Helping Canadians Get Out of Debt
Preet Banerjee from the Globe & Mail explore what a 2.5% interest rate hike would mean to the average Canadian.
Learn how an increase could mean the difference between living the homeowner’s dream and having that dream turn into a cash-flow nightmare.
Get help with debt problems before they become a full-blown crisis. Here at Creditaid, our credit counsellors are compassionate and experienced individuals who are dedicated to helping you find financial security and stability. With over 50 years of experience to our credit, we’ve successfully helped many Winnipeg families and individuals overcome their debt problems. There isn’t a debt problem we haven’t dealt with, so come to us with all your questions and concerns.
The first step will be an initial review of your financial situation. Initial consultations are free, and you will get to sit down with our experienced credit counsellors who are trained to analyze your complete personal financial situation and offer advice that is both realistic and effective. They can help you navigate through complicated terms such as “Debt Management” and “Debt Consolidation” in a simple and easy-to-understand manner.
Creditaid has a strong reputation for providing sound financial advice to our clients and they come to us for help with debt problems. Many Winnipeg lenders, bankers and credit collection agencies often refer their clients to us because they know our staff will treat them equally and with respect.
Contact us for help with you debt problems before they become debt disasters.
Loan payments in arrears, creditors calling and angry letters in the mail – does this sound like a familiar situation? When you are experiencing debt problems, it can feel like you are descending into a downward spiral at full speed as finance charges, interest and penalties keep adding up. Before you hit rock bottom, know that you are not alone. Many Winnipeg families are also feeling the full impact of the economic downturn.
If you feel you are in that place now or want to bring you debt problems under control before they become a full-blown financial crisis, Creditaid can help. Our credit counsellors are compassionate and caring individuals who are dedicated to helping you build financial stability and security. We work closely with you to develop a solution that works for you – one that complements your lifestyle while letting you achieve the goals you have in mind. We have successfully helped many Winnipeg families and individuals overcome their debt problems. With careful planning, commitment and discipline, you too can achieve financial freedom, no matter how serious your situation is now.
Your initial consultation with Creditaid is always free. Let us help you get back on track – contact us today to get the help you need.
If there is one thing that a student doesn’t need it is the worry of a huge debt hanging over them after graduation. A lot of you are probably thinking, hey, I have a grace period. While it is true that you usually have a grace period of six months after you graduate, on federal and provincial student loans, you are not out of the woods yet. You still have to pay eventually, and your federal loan accrues interest during the grace period.
As difficult as it may seem, you need to get used to making payments on your student loan, right from the offset. Don’t let it stress you too much though; there are ways to ensure you don’t carry that debt for a lifetime. The first thing you need to do, before you can even begin to pay off your debt, is to find a source of disposable income.
Some of you will find yourself employed and in a position to make your student loan payments immediately. For those less fortunate, here are some ideas to help you out.
1. Lower Living Expenses: Remember that time you flew the nest and set out on your own? Well, this may break your heart, but moving back to your parents for a while could help you save the extra cash needed towards paying your loan payments.
2. Revision of Terms: You can ask for a revision of terms; which means you can extend the loan period in order to reduce the monthly payments. Just make sure you keep up with these new lower payments, and as soon as possible, begin paying extra towards the principle.
3. Waiver Period: If you find yourself out of a job, don’t despair. You may be entitled to an interest relief period. During this period the government will pay your interest and you won’t have to make any loan repayments.
Don’t let student debt creep up on you, budget your payments today.
Controlling your spending doesn’t always mean reducing it; however, more often than not it is the end result. Tracking your spending is the best way to manage your finances, and there are a number of ways to do it. Credit cards and other forms of electronic payment come with the benefit of easy tracking. All your transactions are available on your monthly statement or online. However, a typical credit card purchase, on average, will cost 112% more than if you had used cash.
So is cash better than credit? Well, in a lot of instances it is. Credit cards give you the convenience of on the spot purchases that you can worry about later. With cash, you can only spend what you have. The problem with cash is though, how do you track it? There are plenty of programs out there that are great for tracking your finances; Quicken and MS Money are two that come to mind right away. But do you really have the time or inclination to keep every receipt and meticulously enter them into a tracker?
The good news is you don’t have to track every purchase; you just need to control how much you spend each month. To do this you first need to identify the areas where your spending is not controlled. Usually suspects include groceries, clothing, personal spending and general luxuries. Once you have identified these areas it is time to take control. Withdraw the amount of cash that you think you will need for these purchases and put it in an envelope. Make sure to record the date and amount on the envelope too.
Don’t panic if you find that you run out of money, this exercise is about control, and it takes a few months to show positive results. You will notice that you are becoming conscious of every purchase that you make. Every price tag will represent a percentage of what you have committed to spend, and you will think twice about impulse purchases. Ultimately, you will be surprised by how easy it is to control and reduce your spending when you are parting with real hard cash.
Brian Denysuik will be on CJOB on Saturday March 31, 2012 as a guest of Barbara Bowes on her Bowes Knows Radio show from 9:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M.
Brian will be talking to Barbara about consumer debt and he will be sharing ideas on developing spending plans, preparing our children for moving out and talking about the credit industry in general.
Don’t forget tune in this Saturday at 9:00 a.m. on CJOB!
Budgeting – Review Your Spending Before You Create Your Budget
If you want to reduce your debt, then you need to have a budget. I know, you have tried this a million times and it is a waste of time. You see, the problem with a budget is that it only works if you know what you are budgeting for. If you sit down and pull numbers out of your head, what you are doing is the equivalent of wishing away your debt. First and foremost, a budget needs to be realistic; which means you will have to do the ground work.
The key to success is in reviewing your spending, before you create your budget. To do this you are going to have to be honest with yourself. The easy part is your recurring payments, such as mortgage, insurance, taxes and credit cards; so start with those. Next you will need to look at your outgoings for less predictable or fluctuating costs. Consider your groceries, clothing, travel expenses, entertainment and any other impulse purchases. Track what you spend on each area for a month to give a realistic view of what you are currently spending.
Now, once you have calculated your outgoings, there is a chance that you will be over budget. Don’t let this dishearten you. You have effectively listed the component parts of an overall formula; you now need to make those components work for you. This is where you budget really begins.
Look at your outgoings; especially those that are not essential or are adjustable, and consider how you can reduce them. Allocate higher amounts from your budget to payments which have high interest rates. If, after you have tweaked the numbers as much as you can, you are still in the red, it is time to speak to your lenders. You may be able to make further monthly reductions by changes to your payment plans.
Whether you are saving for one big purchase or simply as a means of combating debt, you deserve a reward for your efforts. If you have ever played games on social media sites, where you effectively click buttons for six hours, you will appreciate this article. The developers of those games use psychology to keep you hooked. They are based on an effort and reward system, which keeps the player motivated to continue in order to receive their reward.
Saving is just like those games, except for most of us, it is often a long time before we see a reward. So why not have a little fun with your saving, by setting yourself challenges? It is difficult to appreciate the results of your hard work when the goal is in the distant future. By setting incremental goals, with a reward at the end, you will feel that your efforts are worth it and you will also notice an increase in your motivation.
So, let’s say that you set a target of $5,000 dollars and you reach it within your estimated time frame. Now you can reward yourself. Here’s a tip: create two dates; one is your reward date and the other is your ultimate deadline. If you reach your target by the reward date, you can treat yourself to a night out or a similar luxury. Obviously the reward should reflect the target amount, so if you are aiming to save $100 dollars, don’t splash out on a foreign holiday as your reward or anything else that will eat up a large chunk of the money saved.
This simple idea will make saving fun, rewarding and worth the effort. Get as creative with it as you like, as long as the end results are the same.
It may surprise you to find, that in an article about reducing credit card debt, we are not going to tell you to stop using your credit cards. Responsible spending, using credit, will actually help you keep a healthy credit score. This will make all the difference in the future if you need to take out a large loan for a new home or car. However, you do need to keep your credit card debt down, and to do that you have to keep up with your payments.
Whatever you pay, you need to be realistic about it, so create a budget to track your outgoings. Try to avoid paying the minimum on your credit cards at all costs. It may seem like you are chipping away at your debt, but really, all you are doing is paying interest. The next step is to compare the interest rates on all your credit cards. You want to allocate the highest payment to the cards with the highest rates. You may not have it within your budget to pay more than the minimum on all your cards; however, you can pay off the larger ones while maintaining minimum payments on the others.
A low-rate balance transfer is another option for reducing your debt. You can consolidate all your credit card debt into one easy to manage, lower rate payment. Be careful when choosing this option, and make sure to check the rates and how long they last.
We recently asked you, our Manitoba readers, to share your debt resolution for 2012 for a chance to win an Apple iPad. Our iPad winner is Janice Margelino! We were very happy to meet and present the prize to Janice. We were extremely impressed by her dedication to good saving practices and determination to pay off her student loans!
Also, here are the Top 5 Resolutions we would like to share, as chosen by the contest participants. The choices are listed in descending order from lowest to highest votes.
Number 5. Commitment to save – By creating a budget and cutting your costs you will put yourself in the best position to save in 2012. You can use those savings in the future so that you don’t find yourself in debt again.
Number 4. Follow your budget – A budget is absolutely essential, if you really want to reduce your debt. The key to success is to make sure that the budget is realistic and to stick to it. If your budget comes in over your monthly income, it is time to start looking at where you can cut costs.
Number 3. Pay off student loans – Those students loans are not going to go away on their own. Commit to making regular payments on student loans as part of your overall budget. If you are struggling to meet your payments, speak to your lender to discuss your options.
Number 2. Pay down credit card debt – Credit cards are a quick and convenient way to pay for the things you want. However, they are also a sure way to increase your debt and put a huge dent in your monthly budget. Pay off your highest card balances first and work your way down.
NUMBER ONE. Cut frivolous spending – The top choice for debt resolution, and rightly so, is to cut frivolous spending. This does not necessarily mean going without. Look for cheaper alternatives to your favorites treats. For instance, retro clothing is fashionable at the moment, so why not check out your local thrift stores?