Each year, a large number of Canadians choose to deal with their debt by filing a bankruptcy or consumer proposal. Approximately 137,178 filed in 2019 – over a lifetime, one in every six to eight Canadians may seek debt relief by filing a bankruptcy or proposal.
What should you do about your debt?
Aside from illness, job loss and family issues, the most common reason people get into debt is overspending – differentiating between needs versus wants or lack of financial literacy. However, it seems lately that cost of living is the reason most people are living on credit cards and loans to make ends meet.
How do most people generate more income to meet their day to day needs if they are already working a full time job? The first thing that comes to mind is “well if I had a credit card I would be ok” “If I had a line of Credit I would have something to fall back on in case of an emergency”
We are not educated on cost of borrowing, basic budgeting and cash flow in school. Once we have met the maximum balance on our credit cards and loans and are only meeting the minimum payments how do we continue to pay down debt and meet our basic living needs at the same time. This starts to become the vicious circle of debt, the hamster spinning its wheel without ever getting anywhere. What do you do when you have exhausted every resource? Like selling off household items, cashing in retirement investments, consolidation loans, payday loans.
If you feel you’re overextended and are unable repay your debt, it is a wise idea to get help early before things get too out of control. Doing a budget and making lifestyle changes in enough for some however for those who are receiving collection calls and who are on the verge of garnished paychecks may find its time to seek advice from Doug Lee & Associates Inc (Licensed Insolvency Trustee) and discuss what options are available to you.
Our mission is to provide you a fresh start. Our team of professionals would be happy to hear from you. Please contact us with your questions or for a free video/phone consultation. We are here to help you to a FreshStart.