Financing your next car: what can you afford?

Home / Blog / Financial, Savings Everyone needs a car. That’s what the car manufacturers and dealers would like us to believe. Truth is, there are more people getting along just fine without one. However, many rely on their own vehicle to get to work, run errands or travel to visit family and friends. The tricky part is figuring […]

Why should everyone have access to a debt reduction calculator?

Home / Blog / Debt, Financial Debt reduction: a recent survey conducted by a major Canadian bank found that to be the #1 priority for the vast majority of individuals. We often read reports in newspapers, magazines and online that the average Canadian is carrying too much debt in relation to income earned. Those are the findings. What […]

Are you a senior living with debt that you can no longer afford?

Home / Blog / Debt, Financial You are not alone. Canadian seniors are currently the fastest growing segment of individuals filing formal proposals and bankruptcies in Canada. The “golden years” are supposed to be about spending more time with family and friends and enjoying life, not working because you have debt to pay. The result is that more […]

Carrying debt: is it the “new normal”?

Home / Blog / Debt, Financial There are few things that cannot be purchased with credit. Whether it’s your morning coffee, a new pair of jeans, a night out with friends or a vacation, cash or a debit card is no longer required to fund lifestyle choices. From the moment someone turns 18, using a credit card […]

Beware: Debt Repair Shops

Home / Blog / Debt, Financial Buyer Beware. That advice has existed since the Middle Ages, a time when snake oil salesmen would travel from village to village with their carts, selling the virtues of the “miracle cure for numerous ailments, from scurvy to blindness”. The more charming they were, the easier it was to exaggerate the […]

Canada makes history: bankruptcies are tanking!

Home / Blog / Bankruptcy As far as economic news goes, many will agree that it’s a good thing that the number of personal bankruptcies in Canada has declined more than 19% since 2011. The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, the arm of Industry Canada that regulates insolvencies, also reports that the amount of debt declared […]

Dealing with income tax debt

Home / Blog / Debt, Financial Overheard in a recent conversation: “I’m so glad we learned about parallelograms in high school and nothing about income tax. That’s really coming in handy during this parallelogram season”. It’s spring which means it’s also tax season. You may be in the process of filing your tax returns or maybe you are ahead […]

What is a Writ?

Home / Blog / Financial In general terms, a writ is a form of written command in the name of a court or other legal authority to act, or abstain from acting, in some way. In the world of financial debt, a writ is issued by a court after a creditor gets a judgment against […]

How To Avoid a Tax Lien On Your Home

Home / Blog / Lien, Financial You are not in a happy place because its tax time once again. Not only do you have to get all of your information together for your 2015 tax return but in the back of your mind, you know that you still owe income taxes from prior years. You stopped opening any […]

Can My Pension Be Seized?

Home / Blog / Wages The good news is that private and government pensions, under the Ontario Pensions act, cannot be garnisheed by a normal creditor, such as a credit card company. You can only make garnishments under the Ontario Wages Act, and pensions aren’t work wages. The bad news is, there are exceptions to […]