Creditaid Blog – Page 8

January 16, 2018

8 Ways to Increase Your Credit Score

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By Laurie Boudreau, Credit Counsellor, Creditaid

During the past 20 years, I have analyzed thousands of Canadian credit reports from Equifax and Trans Union and can tell you an interesting fact. People with the highest credit scores pay the least amount of interest. Why? Because the higher your credit score is, the lower the risk is for a creditor to lend you money. It’s the same concept as for why young people pay less for life insurance than old people pay. You are less likely to die when you are young. Same goes for credit scores. If you have managed your credit well chances are you will continue to do so, and the creditor will get their money back. This is why they are willing to offer you a low-interest rate.

If you have not seen your credit report recently, you need to do this now by going to www.equifax.ca and www.transunion.ca
You need to know what your credit report contains before you can take the steps necessary to improve your score. No matter how low it is today, the good news is that your credit score can go up very quickly. By following the steps below, you can dramatically increase your credit score within two years.

1. Starting today make all your payments on time.
One of the key behaviors that creditors like to see is on-time payment of bills. Since this is one of the strongest predictors of a consumer’s likelihood to make their payments in the future your credit score will be high if you have made all your payments on time.

Continue reading “8 Ways to Increase Your Credit Score”

November 28, 2017

2nd Annual St. Amant Party: Camp for 100!

Creditaid’s Brian Denysuik recently co-chaired St. Amant’s 2nd Annual Party – Camp for 100. St. Amant is the largest provider of community living services in Manitoba, supporting individuals and their families with residential options, family care, and outreach services, as well as operating a growing program for pre-school and school-aged children living with Autism.

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Continue reading “2nd Annual St. Amant Party: Camp for 100!”

November 24, 2017

Canadians Not Meeting Debt Reduction Goals

Manulife Bank of Canada released their debt survey which revealed that many Canadians are not meeting their debt goals. Creditaid’s Brian Denysuik was on the air at CBC Radio with Caroline Barghout to discuss the survey, provide advice and tips on how to save to spend, budget and the steps to take to relieve stress and become debt free.

Listen to the broadcast below.

November 9, 2016

2017 Financial Literacy Calendar

Financial success is rooted in conscious planning and decision making.
It’s important to learn about tools, tips, tricks, and reminders on a daily basis that help to support our financial goals.

For a fourth year, Creditaid is once again a proud sponsor of the Financial Literacy Calendar published by the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum. (See April 2017 for our tip!) The Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum is a coalition of organizations and individuals working together to promote lifelong financial education and skills to Manitobans. Being financially literate means having the knowledge, skills and confidence to make responsible financial decisions – which are important resources to have at any age.

Continue reading “2017 Financial Literacy Calendar”

February 3, 2016

Identity Theft – A Growing Threat

Imagine that, one day out of the blue, collection calls started. Your mailbox filled with overdue notices. People threatened legal proceedings against you. All for debts that were incurred in your name, but you knew nothing about.

This nightmare scenario plays out far more often than you might think. RCMP statistics show more than 12,000 cases of identity theft annually in Canada. This theft results in more than 10 million dollars in losses for individuals, businesses, and insurance companies.

While identity theft crimes have been with us for decades, the technology that is being used to make our transactions more secure can make us a target, too. The two biggest tools of the identity thief are the telephone and the computer.

Telephone fraud has increased recently, due to the ability to “spoof” telephone numbers, which can make the source of the call any number the caller wants, rendering Caller ID equipment useless. Today’s widespread internet-based phone technology means that calls can originate anywhere in the world. Often the caller will pose as a bank, or even a well-known computer company, and they will troll for unsuspecting people to provide them personal information.

The vast majority of Canadian households have a computer, which has opened a whole new avenue for criminals searching for information. They can mine users via email, through official-looking webpages, or through software that’s designed to infiltrate the computer, looking for personal information. Keylogger programs can even be used to send your every keystroke to a criminal.

How to Avoid Identity Theft
Never divulge personal information if there’s the least bit of doubt about the person with whom you are communicating. Make sure that you originated the call, and it’s to a known business.

Never provide personal information, including credit card numbers, in an email.

When using a website for e-commerce, make sure it’s secure – you should see a padlock in the browser’s address bar, and the address should begin with https://. Always double check to ensure that you’re visiting the correct website.

Keep your antivirus and antimalware software up to date.

If you have questions about credit, or have found yourself in some trouble, contact Creditaid anytime online or by telephone at (204) 987-6890.

November 18, 2015

2016 Financial Literacy Calendar

Financial success is rooted in conscious planning and decision making.

It’s important to expose ourselves to tools, tips, tricks, and reminders on a daily basis that help to support our financial goals.

For a third year, Creditaid is once again a proud sponsor of the Financial Literacy Calendar published by the Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum. (See April 2016 for our tip!) The Manitoba Financial Literacy Forum is a coalition of organizations and individuals working together to promote lifelong financial education and skills to Manitobans. Being financially literate means having the knowledge, skills and confidence to make responsible financial decisions – which are important resources to have at any age.

At Creditaid, we understand that each individual has their own unique life situations. We offer many different debt solutions in order to find the best solution for each individual and circumstance. We have been helping Manitobans be debt free since 1992, and our product and service offerings continue to grow and expand to best serve our valued clients.

Click on the images below to download the calendar in your preferred language – English or French.

November 11, 2015

Seniors: Are Caregivers Caring When it Comes to Money?

We all know that seniors can be among society’s most vulnerable. Often they spend a great deal of time alone, and criminals are quick to pounce on their naiveté when it comes to technology in their efforts to entrap them in email, internet, investment, and utility bill scams.

The greatest threat to a senior citizen’s financial well-being isn’t always some fast-talking huckster or a far-off oil sheik looking to dispense with some of the family fortune if only they’ll send them a small advance for “administrative fees”. Often, it’s the very people that they have come to trust who are stealing their money.

Financial abuse and fraud are among the most common types of elder abuse, and with the population base aging, crimes against seniors by their caregivers are on the rise. Joint banking accounts and Powers of Attorney are tools that are to be used by seniors to empower their caregivers, whom they entrust to look out for their affairs. Unfortunately, they are often used as blank cheques by caregivers. Common forms of financial abuse of seniors by their caregivers include:

Misuse or theft of a senior’s property or money, often from joint bank accounts.
Forging a senior’s signature, or changing documents to dispose of their profits.
Threatening a senior physically or otherwise to get them to do things that aren’t in their best interest – like giving “gifts” of money or property to the caregiver, taking out a loan, or co-signing a loan for he caregiver.
Sharing a senior’s home without paying expenses or rent when requested.

The list of opportunities for financial abuse of a vulnerable senior is long. If you suspect that someone you know is being taken advantage of by their caregiver, please don’t hesitate to contact their family, or the police.

Elder abuse is a growing problem. Seniors have worked hard their entire lives to get where they are, and they don’t deserve to be defrauded of their money by the people they’re led to believe they can trust. For more information, visit seniors.gc.ca to find a series of publications on financial abuse and fraud, including “What every older Canadian should know about Financial Abuse.”

Creditaid is a local credit and insolvency counselling firm who has been helping Manitobans get out of debt since 1992. Contact Crediaid anytime, online or by telephone at (204) 987-6890.

September 16, 2015

What Kinds of Insurance do you Really Need?

In times of financial restraint, we examine each and every one of our expenses, and decide which are necessities, and which are luxuries. One of the most confusing areas is that of insurance. It’s possible that a single individual can have upwards of half a dozen insurance polices, all of which are associated with an expense, at a given time. Premiums are expensive, and when you’re looking to cut costs, they all fall under scrutiny. Here is a list of common types of insurance and their pros and cons.

Automobile Insurance
In Manitoba, we’re lucky to have MPI insurance, which does a good job of regulating premiums for everyone. If you drive, you need insurance. Period. Purchase basic Autopac insurance, and consider extended coverage if you have the need for it.

Home Insurance
If you own a building with a mortgage on it, you must have enough insurance on it to satisfy your lienholder – the bank or mortgage company. Generally, you should insure a building not for the appraised value, but for enough to build a comparable replacement in today’s market.
If you rent, you should insure the contents of your home or apartment. Most insurance companies offer a tenant’s package to insure your possessions against fire, theft, or other perils. Make sure you take stock of all the items in your home, and the cost of replacing them.

Life Insurance
Life insurance is one of the trickiest purchases you can make. The goal is to insure yourself so that, in the event of your death, your family won’t face financial hardship. There are basically three ways to do this – through Term Insurance, Permanent Insurance, and Universal Life Insurance. Term insurance is cheapest, as it expires after a certain number of years. Permanent Insurance covers your whole life (although you can cancel it and withdraw some money), and Universal Life Insurance is most expensive, as it has a tax-sheltered investment component.

The questions around insurance could fill a book. To talk to a Creditaid counsellor about credit counselling and debt management solutions (including budgeting) contact us today.

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.

November 5, 2014

Creditaid Offers the Broadest Range of Services When it Comes to Helping People with Debt

We like to say that we understand debt from every angle possible. Our credit counsellors have years of experience in the financial services industry. Once we have completed a detailed review of your personal financial situation/ we can then guide you on the best solution to help you get in control of your finances and back on track. Our solutions may include simply helping you manage your budget, reviewing your mortgage situation, a debt repayment program or if it makes sense, selling your home to pay off all your creditors. The key to our services is that we will give you options, not just two but as many as possible so that you have choices on how to best move your life forward.

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We not only have experienced credit counsellors we also have two registered insolvency counselors with Industry Canada under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act on staff. This accreditation can only be achieved by individuals who have the necessary industry experience, education and performed 100 hours of insolvency counseling sessions under the direction of a bankruptcy trustee. This means that our counsellors are qualified to facilitate the two mandatory counseling sessions required for anyone filing a bankruptcy or formal consumer proposal in Canada. And as such, we work closely with Winnipeg’s bankruptcy trustees. In addition to offering consumer debt counselling and budgeting solutions, we understand the bankruptcy process and can offer Creditaid’s clients invaluable advice when trying to decide upon the best course of action for dealing with their debt problem