Banks

It's so much safer to walk rather than fly. If you should fall, the impact isn't as terrifying. And you're not risking a major invasion of privacy, either. The famed Air Miles reward program used to be about flying. If you visit their website (www.airmiles.ca), you will find that most of the rewards involve gadgets and paraphernalia. It isn't that much about flying any longer. In fact, you'd have to look hard to find out how far an air mile earned in the program gets you. But that's beside the point.

Air Miles Database Hacked

What is NOT beside the point is that persons unknown (at least, not known to the general public) have managed to break into Air Miles' email provider's system and obtained detailed information stored there. Once told about this electronic break-in, Air Miles did the right thing and informed their customers (whom they call collectors) about the invasion. Their mass email to collectors said their email providers assured them only first and last names of collectors, plus their e-mail addresses, had been compromised.

Which is all fine and dandy, except there have been reported instances of Air Miles clients getting unsolicited phone calls out of the blue, telling them the company was offering them bonus miles to reward them for remaining faithful while spam emails were hitting the fan. All the callers needed to make sure the bonus miles got where they belonged was "confirmation" of the collectors' information. A pure scam.

Emerson emailed me looking for some financial assistance. He's self-employed, single and his annual income hovers around the $55,000 mark, although it fluctuates radically from month to month.

He's stressed about his finances as, in his words, "It's always gone before I even receive it". To figure out the mystery of his missing money, I had him take my 30-day anti-budget challenge. He agreed to track every dollar he was spending over a 30-day period and we sat down to figure out where his money was going. I also poured over his bank and credit card statements for the past year. One of the main culprits gobbling up his disposable income? Hidden fees that amounted to a trip or two a year if he had been aware of them.

Read on to see if you're making the same mistakes as Emerson and something as simple as not paying attention to the fees you pay could be standing in the way of your next vacation and more!

CBS MoneyWatch.Com special contributor Ray Martin offers three great tips to help manage money. He says by going online you won't only save time, but you'll save on postage as well.

To watch the video, click below:

Not everyone who's looking over your shoulder or even, heaven forbid, at your fingertips while you're typing important information on your computer, is a friend. No need to be paranoid, but...

March is Fraud Prevention Month. While THAT doesn't mean crooks and tricksters should easily fool us during the other 11 months of the year, at least we now have a reason to think.

The number of financial complaints made to Canada's Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) reached a record high in 2010, despite the fact that the worst of the global financial crisis had passed.

Last year, 1,024 complaints were made to the OBSI, which is an independent financial dispute resolution service for consumers and small businesses.

Complaints rose 3.4% in 2010, building on the enormous 48% jump in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis. The new figure marks the first time in the organization's 15 year history that complaints have risen above 1,000.

A record low increase in core consumer prices was the last thing economists expected to see, especially given recent advances in the Canadian economy. However, a record low increase is what we got, taking the pressure off the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates anytime soon.

Core inflation -- a measure of the cost of living -- rose only 0.9% in the 12 months ended February, the lowest reading since records began in 1984. In fact, a reading that low would usually cause the Bank of Canada to lower interest rates to stimulate the economy and price increases.

It's important to have a good relationship with your bank; after all, you're entrusting it with your life's savings, investments and debts -- and paying fees to boot. Luckily for Canadians, we've an array of good banks. But which one should you choose?

In terms of general customer satisfaction, credit union customers are Canada's happiest bankers, according to a Financial Post article based on a poll of more than 2,000 adults compiled by Forum Research in March. The poll shows that 74% of credit union members are "very satisfied" with their institution.

Among the big banks, Bank of Montreal has the highest percentage of happy customers, with 72% saying they are "very satisfied" with the service they receive. But not all banks perform so well.

It's no secret Canadians love the lottery. Over 13 million people play the national Lotto 6/49 draw every week and that doesn't factor in the number of Canadians who also play the nightly provincial draws. A recent study showed that low-income families ( those earning $13,000 a year, or less) spend 9% of their annual income on lottery tickets.

One can only speculate how much better off they'd be if they invested that 9% into a savings account every year. Yet, 80% of Canadians find saving money "too hard" and those who are saving, save much less than their parents did. But, what if you could entice people to save money using their love of the lottery?

This story is about scruples or, better still, lack thereof.

First, let's read what Wikipedia has got to say about scruples.
The word can mean:

• scruple – a doubt or hesitation that troubles the conscience or that comes from the difficulty of determining whether something is right;
• scrupulosity – obsessive concern with one's own sins and compulsive performance of religious devotion. Formerly this was called scruples or religious scruples, but now it is generally called scrupulosity;
• (Obsolete.) A unit of apothecary weight ... It is a twenty-fourth part of an ounce, or 20 grains, or approximately 1.3 grams. More generally, any small quantity might be called a scruple;
• Scruples, a 1978 novel by Judith Krantz;
• Scruples, 1980 television miniseries based on the novel and starring Lindsay Wagner;
• Scruples, a 1984 board game by Henry Makow based on ethical dilemmas.