Helping Canadians Get Out of Debt
Managing your personal finances can feel overwhelming at times. There are many terms, definitions, and responsibilities to understand that it’s easy to feel lost.
We’ve covered the top financial terms everyone should know and understand to help you stay on top of your personal finances below.
Continue reading “Financial Terms Everyone Should Know”
Social media is a way of life for most of us, but did you know it could affect your spending? You may not even realize the direct connection, but we’ll show you ways that you might be spending more than you intended all because of your Instagram or Facebook feeds.
How often do you watch someone’s feed and think poorly of yourself? Maybe they have something you don’t, or you want to be just like them. What do you do?
Continue reading “How Social Media Affects our Spending”
Every dollar you bring in should have a purpose or a ‘job.’ This is the premise behind the zero-based budgeting model, and it works for millions. It helps you not only pay your bills on time, but also makes sure you save money every month, something many of us plan for the end of the month only to find that our money is gone.
So how do you give every dollar a purpose? Follow these steps.
Continue reading “How to Give Every Dollar a Purpose”The pandemic made it tough for thousands of Canadians to keep up with their bills, especially the high-interest consumer debt. A debt holiday was put in place on consumer debt and mortgages helping Canadians handle the daily cost of living without worrying about excessive debts.
Now that the country and even the world are coming back together and things are opening up, the debt holiday is nearing its ends. This means many bills will be due again – but how do you prepare for such a change in your finances?
Check out the tips below.
Before your deferment plans end, contact your creditors. Don’t wait until the plan expires and then try to work something out. At that point it’s too late, your payments will be due and if you don’t pay them, it will hurt your credit.
Call your creditors long before it ends and ask about your options. Let them know your financial situation, whether you’re furloughed, not working, or working but trying to catch up. Most creditors will work with you, helping you figure out an affordable plan. Creditors would rather make a plan and receive the full payment than put you at risk of defaulting altogether.
Continue reading “How to Prepare for the end of Debt Holiday”Life is trying to get back to normal. As the COVID-19 numbers drop, more retail stores are reopening, which is a great sign for our economy, but may not be as good for your pocketbook. Try to avoid getting caught up in the excitement of things getting back to ‘normal,’ and be mindful of your spending.
Before you shop, ask yourself the following questions.
Is this an Impulse Buy?
Are you shopping with a list? If you are, is the item you’re holding or that you ‘need to buy’ on your list? If not, it’s an impulse buy. Even if you don’t have a list, but you look at things you don’t need or didn’t intend to buy; it’s an impulse buy.
Rather than buying without thinking, give yourself 48 hours. Leave the store or close your web browser without buying the product. After 48 hours, if you’re still thinking about the item, maybe it’s something worth buying. Chances are though, if it was an impulse buy, you won’t even think about it again.
Continue reading “Stores are Open – Reign in your Spending”Thank you @JoelSchlesinger from @winnipegfreepress for giving Creditaid the opportunity to share strategies on how to financially survive these uncertain times!
Listen to Brian Denysuik, President of Creditaid, discuss Manulife Bank’s survey that shows Canadians cut back spending on extras as interest rates rise CJOB’s Hal Anderson.
As published in the September 2016 issue of Balance, a Manitoba Teachers’ Society publication.
I am asked by individuals of all ages, “What should I be doing at this stage of my life with my finances? I am feeling stressed about what I need to be thinking about.”
With increasing debt loads affecting youth, and unemployment rates double the national average, understanding how money and credit ratings work is paramount and a part of their educational needs.
Starting with their allowance, children can learn about how to manage their finances. The key is thinking about how much money you have and where you want to spend it. Children and adults alike are often driven by impulse and don’t think before acting. An environment where youth are responsible for identifying only their wants and not their essential needs is a dangerous precedent that can affect them throughout their lives. It’s simply too easy to spend freely and then find out you don’t have enough left, forcing you into debt.
Continue reading “Financial Literacy; It’s Never Too Early To Learn”
Most people avoid developing a spending plan. It’s just no fun hearing the same things over and over – “be frugal, be thrifty, save every penny you can for a rainy day.”
Unfortunately, failure to develop a spending plan usually results in our money waving goodbye every payday, and when bumps in the road occur and they will, (life being, well, life) you find yourself with very difficult financial challenges.
There’s got to be a happy medium – something between the regimented, enforced frugality that is so often presented as the solution to your life’s financial future and the carefree spending that’s going to land you in trouble. Taking control means that you take back full control and “tell your money where to go”!! No more letting it simply wave good-bye!
Enter the Save-to-Spend concept, a system of budgeting that will have you future-proofing your money, while still allowing you to achieve the things you want, and even giving you some “mad money” for the things you didn’t know you wanted. It is really all about pre-planning by putting your short, medium and long term goals on paper. Once you have them, put down what the costs are for each of them. Then prioritize them and determine the length of time it will take you to save for each of them. A simple example is buying a new big screen television. If the cost is $1200 and you want to have it in one year, start putting $100 away each month for it. This is far different then the buy now pay later program where you forget to pay off the interest free loan and end up paying 30% interest back to the day it was delivered. This is an example of a change from that path of instant gratification to one of delayed gratification!
The concept goes one step further and includes the most important part of any plan and that is building your emergency savings account. These are just a few simple examples of a very old concept that we need to return to.
Of course, you can’t make money from nothing, so there are going to be some sacrifices. They will, however, seem unimportant as you quickly see your bank balances grow with all the individual financial goals you have set.
Just remember you need to keep happy while you work within your Save-to-Spend plan! Like dieting, if you tell yourself you can never enjoy one of the foods you love, you’ll likely cheat. If you allow yourself the occasional treat, you’ll be happier overall and are more likely to get the result you want. Save-to-Spend has been proven to be effective.
If you have questions about Save-to-Spend, budgeting, or any other topic related to debt or personal finance, contact Creditaid anytime online or by telephone at (204) 987-6890.
