March 2015 – Creditaid

March 18, 2015

Will Credit Counselling Hurt My Credit Score?

Credit counselling in and of itself is confidential, and will have no effect on your credit score.
Some of the actions that you might take on the advice of a credit counselor could affect it negatively, but chances are, if you’re in the market for credit counselling, your credit score already exhibits some problems.

At Creditaid, we understand that the initial effort required to come in for counselling is immense. While we offer a judgment-free environment, we know the pressure that the credit industry puts on people to maintain a good “score”. Banks and credit card companies talk about it like it’s a measure of a person’s value. We know it’s not – it’s just a tool that lenders use to evaluate the level of risk that an individual exposes them to when they lend them money.

Many of our clients access one or more of the debt relief tools we have at our disposal. A Debt Consolidation or Debt Management Program will be reflected on your Credit Bureau report, and can affect your credit score negatively, both while the program is in place and for a time afterward. Since both require you to forego obtaining new credit while enrolled, this won’t be an issue until after the program is complete, and you are out of debt.

You will be surprised at the number of lenders who will still be willing to issue credit, even with a lower score. You will also have new tools, knowledge, and insight, so you’ll likely resist their tempting offers of easy money.

Creditaid has partnered with Home Trust, a federally regulated trust company that has been specializing in helping Canadians find alternative financial solutions for over 35 years. We can help you rebuild your credit with a Secured Visa card.

We have also partnered with Keystone Finance, a local financial solutions provider that has helped clients and their families live better lives for over 30 years.

If you’re finding that there’s not enough money to meet your monthly debt load, and fear that it’s spiraling out of control, contact Creditaid today. For anyone who’s ever experienced credit trouble, there’s no better feeling than being debt free.

March 13, 2015

Creditaid Discusses Money 101 in March’s Smart Biz

The Smart Biz March 2015 edition is out, and in it, Brian Denysuik talks about the importance of teaching our children the basics of money.

How often is actual money, as in cash, used in your daily life? This is what children see every day; the concept of money has been reduced to plastic cards that seemingly act as a “get out of the store free” pass in the eyes of a child who may have never seen anything beyond Monopoly money.

To read more about how to open the discussion with your children and starting their financial education sooner rather than later, check out the full article on page 13 of the March Smart Biz.

If you need to expand upon your own financial knowledge, or just need somebody to talk to about your finances and debt load, contact the caring folks at Creditaid for your free, no obligation assessment.

March 10, 2015

Paper or Plastic or Cloud? The Evolving Concept of Money

You need only to look at the recent demise of the penny, or see the “wave your card here” payment option at the supermarket to know that the way that we think of and use money is changing.

In ancient times, humans would barter objects or labour directly. A farmer might give his neighbour two chickens in exchange for a bag of flour, or might help build a fence and be rewarded with a sack of carrots.

At its core level, money is a substitute for human labour or resources, traded to someone in exchange for “payment”. This payment can then be used to obtain the things you need or want from a third party, not related to the first.

In the past we used gold and other precious metals to represent the value of our labour and goods, but switched to a system of currency consisting of minted coins and printed paper. In the 20th century, cheques and bank drafts simplified purchasing, and in the 1950s, credit cards were invented, to allow us to access money we hadn’t yet earned, in exchange for a “borrowing fee”.

Today, money exists in a number of forms. We still have “hard currency”, or cash, but its use is on the decline. The digital revolution has brought us more options. As more and more purchases are being made at a distance, instant transfer of money via credit cards and money transfer services have become part of the landscape.

At the end of the day, no matter how you spend your money, simple rules of budgeting must apply to keep your finances in balance. With so many ways to spend money that don’t involve any kind of currency, it’s easy to forget to budget. This is one of the ways that people wind up in financial trouble.

If you find your credit card and loan payments are making it hard to budget your money, contact Creditaid for a confidential assessment of your financial situation. We have tools that can help!