Posted by PattiM on
You have a decent job, decent income, you work hard but never seem to be able to feel financial security. What are you missing? You are likely suffering from one or more common undiagnosed financial problems of your own making. The good news is, since you made the problem, you can correct the problem.
Let’s have a brief look at the problems you may be suffering from:
Not Planning – Planning finances isn’t as much fun as planning vacations but your finances will be around a lot longer. We have a tendency to procrastinate and we’re no different when it comes to our finances. We let credit card balances accumulate instead of getting serious about getting them paid off, we put money into investments and then never get around to examining if we’re getting a decent return on our investment. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Overspending — The average Canadian only saves about 5% of their income. Many Canadians have no idea where their money goes and don’t make an effort to track it. Being deliberate about determining the difference between needs and wants is vital to learning to reign in spending and start putting those hard earned dollars into savings. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by PattiM on
Almost any material you read about how to deal with debt will tell you to talk to your creditors, your banker and/or your mortgage company. Your creditors may be willing to be patient for a month or two but when you are in a situation which doesn’t have a defined endpoint, don’t hold your breath on your creditors being kind and understanding. Let’s have a look at your other sources of information.
Your Banker
Usually the first thought you have when your finances start to go off track is to appeal to your banker for help. The most common form of that ‘help’ is to consolidate your debts into one loan so you can pay it off with one payment a month.
That sounds like it would really be the ticket out of the problem. Keep in mind, your banker has a job to do, to sell you banking services and helping their employer make a profit. You need to explore very carefully how much the difference in interest costs would be to determine if you would actually benefit from a consolidation loan.
If the total interest is not substantially lower, you are in fact incurring more debt while you are trying to wrestle the total load into the ground, that is not a benefit.
My suggestion: inquire if you would qualify for a consolidation loan but don’t commit until you have explored all your possibilities and carefully examined the total costs. A diversified list of debts is actually to your advantage. Once you consolidate and then start having difficulty meeting your payments, your available options become fewer.
WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by PattiM on
We’re being hammered by a recession, jobs disappear in a flash but the debts we owe continue to climb. What is a person to do?
You’re used to being able to find credit and the first impulse is usually to go find more credit — consolidation loans or home equity loans. With interest rates being low, that seems to be a logical way to deal with those debts, as long as you are working and the rates stay low. In this volatile economy, you have no guarantee either a job or low interest rates will be stable.
There are options to dealing with your debts based on your ability to pay. The most important step you can take right now is — DON’T Panic! Take a deep breath and take a good look at the situation. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by PattiM on
We’ve been sadly neglecting this blog. We know that. Somehow it just seems other work takes priority. Well, we’ve set a goal of at least one post per week in 2010. I’ve been doing some tinkering behind the scenes updating the site and will soon be posting an article.
You Can Set The Agenda
As visitors to this blog, we need to know what help you are seeking. Feel free to use our Contact Form to send your questions to us. When I see a trend in the questions I receive, I will know that a post is in order on that subject.
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A Facebook page will be coming soon.
Posted by Bill on
As an Insolvency Counsellor I have counselled literally thousands of individuals and business operators over the years on the principals of good money management. The problem is that I usually don’t see these people until after they have become insolvent or have reached a point where they need to file a Consumer Proposal (Orderly Repayment of Debt) or perhaps they are being forced into bankruptcy.
So, I thought it might help our site visitors if I wrote about restoring credit; what works, and what never works.
Unpaid Credit Cards:
Perhaps you have defaulted on credit card payments. A Collection Agent has been assigned to your account and is demanding payments. Let’s say you have not paid for 6 months or more and they are threatening to garnish your wages, or sue you. At this stage you have an “R9” rating at the Credit Bureaus which is the equivalent of being bankrupt. That’s right, it is the same as if you had filed bankruptcy, but it gets worse. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by admin on
Credit Support Services is here to help you deal with your debts.
When bills get harder and harder to pay, life seems to be overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be, there are ways for you to manage your debt without you getting in over your head. That is where we can help, we’re here to represent you. We analyse your situation and recommend the options that would best fit you.
The objective is that you manage the debt instead of it managing you.
