Tag: Financial Literacy Canada

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Talking Financial Wellness at R.D. Parker Collegiate

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Wednesday, February 10, 2016, marked another great day of professional development, this time with the staff from R.D. Parker Collegiate in Thompson, Manitoba. Our Balance Wellness Team is having a lot of fun meeting some great teachers across the province.

We were welcomed with open arms by Principal Rod Fisher and his staff. Keith Macpherson, Carla D’Andreamatteo, and Creditaid’s President Brian Denysuik, are really enjoying the opportunity to deliver some great programs. Creditaid’s Financial Wellness piece generated lots of interesting conversation.

Thank you Manitoba Teachers’ Society for having Creditaid as part of the Balance Wellness Program.

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Creditaid is Going Back to School!

Balance Wellness program logoCreditaid 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.

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1 in 5 Manitobans Feel Little Control Over Their Financial Situation: Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum Survey

Creditaid is a proud participating member of the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum, currently comprised of more than 40 active members. The following news release and Executive Summary of the survey can also be found on their website.

Winnipeg, Manitoba (November 19, 2015) – One in five Manitobans say that there is little they can do to control their financial situation, according to a new survey from the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum.

The survey, conducted by Prairie Research Associates, also revealed:

• 15 per cent of Manitobans believe that they would put off dealing with their money problems
• 11 per cent say they do not know who or where to turn to solve a financial problem
• 8 per cent feel that they do not know how to make good financial decisions

The results indicated that half of Manitobans do not consider themselves to be fully confident in their financial behavior, with many people desiring access to information and tools that can help them understand their finances, track their spending, create household budgets and improve their ability to work with a financial professional.

These findings are being used by the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum to create a benchmark for the current state of financial literacy in the province. This is the first survey of its kind to focus exclusively on Manitoba, and its results will inform the Forum’s future programming and projects.

“Learning how Manitobans understand their own financial situation and behavior is an important first step for the Forum,” says Cynthia Duncan, co-chair of the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum. “We’re finding that many people want to improve their financial skills, and we’re committed to connecting them to the resources that can set them up for lifelong success.”

Manitobans can learn more about money management by visiting ManitobaFinancialLiteracy.com. The website, operated by the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum, maintains a large collection of free tools and information to help guide people toward making responsible financial decisions at every stage of their lives.

The Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum is one of the province’s largest not-for-profit coalitions of organizations and individuals working to promote financial education and skills to Manitobans, represented by stakeholders from the public, private, financial services, credit counselling, and voluntary sectors, as well as individuals, and families and labour organizations.

The survey results cited are compiled from a random sample of 600 Manitobans 18 years of age and over between April 9 to 29, 2015. The results were weighted to better reflect the population. A probability sample of this size would yield results accurate to ± 4.1%, 19 times out of 20.

Media Contact Information:
Cynthia Duncan
Co-chair, Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum
204-925-7420, ext 7405
info@manitobafinancialliteracy.com

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November is Financial Literacy Month in Canada

Did you know that the month of November is Financial Literacy Month?

This initiative is a nationwide campaign aimed at helping Canadians increase their financial knowledge so that they can make more informed decisions when it comes to their personal finances. Understanding basic financial principles and practices is an essential ingredient to every household’s financial stability.

At Creditaid, one of our highest priorities is helping families understand how the credit system works and how to manage their finances wisely. Many people fall into financial crisis without being fully aware of how they got there in the first place. We believe a clear understanding of the credit system and available financial tools can help people turn their situations around before they find themselves too far in debt. Financial management is key and we are happy to provide you with the tools and information you need to get there.

Creditaid is committed to helping Canadians and we’re here to help. With the Creditaid Budget Bootcamp, we have taken this commitment one step further. Our Budget Bootcamp will take you step by step through a comprehensive budgeting plan, aided by many of the tools we use to help our clients on a daily basis.

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Consumer Obsession Leads Us to Over-spending

The desire to “keep up with the Jones’s” has become more than a social status issue for many people.  Also, it is very easy to get caught up in this during the holiday season. It has become a catalyst for overspending that has consumers running to banks and other lenders looking for ways to finance their purchases. This issue also has countless consumers loaded up with credit card debt so steep it may take them a lifetime to get out of it.

Give your financial literacy a good double-check, and if you are not already practicing the following financial practices, now is a great time to start today:

  • Pay bills on time and balance your check book each month. You can’t know how much you can afford to spend if you don’t know how much you currently have to spend.
  • Stop buying on impulse. If you want something, rather than charging it on your credit card and paying interest, save for the next few month and buy it when you have the money.
  • Always pay more than your minimum balance on credit cards: Get rid of them as soon as possible. You will save money on interest and have more to save for the future.
  • Vow to maintain only “good” debt. This is the type of debt that will increase your net worth: A mortgage on an affordable home, a car loan, or college debt. These will either increase your creditworthiness or make you more employable so you are able to earn more and keep debt to a minimum.
  • Always include some savings in your budget. Many short-sighted people are unable to see their needs after retirement and don’t save. This results in financial difficulty during their declining years.
  • Find out what you don’t know about finances—and learn it. Despite the flood of information on financial management, people don’t take the time to learn.

Finally, in order to put a stop to this financial madness keep in mind the media pull for spending and don’t be drawn into the hype. By being savvy shoppers and savers, the overspending and debt can stop.

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Finance Minister kicks off Financial Literacy Week

Canada’s Finance Minister was in Toronto last week to kick off the Financial Literacy Week.  This initiative is a nationwide campaign aimed at helping Canadians increase their financial knowledge so that they can make more informed decisions when it comes to their personal finances.

Many Canadians have taken advantage of the low interest rates since the recession and the government warns of the dangers of piling on too much debt, and especially at this time.  With a clearer understanding of financial matters and stronger financial literacy, Canadians will have greater control over their own finances and collectively build a more stable economy.

Financial Literacy Week was started in 2009 with that aim in mind.  Many resources are now available online, and events are being held across the country.

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Financial Literacy Week

Did you know that October 30th – November 5th, 2011 is Financial Literacy Week? The national campaign is organized by ABC Life Literacy Canada and aims to increase the financial knowledge and know-how of Canadians. This year’s campaign ambassador is Gail Vaz-Oxlade and together with ABC Life Literacy Canada, she has released a series of videos sharing her best financial advice.

Gail Vaz-Oxlade is the host of hit TV shows Til’ Debt Do Us Part and Princess. Gail is also the author of best-selling books Debt Free Forever and Easy Money.

Gail will be coming to Winnipeg on Feb 9th, 2012 – stay tuned to Creditaid for more information.

To watch more of Gail’s videos, click here.

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Financial Literacy in Canada – A Creditaid Commitment

Understanding basic financial principles and practices is an essential ingredient to every household’s financial stability. Financial stability in Canadian households leads to financial stability for the nation as a whole. It was in recognition of this fact that the Minister of Finance created the Task Force on Financial Literacy in 2009.

The purpose of the task force was to determine ways to strengthen and enhance financial literacy, or understanding, among Canadians. One of the means the task force utilized for gaining input regarding solutions for improving financial literacy was to request input from Canadian individuals and organizations involved in the area of finance. Because of Creditaid’s commitment to educating and training Canadian individuals and households on proper financial management, we were happy to contribute our input to the task force. Click here to visit their website and learn more.

Helping families understand how the credit system works and how to manage their finances wisely is one of Creditaid’s highest priorities. When we meet with people, they often are not fully aware of how they ended up in the financial crisis they are in. If we can provide people with the understanding and the tools to manage their finances properly, before they get in debt, we are happy to that.

Creditaid is here to provide answers to those with questions about credit and help for those with credit problems to resolve them. We are committed to helping Canadians and we’re here to help you.

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FCAC – OECD Conference on Financial Literacy – Day One.

Brian Denysuik is attending the FCAC OECD Conference on Financial Literacy.

Here is a summary of what he’s learned from Day One.

We spent the day hearing update on the current state of financial literacy in Canada with different perspectives from around the world. The workshops were very educational and covered some interesting ways on how social media and technology is being reviewed as delivery channels.


Education in the school systems is going to be a very important delivery channel as the provinces role out their models. The studies on gender and financial education were a key interest as they compared where each gender believes they are at with understanding. Alison Griffiths, Toronto Journalist, financial author and TV host of Maxed Out concluded the day with an energetic presentation.

Looking forward to another day, stay tuned.