Creditaid – Page 9

September 24, 2014

Free The Spirit Festival This Saturday

We are very excited for the Free The Spirit Festival happening this Saturday, September 27th at St. Amant. This is a great event that celebrates the value of people with developmental disabilities and autism. We invite all of our friends, staff and the whole community to join us on that day as we participate in the fundraising walk and have fun at the many activities we have planned for the day. There will be a BBQ, games, music and a petting zoo – activities for the whole family!

Date: Saturday, September 27th, 2014
Time: 10 am – 2pm
Location: St. Amant at 440 River Road

For more information, visit the St. Amant website or give us a call at 204.987.6890. See you there!

September 17, 2014

Back to the Grind – Tips for the University and College Students

With the unofficial end of summer upon us, this can only mean that once again, it is time to head back to school.

Are you a university or college student heading back to the campus this fall? We know how stressful it can be to manage finances while balancing course work, extra-curricular activities and a part time job. From tuition to textbooks, all the expenses associated with going to school can quickly add up so that is why we have a few quick tips for you today to help you survive your school year. Afterall, we believe that developing a budget and managing finances is an important life skill to learn outside of the classroom.

Develop a Budget

Now is the perfect time to develop a budget of your expenses for the school year. The budget will help you see how much is coming in from jobs, grants, bursaries or loans and how much will need to go out for bills and other expenses. Having this understanding will help you plan out your finances so that you can do everything you want to do throughout the school year.

Your Wants vs Needs

As you’re preparing this budget, it is important to distinguish between “needs” and “wants”. For example, while you need food to live, going out to eat with friends at a restaurant is a ‘want’ that will be a lot of more expensive. Find a balance between the two so that you can live comfortably without missing out.

Types of Expenses

Break down your expenses so that you have a better idea of what you need each month. Which of your expenses are one time and which are monthly? For example –

School Costs – such as tuition, textbooks, course fees you can expect to be once a term

One Time Expenses – trips, gifts, moving costs are one-time expenses and can happen unexpectedly

Monthly Expenses – for food, rent, cell phone, gym memberships, or gas are monthly expenses that will remain mostly the same each month

Understanding how much you will need and when you will need it by will help in your overall planning.

The key is developing a budget that is realistic to your situation. When you have this understanding of what’s coming in and going out, you can make better and more informed decisions when you are deciding, for example, on whether to go out for dinner or commit to that trip to Toronto during Reading Week.

We wish you a great school year ahead!

August 27, 2014

BC Driving to Change Legislation that Manitoba Adopted Two Years Ago to Protect Manitobans

Creditaid President and CAICCA Vice Chair Brian Denysuik was recently interviewed by The Province on the need for the BC government to adopt changes in their debt management legislation. The province has the highest rate of consumer debt in the country but current legislations leave consumers open to financial harm and loss of funds from debt settlement companies during their most vulnerable times.

Changes to the Manitoba legislations were made in 2012 and Brian comments on how those changes were instrumental in protecting Manitobans from scams. “The changes around debt settlement here in Manitoba…have worked very, very well. I think the legislative changes have helped protect consumers. I fail to understand why BC has not done the same thing.”

“Before the Manitoba government changed that province’s regulations in February 2012, ‘we were seeing a lot of people get trapped into working with these organizations, where they had turned around and they had sent them a whole bunch of money, only to be sued, only to find out that they’d been scammed,’ Denysuik said.

Denysuik said in recent years, his office has heard from far fewer upset, distressed consumers who claim to have been scammed by shady debt settlement companies.”

Read the full article on The Province, originally posted on August 22nd, 2014. Click here to be redirected to the article.

August 20, 2014

Can you relate to this divorce debt story?

John’s motto was always “work hard and play hard”. John had worked hard his entire career which often was his justification for the money he spent drinking, dining out, clothes and on his home. He was living the high life and he felt it was all justified.

If he had taken the time to figure out how much he was spending in relation to his income, he would’ve realized he was spending more than he was making. His bank account was often overdrawn and he was using one credit card to pay off the other.

His heavy drinking was only contributing more to his debt problems. Finally, it became so excessive that it drove his wife away. The divorce was the final straw. The drawn out divorce process and court proceedings resulted in his assets being frozen. He could not borrow money or sell any of his assets to make his payments. He was in a standstill.

Some debt problems are years in the making. When the pieces finally fall, things can quickly spiral out of control. If your debt story is like John’s, stop the speed debting and seek professional help from the counsellors at Creditaid.

August 13, 2014

Are you ‘Speed Debting’ with your Business?

It was always Jessica’s* dream to run her own business. She had spent her childhood in a small town and loved the sense of community she felt living there so when it was time, it was an easy decision for her to pick the location for her business.

She ran a small convenience store and business was great. Her prime location and loyal customers made the business a success. Her dream had come true.

An advantage of running a business in a small town is that competition is limited. For a long time, the big retailers never even considered entering Jessica’s town. But the town grew and then one day, the big retailers came.

The business started to change. Business dropped and even the loyal customers couldn’t resist the low prices and convenience the big retailer offered. Jessica’s over-extended line of credit became the working capital and pretty soon, her multiple credit cards were maxed out. Her own income disappeared at a time when she needed it the most. Every month became a juggling act of making rent and minimum payments. She was afraid to answer the phone, open her mail or even see her family and friends for fear they would ask how business was going.

Financially, Jessica knew she was in trouble but the hardest part was accepting that she had to let go of her dream. The mounting debt and the stress of trying to figure it all out by herself finally made her ask for help.

When debt starts mounting, the situation can quickly spin out of control. To avoid a speed debting problem like Jessica’s, talk to the counsellors at Creditaid.