Tag: debt counselling

#VIDEO-STUDENT DEBT: HOW TUITION COSTS AND DEBT NEGATIVELY AFFECTS US#

Post author By Brandon Smith
Post date September 7, 2016

STUDENT DEBT: HOW TUITION COSTS AND DEBT NEGATIVELY AFFECTS US

Student debt: The times have changed already!

Times have changed so much for university graduates and unfortunately, student debt counselling has not kept pace with today’s reality. Students graduate with various student loans and varying amounts of debt. The theory is that graduates will get a well-paying job in their chosen field upon graduation, allowing them to work and to repay their student loan debt.

Our previous student debt counselling and student loans blogs and vlogs

Student loan debt is such a serious issue that we’ve written a series of blogs and vlogs on the subject:

Student debt: What can today’s graduates expect?

However, in today’s world, their job searching may result in them not getting immediately into their field at the salary they anticipated. It may be the case that graduates may have to do a couple of different part-time jobs, may start being underemployed and in some cases, starting out interning and being in their chosen field but not being paid at all. This will put immense pressure on the new graduate who needs to start repaying debt in addition to normal living expenses.

Student debt: How much of a problem is it really?

Post-secondary education is effectively a need to succeed in today’s labour market. Unfortunately, while the demand for education has increased, public funding has failed to keep up.

According to the Canadian Federation of Students, public funding shortfalls have resulted in a significant growth of costs that students must now bear, namely in the form of high tuition fees. From 1990 to 2014, national average tuition fees have seen an inflation-adjusted increase of over 155%. In Ontario, tuition fees have increased over 180%.

They also state that students who receive funding through the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) are graduating with an average student loan debt of $28,495. This is only student loan debt and doesn’t include any other borrowings for living expenses if the student is living away from home. The impact of Canada student loan debt is that today’s students are the most indebted generation in Canadian history. They can certainly use student debt counselling.

Student debt: We need more than just counselling

Although financial counselling should begin at home at a very young age, and be reinforced through teachings at the high school level, more than debt management lessons are required. We need our provincial and federal governments to take the lead. There needs to be an easing of the burden on graduates. Graduates with high student loan debt show signs of poor mental health in early adulthood. This certainly must impact their work performance and is not healthy for Canadian society.

Our governments need to look seriously at the public funding model for post-secondary school education. It is not helping Canadians to allow them to incur high student debt for fields of study where the job prospects, and the prospect of being able to repay the loans, are dim. It does not help Canadian graduates to have them under so much pressure to repay loans after graduation – perhaps there needs to be federal government intervention to ease the repayment program. In this way graduates can have the necessary time to get their employment, contribute to Canadian society, pay income taxes AND repay student loans.

These are just but a few simple ideas. I am sure that you can come up with many more and I would love to hear about them.

Are you in need of student debt counselling or credit or debt counselling in general?

No matter the cause of your serious debt issues, The Ira Smith Team is here to help. Debt is not insurmountable; there are always options. With proper counselling, immediate action and a solid plan, we can help get your life back on track Starting Over, Starting Now. Our trustees are also certified in credit counselling. Give us a call today.

THIS VLOG WAS INSPIRED IN PART BY OUR eBOOK – PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY CANADA: Not because you are a dummy, because you need to get your life back on track

Tags average student loan debt, canada student loans program, canadian federation of students, CSLP, debt counselling, debt management lessons, financial counselling, Ira Smith Trustee, student debt, student debt counselling, student loan debt, student loans debt

Brandon Blog Post

#VIDEO – DEBT COUNSELLING ON: OUR KILLER 6 STEPS TO IMPROVE YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION #

Post author By Brandon Smith
Post date May 4, 2016

The debt counselling ON process

We are licensed to practice in the Province of Ontario, so when we do debt counselling, that is where the “ON” comes from. We have previously written on various debt settlement issues, including:

In terms of our Debt Counselling ON process you contact us to discuss your bankruptcy alternatives debt relief if you are unable to meet your financial commitments under credit agreements on a monthly basis. Our debt counselling ON process assesses if you are over-indebted, as follows:

Step 1

Complete our Debt Relief Worksheet, in full, with complete backup where requested, providing details of your income, monthly budget and debt commitments. Examples of the backup documentation you will need is a copy of your pay slip, ID, the latest statements of all your debts and your last year’s filed income tax return and notice of assessment from Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

We can email the Debt Relief Worksheet to you and then you can submit it to us with the backup. That way, we save you an initial trip to our office. Our clients appreciate this, so they don’t have to take time off work just to obtain the worksheet.

Step 2

We will review your completed Debt Relief Worksheet to do an initial assessment to check if you are over-indebted, determine the debt counselling ON options available to you and then arrange for a consultation with you. This could either be a face to face or a telephone consultation. We want to make it as easy as we can on you. You are already under enough stress from your debts!

Step 3

During the consultation, we will verify your budget and your existing debt commitments. A new budget will be agreed upon to determine the amount available for debt repayment. At this stage we will also provide you with details of all the costs involved, as well as an interim debt settlement plan. Until now, our service is free. It is at this point that we will discuss costs with you to enter our debt counselling ON program to supervise your debt settlement plan.

Step 4

We will contact all your creditors to verify your debts. You WILL also be listed on the Credit Bureaus as being under our debt counselling ON program and the listing will stay there for a few years AFTER you have successfully completed the debt settlement program. We will, if necessary, further negotiate the proposed debt repayment plan with your creditors. We will do the negotiations, but we cannot settle on anything on your behalf until we have your approval.

Step 5

If your creditors accept the proposed debt settlement plan, it will be made an order of the court. This makes our debt counselling ON program binding on both you and your creditors.

Step 6

We will obtain from you post-dated cheques to cover the monthly payments you promised in your debt settlement plan. The aim of this is to collect the monthly payments from you and ensure that the correct amount in terms of the final debt repayment plan is paid by us to your creditors. This will continue until the amount you promised to pay under your debt settlement plan is paid in full.

Our debt counselling ON program works best for individuals that owe a maximum of $250,000, not including any mortgages or lines of credit secured against your home. If you owe more than $250,000, we can also assist you in a different plan tailored for those that owe larger amounts.

So how can I obtain debt counselling ON – NOW!

If you’re trapped in a high interest debt cycle, I could tell you that you need to pay off high interest debt, but how would you do it? You need a professional trustee to help you manage debt before it reaches a critical stage where bankruptcy is your only option. We have been able to help many individuals carry out a successful debt settlement program. Successful completion of such a program, will free you from the burden of your financial challenges to go on to live a productive, stress-free, financially sound life.

Contact the Ira Smith Team today. Before considering declaring bankruptcy, there are other bankruptcy alternatives which include our debt counselling on program. Contact us today so that we can help and Starting Over, Starting Now you can be restored to financial health.

THIS VLOG WAS INSPIRED IN PART BY OUR eBOOK – PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY CANADA: Not because you are a dummy, because you need to get your life back on track

Tags Bankruptcy, bankruptcy alternatives, debt counselling, debt counselling on, debt counselling program, debt settlement, Ira Smith Trustee, PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY CANADA: Not Because You Are A Dummy, personal bankrutpcy canada, professional trustee

Brandon Blog Post

CREDIT REPAIR TORONTO: HOW TO USE IT TO NOT RUIN YOUR LIFE

Post author By Brandon Smith
Post date March 16, 2016

Credit Repair Toronto: Why Not?

Many people think it’s best to try a credit repair Toronto company before they investigate the Canadian insolvency process. I’m here to tell you that many of these companies are not acting in your best interest.

What do Dave Ramsey and Gail Vaz-Oxlade have to say?

Many are paid – and in some cases managed – by credit card companies. According to an article by financial guru Dave Ramsey:

“Some of these ‘counselling’ companies withhold credit card payments until the account is three to six months past due. Then, they contact the lender and negotiate to settle the bad debt…That’s how they get negotiated discounts on credit card debt. Card companies don’t settle on your debts when your payments are on time. These services are always a bad idea, and sometimes they’re a complete scam.”

Dave Ramsey isn’t the only one leery of credit repair Toronto companies. Gail Vaz-Oxlade writes:

“One of the big drawbacks of using a debt counselling or debt management company is that they don’t come with any serious advice, so people often fulfill their commitment and then go right back out and rack up their debt again.”

Does the Ontario government like credit repair Toronto companies?

The provincial governments have their own opinion. Most provinces have enacted legislation to try to thwart many of their shady practices. Stay away from credit repair Toronto companies. Do not be afraid to go to a Licensed Insolvency Trustee for a free consultation at the first sign of financial trouble. (See the picture at the bottom of this page for a special offer).

We have previously written blogs on the credit repair Toronto industry who have been preying on consumers for far too long. We’ve warned you about them in previous blogs:

In 2010, after a decade of massive growth in the U.S. debt settlement industry, the FTC brought in new regulations that effectively banned debt settlement companies and forced many of them to migrate north of the border. This resulted in 18 companies and 34 credit counselling providers offering debt settlement services in Ontario.

With ever-mounting numbers of complaints about unsuspecting consumers being taken advantage of by unscrupulous credit repair companies, the Ontario government has finally taken action and passed Bill 55.

What will Bill 55 do? It creates new standards of conduct for credit repair Toronto companies by:

Banning them from charging upfront fees
Limiting the number of fees consumers are charged and prohibiting the payment of fees before services are provided
Requiring clear, transparent, and detailed contracts that include information about the effect of the contract on the consumer’s credit rating
Requiring credit counsellors to disclose information to the consumer about how the organization is funded
Establishing a 0-day cooling-off period, providing consumers more time to consider their agreements with companies
Allowing the licenses of non-compliant companies to be revoked

If not credit repair Toronto companies, then what should YOU do?

Please stay away from credit repair Toronto companies! Rather, obtain a free consultation from a licensed insolvency trustee to understand the options available to you either as an alternative to bankruptcy or of bankruptcy itself. We are professionals, federally regulated, licensed and subject to a strict code of ethics. Our fees are regulated by the Federal Government and are usually much less than credit repair companies who make unsubstantiated claims. We can help; Starting Over, Starting Now you can live a debt-free life.

We have been able to help many individuals carry out a successful debt settlement program. It all began with debt counselling. The first step is a realistic household budget.
Successful completion of such a program will free you from the burden of your financial challenges to go on to live a productive, stress-free, financially sound life.

Call us today so you can get on the road to financial recovery immediately.

The first part of this vlog is from our newly released book:

I said above that there would be a special offer and here it is. If you would like to receive a complimentary, totally free copy of our eBook, please sign up as a subscriber to our blog. You can do so by filling in the subscription pop-up box on this page. If you are already a subscriber, thank you, and just shoot me an email asking for your complimentary copy.

If the subscription box on this page has gone away, you can click on the picture of our eBook in this article which will take you to our main blog page, and you should soon see the pop-up subscription box again. As a side bonus, you will also receive notice of all of our new blogs and vlogs, with a link directly to them.

Early next week,you will receive an email with an invitation to download a complimentary copy of our new eBook – PERSONAL BANKRUPTCY CANADA: Not Because You Are A Dummy, Because You Need To Get Your Life Back On Track.

Tags alternative to bankruptcy, Bankruptcy, bankruptcy canada, Bill 55, credit card, credit card companies, credit repair, credit repair toronto, dave ramsey, debt counseling, debt counselling, debt settlement, debt settlement program, gail vaz-oxlade, Ira Smith Trustee, licensed insolvency trustee, personal bankruptcy, starting over starting now

Brandon Blog Post

VAUGHAN DEBT COUNSELLING ADVISES BEWARE OF TAX SEASON SCAMS

Post author By Brandon Smith
Post date February 24, 2015

When we perform Vaughan debt counselling, we always advise that there is no miracle cure or quick fix when you owe money to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). For a real life example, see our discussion in an earlier blog The Tax Lawyer; Even A High Profile Tax Fighting Lawyer Has To Pay His Income Tax. Unfortunately there is more to worry about than the CRA during tax season. There are scam artists out there just waiting to take your money. Through our Vaughan debt counselling, Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc., we are able to provide some valuable information and advice to help protect you from the villainous forces lurking at the other end of a phone call or email transmission.

In fact, it was through our Vaughan debt counselling that we learned of these scams. Scammers are sending emails and making phone calls, claiming to be the CRA. These communications, asking for information including credit card data, bank account numbers and passwords and passport numbers are designed to steal your identity and/or your money. Email scams frequently contain embedded malicious software that can harm your computer and put your personal information at risk. DO NOT click on any of the links in the emails. Typically an email or telephone scam involves one of these two scenarios.

You have a refund pending from CRA and the communications will go on to instruct the receiver to provide personal information in order to receive the benefit.
You or your company, as a result of an audit, owe “back taxes”. You are advised you have to “pay up” ASAP to avoid a fine or the person is told there is an outstanding arrest warrant which can be avoided if the tax payment is made promptly. In many cases individuals are being told they will be deported if the taxes are not paid right away.

These types of communication are not from the CRA, should be ignored and reported to the RCMP or Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or http://www.antifraudcentre.ca.

The CRA:

NEVER requests information from a taxpayer about a passport, health card or driver’s license.
NEVER divulges taxpayer information to another person unless formal authorization is provided by the taxpayer.
NEVER leaves any personal information on an answering machine or asks taxpayers to leave a message with their personal information on an answering machine.

If you find yourself in financial difficulties as a result of a scam or for any other reason contact Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. We serve the GTA through our Vaughan debt counselling and our other services that are bankruptcy alternatives. We can help get you back on the road to solid financial footing Starting Over, Starting Now. Watch for our next blog when we’ll be discussing the dangers of taking free tax advice.

Tags Bankruptcy, Canada Revenue Agency, CRA, Debt, debt counselling, email scams, phone scams, receiver, starting over starting now, tax scams, trustee, Vaughan, Vaughan debt counselling