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.
Creditaid, Credit Counselling & Debt Consolidation
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.
If you are currently in education, use this great repayment calculator to give you a head start. 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!