Debt Free In 30

Today we present our top ten tips for dealing with collection agents.  We are joined by two industry insiders, Blair Demarco-Wettlaufer who on a previous show told us how to stop collection calls, and Mark Silverthorn who previously revealed several "dirty tricks" that some collection agencies use to collect on a debt.   We've taken their comments and compiled our top ten tips for dealing with collection agents.

In today's technology filled world there are more resources and tools available to us than ever before. Although the traditional pen, paper and calculator method for budgeting still works, mobile apps offer new ways to organize your money and save money. As we end 2015 and move into a brand new year, it's a great time to make financial changes and start tracking your money to make a plan for every single dollar that comes in to your bank account. Today's episode strays from our usual guest interviews to bring you a round-up of some of the best budgeting apps out there. I interview five past guests to find out which apps they recommend and actually use when it comes to their own finances.

Every year, the focus of the holiday season is on consumerism and the need to spend money on the perfect gifts, the perfect decorations and creating the perfect dinner. And every year, Canadians end up spending too much money, putting them at risk for financial difficulties once the holiday season is over. For advice about how to limit Christmas spending, we have invited Heather Cudmore, manager of credit counselling at Carizon Family and Community Services in Kitchener, Ontario, back to the show to discuss budgeting, the importance of having a plan and why it's time for Canadians to set new holiday traditions that don't break the bank.

The holidays are known for being a time of happiness and joy. But for those struggling with depression, anxiety or loss, the holidays can be a difficult. Our guest today is Theresa Karn, Manager of Clinical Services at Carizon Family & Community Services in Kitchener, Ontario. Attempting to create the perfect holiday experience and living up to expectations set by yourself and others can lead to stress, sadness and even depression.  On today’s show we provide practical advice for identifying and dealing with depression and anxiety.

Gail Vaz-Oxlade is back on the show to discuss her new book, Money Talks: When To Say Yes And How To Say No. I'm excited to feature Gail as a guest this week because not only is her book due out this Tuesday, December 8th, but this is also the FIRST podcast interview introducing her latest work. Gail starts out the episode by exclaiming, I'm so excited for this new book, I cannot begin to tell you! My toes are curling!" So you know it'll be a good one! On today’s show Gail gives away a few secrets about the book (to be released on December 8), and she also gives us actionable advice and tips for starting the conversation about money. The topic of the book is one that hasn't been written about before.  As Gail says: "nobody has actually done this before. Nobody has actually talked about how to have these conversations with the people in your life." This is Gail at her best, and is a “must listen” podcast.

When shopping for financial products like mortgages, credit cards or GICs it's important to shop around. We spend time reading through reviews and prices for things like coffee makers, but as today's guest points out: “before buying a TV we look on Best Buy, we look on Amazon, we look online to find the lowest prices and comparison shop. And I think more people need to realize that they can also do that for financial products.” Our guest today is Alyssa Furtado, founder and CEO of Ratehub.ca, a financial products comparison website. They help consumers compare products like credit cards, mortgages, banking and insurance services to help consumers make informed decisions regarding their financial situation.

When it comes to privacy, organizations are required to follow federal and provincial legislation which prohibits the use of personal information in an inappropriate or unreasonable manner. As part of the federal private sector, The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) determines proper conduct by organizations throughout Canada. Differently, The Privacy Act covers the personal information handling practices of the federal government itself. Our guest today is Vance Lockton, Senior Analyst for Stakeholder Relations at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.  Vance explains that the Privacy Commissioner, Daniel Therrien is an officer of Parliament and reports directly to the House of Commons and the Senate, and is independent of the government in place. Vance details the laws in place for debt collectors, how investigations under the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada are conducted and provides advice for listeners for protecting your personal information.

In a past episode we talked to four industry experts about good debt vs. bad debt. Having listened to that episode, my guest today argues that there is no such thing as good debt, there is only bad debt and not so bad debt. Today’s guest is Steve Stewart, a  Financial Wellness Coach and podcast host from St. Louis, Missouri. Steve's opinion of debt is that ...we've made it almost a necessary evil. My opinion of debt is that we made it too easy for someone to get into it; and I don't mean just a little bit. I mean non-mortgage debt levels on cars, credit cards, our children's education. These debt levels can grow to be two, three, even four times our annual salary.

It's Financial Literacy Month here in Canada and to kick it off our guest today is retired math teacher of 30 years, educational speaker and publisher, Dave Mitchell to the show to talk about whether we should be teaching financial literacy in the high school classroom. We have a back and forth discussion about whether teaching financial skills to students who won't use it for many years is productive, or whether we need to focus on teaching skepticism instead.

As a trustee in bankruptcy, I meet with people every day who are struggling to pay off their debt. In the finance world, it's not uncommon to hear shocking stories from clients about threatening calls from collection agents or how they got into debt in the first place. On today's show, I'm joined by Hoyes Michalos bankruptcy trustee, Howard Hayes, collection agent Blair Demarco-Wettlaufer, credit counsellor, Nicole Olsen from Fitness Financial in Windsor and bankruptcy trustee at Hoyes Michalos, Rebecca Martyn from our Windsor and Leamington offices to hear some of the scary stories that they've heard over the years.

Interest rates are low and credit is readily accessible, making it easy to take on more debt. What's more is that debt becomes manageable in this kind of climate, until of course, it's not. This summer the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates, and since that time, media sources have been reporting that Canadians are managing their debt levels and that delinquency rates have fallen. On today’s show our guests are bankruptcy trustees Blair Mantin from Sands & Associates in British Columbia and Barton Goth from Goth and Company in Alberta, to talk about the kinds of trends they're seeing in their own provinces and whether they think those reports accurately represent consumer debt across the nation.

On today’s show Nora Spinks, CEO of the Vanier Institute of the Family, explains why debt is very complicated in the family context. When it comes to family debt, Nora explains that the majority of Canadians carry some sort of debt; the highest debt being mortgages, followed by car loans and education. The pattern has been, and continues to be, that people incur debt when they're starting out in life; buying a house and a car, having children and going to school. However, Nora explains that, “what we are now seeing, that's relatively new in sort of historic economics in this country, is older people with debt, more people retiring with debt and more people accumulating debt while in retirement.” We explore the implications of debt on the family, and discuss some possible strategies to deal with and eliminate debt.

As the cost of higher education increases, so to does the amount of student loan debt for those graduating from university or college and entering the workforce.  On today's show we talk about the average student loan debtor, explain why females carrying student loan debt have more difficulty paying it off and Ted Michalos points out that student loan debt doesn't only delay big life events for graduates, but ultimately, it affects the overall economy as well.

Today's guest is Blair Demarco-Wettlaufer, Managing Partner of Kingston Data & Credit, a collection agency servicing Canada and parts of the United States. Blair is a past guest from show #20 where we discussed the collections process and how to stop collection calls. He's back to give us an insider's perspective about ways that collection agents find debtors, including the use of social media to do it, and what you should do once they've successfully contacted you.   Gone are the days when collection agents sat smoking at their desks, flipping through index cards and telephone books to find ways to contact debtors. Blair explains that today, there is no shortage of information available to the general public and debt collectors because there are ridiculous amounts of data available now through the internet, through databases, through information technology, and a lot of people aren't aware of what can and can't be used.

It's been over seven years since the Canadian government made changes to the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act (BIA) in Canada to make bankruptcy more expensive and to promote an alternative: a consumer proposal. Today they are more popular than ever because they have significant advantages over any other form of debt relief option in Canada. But since many still don't know a lot about what a consumer proposal is, we talk with Ted Michalos and Joel Sandwith, trustees at Hoyes Michalos, to answer some of the top questions about consumer proposals in Canada.

Today’s guest is financial blogger and podcast host, Jessica Moorhouse from Mo' Money Mo' Houses We discuss how to make big life changes including relocation, going back to school, buying a home and planning a wedding. These are all common life events that can take a toll on your finances and can be difficult to manage for those already facing debt. As a millennial, Jessica has recent experience with all of these changes and shares her experience and advice with listeners Jessica relocated from Vancouver to Toronto two years ago, and has lots of great advice on planning for a relocation. We also discuss buying a house, which may not be a great idea in an over-heated real estate market.   We have lots of great content, so we have a special bonus podcast only segment with more great practical advice from Jessica.

Today’s guest is Susan Eng, Vice President of Advocacy at CARP, an organization focused on helping seniors and future generations with issues like financial security. Susan explains that studies like our Joe Debtor whitepaper catalogue the fears that seniors have today; fears about outliving their savings and their children's and grandchildren's lack of economic opportunities. During our talk, she describes the need for government reform and options for reducing senior debt levels. With the election campaign in full swing Ms. Eng talks about CARP’s past successes, and explains what she’s looking for from the politicians in this campaign.   Poverty, debt, and payday loans, we cover it all.  In fact, the show ran long, so we’ve got an extra bonus podcast only segment with lot’s of great additional information.

It’s the start of season number two of Debt Free in 30, and we start this season like we started the first season: we let Ted Michalos rant about payday loans. A lot has happened in the last year, and today talks about a presentation he attended this summer with the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, where Ted gave his thoughts on how to deal with the rise of many new types of high interest lenders.   These loans are easy to get, but charge a high interest rate.  Ted explains who gets these loans (it’s not who you think), and what borrowers should do if they find themselves caught in a cycle of high interest loans.

For the month of August we are rebroadcasting our most popular shows. We're going to wrap up our "Best Of" summer series with a discussion we had with Jonathan Chevreau about obtaining your own version of Financial Independence or "Findependence" as Jonathan calls it. Jonathan's approach to getting out of debt is to adopt a form of guerrilla frugality in order to get out of debt, stay out of debt and reach your goal of financial freedom. Last week with talked about how people get so deep in debt without evening knowing how they got there. One of the underlying problems is a lack of a balanced budget.  To get out of debt Jonathan suggested taking the concept of balancing your budget one step further to something he calls 'Guerrilla Frugality'. He suggests we should live below our means, not just for a year or two, but as a life-long habit. Only by doing so can you pay off your debts and build a strong financial foundation that will support you throughout your life.   In many regards that is the lesson learned

For the month of August we are rebroadcasting our most popular shows. On today's rebroadcast we talk with Gail Vaz-Oxlade about how to build a repayment plan to deal with your debt before it reaches the tipping point. If however you find that you are looking at years and years to pay back your debt then you may need to consider other options. We also talk with Ted Michalos, bankruptcy trustee and co-founder of Hoyes, Michalos about how a consumer proposal can help you get out of debt while avoiding the need to file for bankruptcy.