Debt Free In 30

You’ve heard of the five stages of grief; today Scott Terrio returns to discuss the 5 stages of debt, with examples from the people we meet with every day. Stage 3 (Bargaining) is where we can make the most mistakes; stage 4 (depression) is where most people are when they reach out for help, and stage 5 (acceptance) is the most important stage to get a fresh start. Lots of client anecdotes on today’s show!  

Today on the podcast we have a first time guest, Danielle Park, a Chartered Financial Analyst and the President and co-founder of Venable Park Investment Counsel Inc., a money management firm. In her book, Juggling Dynamite, she accurately describes the risk of excessive debt, and she says that she has come to “see credit and prescription drugs as some of the great ironies of our time.” On today’s show Danielle explains why saving money is more important than making money, the importance of liquidity, and how to build wealth in a challenging world.

For the average Canadian family, their largest monthly expense is their rent or mortgage payment, and unless they have a very expensive car, their second biggest expense is often food. If you have a limited income, how can you manage your food budget effectively? Is it possible eat healthy without breaking the bank? On today’s show we welcome Heidi Pola, a Registered Dietitian who gives practical advice on how to eat healthy and save money.

You’ve got debt, you think you might need to file a consumer proposal or go bankrupt, but you’re worried, because you travel for your job, or you have a family vacation booked, and you are worried that if you are bankrupt you may get stopped at the border. Is that a thing? Can you travel while you are bankrupt? That’s today’s question here on Debt Free in 30, so to discuss it I’m joined by Ian Martin, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee with Hoyes Michalos here in Kitchener.

When I ask my clients “what happened; how did you get into so much debt?”, they tell me that the credit card company offered them a credit limit increase on their credit card, so they took it.  Or, they offered me a line of credit, so I took it. Makes sense; if someone offers you something, you take it. But is it always a good idea? What should you watch out for? So today on Debt Free in 30 I’ve invited back Diane Cunha, who was with us back on show 235 when we talked about credit cards; today we’ll have a discussion about the pros and cons of pre-approved credit limit increases and lines of credit. I’m going to explain why conventional wisdom says they are a good idea, and Diane will explain why the conventional wisdom is often wrong.

When Sears went bankrupt and the employees discovered they wouldn’t get their full pensions, there was an understandable outcry, and many people has said that the solution is to make pensions the first creditor to be paid in a bankruptcy, ahead of the banks. That sounds good, but that policy may cause some unintended consequences that hurt workers, as we explain on today’s podcast, and we offer some other solutions to this very serious problem.

Debts arising from the failure of a business is a common reason that someone may have to file a personal bankruptcy. That’s not surprising; you borrow money personally to invest in a business, it doesn’t work out, you’re left with the debt, so you file bankruptcy.  I’ve personally done hundreds of bankruptcies that were the result of a business failure. So what can you do to reduce the chance of business failure? Or stated with a more positive perspective, what can you do to make your business a success? That’s the question I’ll answer on today’s edition of Debt Free in 30, where we’ll tell you the 6 Skills You need to be successful in business.

There is a lot of bad credit and debt advice out there.  We see it on YouTube, and Twitter, and Reddit, and in personal finance blogs.  And it seems that one of the most popular areas to give bad advice is on how to improve your credit score. So, today, Scott Terrio and I are going to share and debunk the bad advice you can get on the internet for improving your credit score.  Some of the bad advice we discuss: Raise your credit limit Have many credit cards Have a 30% utilization on all of your credit cards Don’t pay off your credit cards early Show credit growth – get a new card every few months Take out longer loans Start getting credit cards as a student

Getting a copy of your credit report and credit score for free, from one of those "credit monitoring" services, can be very expensive. On today's show I rant about why I don't like those services, and I give practical advice on how and when to monitor your credit score.

Today’s episode is a quick “Technical Tidbits” edition where we answer one question from our listeners. The short answer is yes, it is possible for a collection agency to take you to court, but it’s not a common occurrence.  We explain when they are most likely to take you to court, and what your option are if they do.

On today's show we discuss the proposed changes in the federal budget, including help for new home buyers, and explore whether or not these changes will actually help millennials and others.

Every year, we analyze information we collect about our clients to develop an updated profile of the average person filing insolvency. We call this person Joe Debtor. As the economy changes, so too does Joe Debtor. In 2014/2015 we warned that we were seeing an increase in the number of seniors filing bankruptcy. In 2017 we highlighted that, despite a robust economy, we were leaving people behind who were struggling on a lower than average household income and becoming insolvent because they were relying on debt to make ends meet. In 2018 we continued to raise concerns about the payday loan crisis facing heavily indebted borrowers. While some of those trends continued our recent Joe Debtor study, completed in 2019 based on 2018 insolvencies with our firm, highlighted the plight felt by Millennials.  They are the fastest growing cohort filing insolvency.  And it's not just that they are aging in - they are dealing with more debt at a younger age than any previous generation. They are filing bankruptcy at a rate

Budgeting for bill payments and saving can be a straightforward process when you have a regular, consistent paycheque. But how do you stay on top of your finances when your income differs from one month to the next? What if you're just not someone who can follow traditional financial planning? Enter Chris Enns. Chris is an opera-singer and a fee-only financial planner specializing in helping people who work in creative careers organize their sporadic salaries. He understands first-hand the struggles of applying traditional financial advice to a non-traditional cash-flow. Today Chris outlines his approach for managing cash-flow when you have variable or intermittent income. Chris explains that many people in the creative world avoid thinking about money because they believe they are just bad at it; they just don't get it so they think managing their finances is something they can't do. As 'money misfits' they don't feel they are part of the financial conversation. The terminology around money is foreign so the

In over 20 years helping Canadians eliminate their debt, I've yet to hear a single client say they chose to have debt problems. Debt accumulates over time and then it becomes an even bigger problem when you lose your job, become ill or get divorced. But for many of my clients, despite knowing that the cause of their money troubles was beyond their control, they still blamed themselves for their financial woes.  So, how does one overcome self-blame to achieve debt relief? Today we talk with Shannon Lee Simmons, author of Living Debt-Free: The No-Shame, No-Blame Guide to Getting Rid of Your Debt about how negative feelings towards debt can create more debt and strategies that can put you in the right direction when dealing with your debt.

When used correctly, a credit card is a helpful tool to build your credit history, and it's a safer than carrying cash. However, when mismanaged, a credit card can quickly become one of the most expensive borrowing options, leading to serious debt trouble. For many of our clients, credit card debt is the second biggest debt they carry. To help you avoid the common pitfalls that come with owning a credit card, I talk with Diane Cunha, one of our certified credit counsellors. She shares tips for using credit wisely to avoid debt problems.  We discuss billing cycles, due dates and grace periods, and we have 8 tips for avoiding credit card debt.

Many people we meet are surprised to find themselves so far behind financially they can no longer pay their bills. The problem with debt is that it creeps up on us slowly.  Today we are going to take a lesson from the business world and apply it to personal finance. Businesses use financial ratio analysis all the time to assess their financial risks. Today we are going to look at 4 personal financial ratios that can help you measure your debt risk and determine some financial priorities. 

Whether you are a borrower or a beginning saver, the best way to beat the bank at its own game is to learn some basics so you can make a better decision.  I talk with Larry Bates, author of Beat the Bank, as he shares tips for outsmarting financial institutions and keeping the most of your hard-earned money in your own pocket rather than the bank's. One of Larry's biggest messages is that if you understand the cost or fee structure of the financial products you are using, you can choose options that lower that cost.  By keeping more of your money, each and every year, these seemingly small savings build up over time and can have a significant impact on your long term finances. All that and more on today’s show.

A debt collector does just what the name suggests: they collect on unpaid debt. They won't review all your debt relief options with you or give you a plan that makes debt repayment realistic and affordable. Their only goal is to recover as much debt for the creditor as possible. That's how their business makes money. You might be shocked to learn that some big not-for-profit credit counselling agencies are now operating the same way. In fact, they are registered with the Ontario government as debt collection agencies. Credit counselling agencies have changed. Many are no longer registered charities. Credit counselling agencies don't do a lot of budgeting or actual in person counselling anymore either. Credit counselling organizations in Canada today are often big, national call centers. Now when you call a credit counselling call centre, you may be sold a debt management plan (DMP), where you repay 100% of the debts you owe, but with a lowered interest rate. Credit counselling companies sell this regardless

A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a loan secured by the equity in your house. A HELOC is often presented as a great borrowing tool because unlike with credit cards or unsecured loans, you have access to a large amount of revolving cash at a lower interest rate. But what you probably don't know is that your bank can change the borrowing terms on your HELOC whenever they want. I talk with Scott Terrio and he shares why you need to think twice before signing up for a home equity line of credit. 

If you can sell your assets, pay the taxes (there’s a tax hit when you cash in an RRSP), and have enough to pay off your debts, it may make sense to sell your assets to pay off your debt.  But, if your assets won’t cover your debts in full, there may be a better option. On today’s podcast we discuss how to determine if selling assets is a good debt reduction strategy.