cent of Canadian credit card holders have been victimized by fraudsters after accepting an offer online or over the phone. Typically, the frauds involve hidden clauses or terms that are not well disclosed.

B.C. and Ontario residents reported the highest incidence rates, 26 per cent and 24 per cent respectively. On the Prairies, 17 per cent of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba residents reported being victimized.

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Canadian Small business owners aren't overly worried about lingering effects of the recession.
According to a new TD Canada Trust poll, 50 per cent of small business owners think 2012 will be a good business year and a further 13 per cent believe it might be the best yet.

"It's very encouraging to see the majority of small business owners are so optimistic about their business prospects in 2012," said Alec Morley, TD Canada Trust's senior vice-president of small business banking in a news release. "Sixty-five percent of Canadian small business owners gave their company's recent performance a B or above, so it's evident that many entrepreneurs are experiencing success despite the barriers in their way and this is due, in part, to good business planning, hiring talented teams and innovating."

The concerns include cash-flow worries and labour shortages. The 2011 TD CanadaTrust Small Business Survey examined the attitudes and behaviours of small business owners in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouverand Calgary. The results found two in 10 small business owners gave their company an A-plus (5%) or A (16%) for 2010 while 44% graded their business a B, 22% gave their businesses a C, and 11% gave their company a D.

The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) is reminding consumers that realtors' commissions and contracts are negotiable - and always have been.

"Correcting misconceptions about commissions is something that is very common for realtors," said OREA president Barbara Sukkau in a recent news release. "A realtor's commission isn't set in stone, it is agreed upon by the client and realtor in the buyer representation agreement or listing agreement."

Names of the documents may vary by province, but the Ontario group's advice is good for all Canadian. OREA issued the reminder as services that enable consumers to buy or sell their own home without a realtor proliferate. The Canadian Competition Bureau has cracked down on residential realtors and required real estate boards to make more information available to consumers through the Multiple Listing Service.

As Walletpop previously reported, the bureau and realtors reached an agreement on MLS-related issues last year. But the decision to buy or sell a home on your own is not black and white.

Nissan has turned over a new Leaf by selling its all-electric vehicle to a consumer.

Ricardo Borba, an engineer and software developer who lives in Ottawa, became the first individual buyer of a 2011 Nissan Leaf as he picked up the keys recently in the nation's capital. Nissan has also some fleet sales in the works.

"This represents the freedom to choose a car that has no tailpipe, produces no emissions and will never have to visit a gas station," said Allen Childs, president of Nissan Canada Inc., in a news release.

Borba, a 44-year old electric engineer and software developer with IBM who is married and has a young son, plans to use the Leaf as the primary family vehicle.

What's in your wallet?

Credit cards with excessive transaction fees, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

CFIB has identified numerous credit cards that hurt consumers and small businesses alike. MasterCard, which uses the above question as a marketing slogan, is among the worst offenders, along with card issuers CIBC and Bank of Montreal.

Dan Kelly, CFIB's senior vice-president of legislative affairs, says many consumers and businesses are not aware of the fee structures, which range from one per cent 1.5 per cent to three per cent of a purchase price. The high costs are contributing $5 billion annually to Canadian banks' revenues.

Thinking about buying a recreational property?

You're not the only one.

Real estate developers say the market is picking up after two or three difficult years. Even with the economy struggling again of late, they are forging ahead with development projects that were postponed after the global economic downturn struck in late 2008.

"We still think it's a vibrant market for, in my case, Albertans buying in B.C.," says Sam Boguslavsky, president of Calgary-based Sable Resorts. Sable is marketing 18 units at Mara Lake in B.C.'s Shuswap/Northern Okanagan region and hoping to sell out before commencing the next phase.

"In general, our consumers are a lot more confident than they were two or three years ago," says Bogluslavsky "We're getting that feedback through the purchasing process."

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