Debt Free In 30

There are many reasons people find themselves in debt. For our guest today, the underlying cause of his financial difficulties was drug addiction. James inspires us with his story - both how he battled his addition and why bankruptcy was a part of his recovery. James actually contacted us with a moving letter about his recovery which is what inspired us to ask him to be on our podcast.  On today’s show James tells the story of how he started using drugs at age 14, and was an addict until age 27.  He got into debt, but he turned his life around, as he explains on today’s show.

At the end of 2015, updates and clarifications were made to existing Ontario bankruptcy laws that directly affect indebted consumers. On November 13, 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada put forth a ruling about the 407 ETR (a toll route in the Toronto area) concerning the treatment of 407 debts in a bankruptcy or consumer proposal. Another big change came on December 1, 2015, as the Execution Act in Ontario was updated. On today’s show Doug Hoyes and Ted Michalos, co-founders of Hoyes, Michalos & Associates, Licensed Insolvency Trustees, discuss how the changes, as well as the Supreme Court's ruling, will affect Ontarians looking to deal with their debts.  Disclaimer: Our discussion about updates to the Execution Act are the interpretation of ourselves and the lawyers we've spoken with about the new rules. This is new legislation that has not yet been tested in court, and as such, a judge could rule differently than we've interpreted the information on today's show.

Is it enough to calculate the amount of debt you have and focus exclusively on making that number smaller? I'm an accountant and a licensed insolvency trustee, so to me, the numbers matters. That being said, getting into debt and struggling to get out of debt again has a lot to do with behaviour and mindset.  My guest today first appeared on episode 14 of Debt Free in 30 to talk about his newly released book, Wealthing Like Rabbits and followed up that interview with one about good debt vs. bad debt. Robert Brown is back to shed some light on the importance of changing our perspective about debt. 

Getting sick or injured is common and it can often mean missing work for a few weeks or for a prolonged period of time. To cover any missing income, people tend to turn to credit to survive, leading to more debt than they can handle. On today’s how our guest is Promod Sharma, an actuary at Taxevity in Etobicoke, Ontario. Promod is here to talk about life and health insurance, why everyone needs to have it and how to decide which coverage is best for you and your family.

Fifty years ago if you wanted to steal money from someone you had to steal cash.  Today money is electronic, so if your identity is stolen you can lose a lot of money very quickly, and that can lead to a mountain of debt. How big a problem is identity theft and fraud?  That's the question we asked today's guest, Kelley Keehn, the author of Protecting You and Your Money: A Guide to Identity Theft and Fraud.  She told us that: A third of Canadians have been victims of some type of fraud.  What was more curious is that two thirds of Canadians surveyed said that they knew of someone that was a victim of fraud, so even if it hasn't happened to us yet, a lot of us know someone who was a victim of fraud. Credit card fraud is a problem, but in most cases your credit card issuer will cover you, so if you fill out a form or prove that you didn't authorize the charges the problem can be solved quickly. Identity theft is another matter altogether, and it can take many weeks and a lot of effort to restore your name. So wh

Do we fully understand the cost of debt?  We see the ads for loans where you "only pay $20 on a hundred".  $20 sounds like a good deal, but is it? On today's show, Meg Penstone, the Manager of Financial Health and Literacy for Family Counselling and Support Services in Guelph Wellington, shares some sobering numbers and gives listeners advice for dealing with their debt.

When you think of debt, numbers and interest rates probably come to mind. But debt isn't always about the numbers. Our guest today is Melanie Lockert, a blogger at Dear Debt and someone who recently paid off $81,000 in student loan debt. Melanie explains that the reason we go into debt and have a hard time getting out of it, is emotional. She points out that: “If it really was just about spend less, earn more, all of us would be rich and never face debt. And we'd all be successful, but a lot of us aren't and that's because we're dealing with these money issues, these emotional issues that come out through debt and finances and a scarcity mindset and there's so much to deal with.” During our conversation, she uses words like panicked, anxious, ;stressed, overwhelmed and depressed to describe how she felt about her debt. As trustees, we hear these kind of emotional descriptions from clients daily, so Melanie offers listeners a few strategies for facing debt head-on.

 Budgeting. It's a word that people either love or hate (mostly hate). We may get mixed reviews about the advice that I share on today's episode, but for many, budgeting is a waste of time. Budgeting takes discipline, it takes time and it takes some skill to use a budgeting spreadsheet or app. Because it's difficult, for some people it can actually have a negative impact on their finances. They lose motivation or interest, and eventually discouraged, stop paying attention to their finances all together. We are not advocating that people shouldn't manage their money, but we are suggesting that you need to find a solution that will work for you and your finances. It's very important to know where you're spending your money because if you don't know where it goes, you can't make adjustments to pay down debt and build your savings. Doug Hoyes is joined once again by money expert, Gail Vaz-Oxlade who is an advocate for having a system in place that will help you to pay off debt, save money and spend wisely. Gail i

The weekly trip to the grocery store is a big expense for a family, so saving money on food can go a long way.  But how do you save money?  Is the only way to save by clipping coupons and buying no-name brands? There are other strategies, and on today's show, Nicole Olsen, the Financial Literacy Program Director for Financial Fitness in Windsor and Sarnia, Ontario, joins us back on the show to share her smart shopping tips.

Today we present our top ten tips for dealing with collection agents.  We are joined by two industry insiders, Blair Demarco-Wettlaufer who on a previous show told us how to stop collection calls, and Mark Silverthorn who previously revealed several "dirty tricks" that some collection agencies use to collect on a debt.   We've taken their comments and compiled our top ten tips for dealing with collection agents.

In today's technology filled world there are more resources and tools available to us than ever before. Although the traditional pen, paper and calculator method for budgeting still works, mobile apps offer new ways to organize your money and save money. As we end 2015 and move into a brand new year, it's a great time to make financial changes and start tracking your money to make a plan for every single dollar that comes in to your bank account. Today's episode strays from our usual guest interviews to bring you a round-up of some of the best budgeting apps out there. I interview five past guests to find out which apps they recommend and actually use when it comes to their own finances.

Every year, the focus of the holiday season is on consumerism and the need to spend money on the perfect gifts, the perfect decorations and creating the perfect dinner. And every year, Canadians end up spending too much money, putting them at risk for financial difficulties once the holiday season is over. For advice about how to limit Christmas spending, we have invited Heather Cudmore, manager of credit counselling at Carizon Family and Community Services in Kitchener, Ontario, back to the show to discuss budgeting, the importance of having a plan and why it's time for Canadians to set new holiday traditions that don't break the bank.

The holidays are known for being a time of happiness and joy. But for those struggling with depression, anxiety or loss, the holidays can be a difficult. Our guest today is Theresa Karn, Manager of Clinical Services at Carizon Family & Community Services in Kitchener, Ontario. Attempting to create the perfect holiday experience and living up to expectations set by yourself and others can lead to stress, sadness and even depression.  On today’s show we provide practical advice for identifying and dealing with depression and anxiety.

Gail Vaz-Oxlade is back on the show to discuss her new book, Money Talks: When To Say Yes And How To Say No. I'm excited to feature Gail as a guest this week because not only is her book due out this Tuesday, December 8th, but this is also the FIRST podcast interview introducing her latest work. Gail starts out the episode by exclaiming, I'm so excited for this new book, I cannot begin to tell you! My toes are curling!" So you know it'll be a good one! On today’s show Gail gives away a few secrets about the book (to be released on December 8), and she also gives us actionable advice and tips for starting the conversation about money. The topic of the book is one that hasn't been written about before.  As Gail says: "nobody has actually done this before. Nobody has actually talked about how to have these conversations with the people in your life." This is Gail at her best, and is a “must listen” podcast.

When shopping for financial products like mortgages, credit cards or GICs it's important to shop around. We spend time reading through reviews and prices for things like coffee makers, but as today's guest points out: “before buying a TV we look on Best Buy, we look on Amazon, we look online to find the lowest prices and comparison shop. And I think more people need to realize that they can also do that for financial products.” Our guest today is Alyssa Furtado, founder and CEO of Ratehub.ca, a financial products comparison website. They help consumers compare products like credit cards, mortgages, banking and insurance services to help consumers make informed decisions regarding their financial situation.

When it comes to privacy, organizations are required to follow federal and provincial legislation which prohibits the use of personal information in an inappropriate or unreasonable manner. As part of the federal private sector, The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) determines proper conduct by organizations throughout Canada. Differently, The Privacy Act covers the personal information handling practices of the federal government itself. Our guest today is Vance Lockton, Senior Analyst for Stakeholder Relations at the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.  Vance explains that the Privacy Commissioner, Daniel Therrien is an officer of Parliament and reports directly to the House of Commons and the Senate, and is independent of the government in place. Vance details the laws in place for debt collectors, how investigations under the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada are conducted and provides advice for listeners for protecting your personal information.

In a past episode we talked to four industry experts about good debt vs. bad debt. Having listened to that episode, my guest today argues that there is no such thing as good debt, there is only bad debt and not so bad debt. Today’s guest is Steve Stewart, a  Financial Wellness Coach and podcast host from St. Louis, Missouri. Steve's opinion of debt is that ...we've made it almost a necessary evil. My opinion of debt is that we made it too easy for someone to get into it; and I don't mean just a little bit. I mean non-mortgage debt levels on cars, credit cards, our children's education. These debt levels can grow to be two, three, even four times our annual salary.

It's Financial Literacy Month here in Canada and to kick it off our guest today is retired math teacher of 30 years, educational speaker and publisher, Dave Mitchell to the show to talk about whether we should be teaching financial literacy in the high school classroom. We have a back and forth discussion about whether teaching financial skills to students who won't use it for many years is productive, or whether we need to focus on teaching skepticism instead.

As a trustee in bankruptcy, I meet with people every day who are struggling to pay off their debt. In the finance world, it's not uncommon to hear shocking stories from clients about threatening calls from collection agents or how they got into debt in the first place. On today's show, I'm joined by Hoyes Michalos bankruptcy trustee, Howard Hayes, collection agent Blair Demarco-Wettlaufer, credit counsellor, Nicole Olsen from Fitness Financial in Windsor and bankruptcy trustee at Hoyes Michalos, Rebecca Martyn from our Windsor and Leamington offices to hear some of the scary stories that they've heard over the years.

Interest rates are low and credit is readily accessible, making it easy to take on more debt. What's more is that debt becomes manageable in this kind of climate, until of course, it's not. This summer the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates, and since that time, media sources have been reporting that Canadians are managing their debt levels and that delinquency rates have fallen. On today’s show our guests are bankruptcy trustees Blair Mantin from Sands & Associates in British Columbia and Barton Goth from Goth and Company in Alberta, to talk about the kinds of trends they're seeing in their own provinces and whether they think those reports accurately represent consumer debt across the nation.