Helping Canadians Get Out of Debt
You know debt can be bad, but you might not know these five weird truths about getting out of debt. If you don’t know how to get out of debt or where to start, Creditaid is here to help.
Consider these weird truths about eliminating debt to motivate you to start your debt-free journey.
Continue reading “5 Weird Truths About Getting Out of Debt”
If you have a lot of high-interest consumer debt, it is important to pay it off quickly. The high-interest rates are an opportunity cost for savings and investing in your future. In addition, the faster you pay your high-interest debts off, the more money you will have for other priorities.
It can seem overwhelming to pay off your debts, but at Creditaid, we are here to help make it easier.
Continue reading “How the Debt Snowball Method Works”
The new minimum wage will increase to $15 an hour by October 1. This is good news for the people of Manitoba; however, is it enough to live on the necessary living wage given the inflation rates?
The larger your family is, the harder it is to live on minimum wage, even the new minimum wage, but here are some ways to make it possible.
Continue reading “How to Live on a Living Wage with the New Minimum Wage”
It’s that time again, can you hear the bells ringing? That’s right, it’s time to head back to school. This year more than most represents a return to the familiar after the last two years of uncertainty and continually changing requirements.
School brings with it the need for new in the form of supplies and clothing which can really add up and stretch your budget to the max. With the proper planning, going back to school doesn’t have to cost a fortune as retailers understand and offer some great deals to help you save. You’re probably wondering how you can possibly navigate all these sales and take advantage of savings without getting pulled into buying what you don’t need while wondering how you are going to afford it all.
Continue reading “Back to School on a Budget”
Setting financial goals sounds great when you say them, but what about achieving them? If you don’t know how to execute the steps to reach your goals, they are just words. Whether you’ve fallen into the ‘New Year’s Resolution’ trap, or you are turning over a new leaf, here are X simple ways to keep your financial goals.
It doesn’t do any good to set goals you can’t achieve. Instead, set goals you know you can hit. Even if that means setting baby-step goals so you can see your progress, do it. Just make sure each goal can be measured.
Continue reading “Keeping your Financial Goals”
The millennial wage gap is a real problem for those ages 25 – 40. Not only do they make 20% less than Baby Boomers at their age, but they also have fewer consistent paychecks because of the Recession of 2007 and now the pandemic. With more people freelancing, regular paychecks feel like a thing of the past for most millennials.
The largest issue this causes for millennials is a delay in homeownership, aka achieving the American Dream. With lower wages, higher debt, and less consistent paychecks, only 42 percent of millennials own a home by age 30 versus 48 percent of Gen Xers and 51 percent of Baby Boomers.
Continue reading “Understanding the Millennial Wage Gap”Creditaid is proud to support various community initiatives and has been an important supplier to Habitat for Humanity Manitoba in their support of low income working families for many years.
As credit counsellors, we have the skills and experience to aid this wonderful charity by providing budget strategies to new Habitat homeowners to help them prepare for home ownership and budget effectively for a lifetime of financial success.
The financial education they receive helps to instill a sense of accountability and pride in their new home ownership status.
We are happy to be part of the Habitat for Humanity family, and seeing videos like this one makes us even bigger fans!
Most people avoid developing a spending plan. It’s just no fun hearing the same things over and over – “be frugal, be thrifty, save every penny you can for a rainy day.”
Unfortunately, failure to develop a spending plan usually results in our money waving goodbye every payday, and when bumps in the road occur and they will, (life being, well, life) you find yourself with very difficult financial challenges.
There’s got to be a happy medium – something between the regimented, enforced frugality that is so often presented as the solution to your life’s financial future and the carefree spending that’s going to land you in trouble. Taking control means that you take back full control and “tell your money where to go”!! No more letting it simply wave good-bye!
Enter the Save-to-Spend concept, a system of budgeting that will have you future-proofing your money, while still allowing you to achieve the things you want, and even giving you some “mad money” for the things you didn’t know you wanted. It is really all about pre-planning by putting your short, medium and long term goals on paper. Once you have them, put down what the costs are for each of them. Then prioritize them and determine the length of time it will take you to save for each of them. A simple example is buying a new big screen television. If the cost is $1200 and you want to have it in one year, start putting $100 away each month for it. This is far different then the buy now pay later program where you forget to pay off the interest free loan and end up paying 30% interest back to the day it was delivered. This is an example of a change from that path of instant gratification to one of delayed gratification!
The concept goes one step further and includes the most important part of any plan and that is building your emergency savings account. These are just a few simple examples of a very old concept that we need to return to.
Of course, you can’t make money from nothing, so there are going to be some sacrifices. They will, however, seem unimportant as you quickly see your bank balances grow with all the individual financial goals you have set.
Just remember you need to keep happy while you work within your Save-to-Spend plan! Like dieting, if you tell yourself you can never enjoy one of the foods you love, you’ll likely cheat. If you allow yourself the occasional treat, you’ll be happier overall and are more likely to get the result you want. Save-to-Spend has been proven to be effective.
If you have questions about Save-to-Spend, budgeting, or any other topic related to debt or personal finance, contact Creditaid anytime online or by telephone at (204) 987-6890.
If you are struggling to make all of your payments or are already unable to make your required monthly payments, Creditaid can help. Whether you need to rebuild your credit, undergo credit counselling, tackle your credit card debt, reassess your finances following a divorce or a move, or any other challenge that life brings – we’ve seen it all and we have a program that will suit your needs.
Reposted from the Winnipeg Free Press online edition February 16, 2016.
CALGARY – A new poll suggests nearly half of Canadians surveyed last month are within $200 per month of being unable to pay for their bills and make their debt payments.
The Ipsos Reid survey also found about one-quarter of the 1,582 people who responded to the poll were already unable to cover their bills and debt payments.
The online poll was done between Jan. 27 and Jan. 29 for MNP Debt, which provides licensed trustee services in six provinces, from Quebec to British Columbia.
MNP says the poll found that 31 per cent of respondents said any increase in interest rates could move them towards bankruptcy.
Ipsos Reid conducted the poll about a week after the Parliamentary Budget Office issued a report on Jan. 19 that said Canada has seen the largest increase in household debt relative to income of any G7 country since 2000.
The survey also followed Bank of Canada’s decision to keep a key lending rate at a historically low level of 0.5 per cent on Jan. 20, as the central bank lowered economic growth estimates for 2015 and 2016.
The polling industry’s professional body, the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error as they are not a random sample and therefore are not necessarily representative of the whole population.
Creditaid is delighted to be part of a new wellness program offered to the members of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society. The program, coined Balance, is in its’ first year and Creditaid is very excited to be covering the Financial Literacy piece.
Financial wellbeing impacts one’s overall health, and can affect relationships with family, friends and co-workers. More employers are beginning to realize that being under financial stress can significantly impact the quality of an employee’s daily work. We were happy to be selected by the Manitoba Teachers’ Society as responsible for the Financial Literacy portion of their wellness program.
The Financial Literacy workshops and resources provide information to help individuals deal with financial stress and limit the effects it may have on their life. Topics include but are not limited to:
• Identity Theft
• Dealing with Financial Stress
• Budgeting Made Easy
• Talking Money with Your Kids
We have been helping Manitobans be debt free since 1992 and with programs like these, we can help even more. These valued individuals are teaching our children, and we trust that the more knowledge they have, the more they will pass along.