Debt Free in 30

On today's show I talk with Adam Rauf, a trustee in bankruptcy and consumer proposal administrator at the Hoyes Michalos   St. Catharines   and   Niagara Falls   offices. Adam receives many questions from his clients and came in with a list of 20 concerns that people have when they come in to see him to get out of debt. We narrowed down his list to some questions about what type of debts can be el...

Trustee in Bankruptcy, Benny Mendlowitz answers the most pressing questions about paying down debt by filing bankruptcy. Benny is a trustee at Hoyes Michalos in charge of our   Scarborough   and   North York   offices and during the show he answers these frequently asked questions: What does it mean to go bankrupt? What does it cost to go bankrupt? What if I don't want to go bankrupt? Can I keep a...

Today’s guest is Joel Sandwith, trustee in bankruptcy and consumer proposal administrator at Hoyes Michalos working out of our   London   and   Sarnia   offices. Normally we broadcast an FAQ show on the last Saturday of the month, but we receive so many questions that are worth taking the time to answer that we decided to run an FAQ series during July; starting with this one. To prepare for this s...

Today’s guest is Daniel Veinot, a lawyer and partner at Duncan Linton in Waterloo, and we discuss student loan debts and how they are handled by bankruptcy law. Daniel discusses whether student loans are automatically discharged in a bankruptcy or consumer proposal, when it's possible to go to court and how many years an individual needs to be out of school before they can discharge any outstandin...

Right now, interest rates are at record lows, benefiting those who have good credit. But what if  you don't have good credit or can't get credit at all? Today’s guest is Jim Dunbar, the Managing Partner and Chief Commercial Officer for   Affirm Financial Services , a company that provides consumer loans, term loans and unsecured credit cards to individuals who have been turned down by the banks. J...

Richard Dunwoody has 30 years experiences providing consulting services to the financial services industry through AFO Venture Group. On today's show Richard offers his opinion on how credit counselling agencies in Canada operate and what this means to consumers. At our firm we work a lot with local, not-for-profit credit counselling agencies that meet face-to-face with clients using a "whole pers...

Before now, there really were no rules governing debt settlement companies in Ontario, which meant that they could charge large up-front fees, only to refer the client to a bankruptcy trustee once legal action was taken by a creditor.  The process has already started and on January 1st, 2015 the  Collection Agency Act  was renamed the  Collection and Debt Settlement Services Act . On today’s show...

It's time for another FAQ podcast and today we talk about if and when you might be responsible for your spouse's debt and how one spouse filing bankruptcy might affect the other.    To answer these questions we talk with Hoyes Michalos Trustee in Bankruptcy Jason Quinney about joint debts and co-signed loans.  Jason explains   what a joint debt is , what happens to a   co-signer   if a debt goes u...

Today’s guest is Ian Penney, President of Janes & Noseworthy in Newfoundland and Labrador.  Recently, oil prices have declined, affecting the finances of those who work and/or live in a boom-bust economy.  Alberta is a prime example of this type of economy, but the sting is also being felt in Newfoundland and Labrador.  As lay-offs continue and people are forced to find alternatives, Ian has notic...

So you’ve got a bunch of debts.  You owe money on three different credit cards, and a payday loan, and you still owe some money on an old cellphone bill.  You’ve got a job, and you’ve got money coming in every month, but it’s hard to juggle five different debt payments every month, all on different days, in addition to all of your regular bills. Wouldn’t it be great to consolidate all of your debt...

On today’s show Ted Michalos and Doug Hoyes discuss the just released Hoyes Michalos study: Joe Debtor: Marginalized by Debt. Canadians do not appear to be worried about high debt levels.  Interest rates are at record lows, and bankruptcy rates have declined for the last five years. Unfortunately that obscures the fact that at risk groups, including seniors, single parents and people with student...

Today’s guest is Mark Silverthorn, who was once the most prominent collection agency lawyer in Canada, sending out 10,000 collection letters every month.  Today he’s a consultant for debtors, and is the author of The Wolf at the Door , a book about “What to do when collection agents come calling”.   Mark Silverthorn says on the show that collection agents have every right to collect money that is...

On today’s show Ted Michalos explains that bankruptcy isn’t free.  Even though you may have limited resources, it does cost money to go bankrupt.   Ted explains why it costs money, and how the concept of surplus income impacts on the cost of your bankruptcy.  Ted also explains how a consumer proposal is an effective solution for avoiding the excessive monthly cost of bankruptcy.

On today’s show Leigh Taylor, a bankruptcy trustee with LC Taylor and Associates in Winnipeg, gives his opinion on how to deal with debt.   He explains why cashing in your RRSP to pay off debt may not be a good decision.  He also explains why you should avoid co-signing a loan, how debt consolidation works, and whether or not you are a good person if you have debt.

On today’s show Vikram Barhat, a finance writer whose work has appeared in The Globe & Mail, BBC, and Morningstar Canada, answers a common question: If I save up $1,000, should I use it to pay off debt, or should I contribute it to my RRSP? It’s a difficult question.  Paying down debt saves future interest, but contributing to an RRSP generates a significant tax saving for many people.  Vikram pro...

On today’s show we talk with mortgage agents Michael Smele and Bev Gay   about whether it's possible to get a mortgage to buy a house after, or even during, a personal bankruptcy or consumer proposal.  They each give their opinion about who can qualify for a mortgage and what options are available to individuals with poor credit.  The biggest take-away from our conversation is that when considerin...

Today’s guest is Ian Martin.  Ian is both a licensed Bankruptcy Trustee and Chartered Professional Account, and he also has seven years of experience working at Canada Revenue Agency.  As someone who understands both tax law and insolvency law, Ian brings a wealth of knowledge to the conversation and provides in-depth answers to many common tax debt questions.   On today’s show we answer many freq...

Today's guest is Rob Carrick, the personal finance columnist for the   Globe & Mail . When the   Globe   announced they were going to start a   financial boot-camp, Rob discovered that the most urgent concern for Canadians is debt, and they told Rob that they are in debt because they can't control their spending. On today’s show Rob talks about debt for both seniors and Gen Y, and he gives is thou...

Today’s guests are Rebecca Martin, Trustee in Bankruptcy and Consumer Proposal Administrator at Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc. and our co-founder, Ted Michalos. We talk about one of the biggest reasons people contact a Bankruptcy Trustee in a panic - they've received notice from a creditor or their employer that their wages are being garnished. Today's podcast explains everything you need to kn...

Today’s guest is Christi Posner, a credit counsellor and new mother.  Christ starts the show by telling us how, after graduating from university she had a lot of debt.  She got married, and she and her husband wanted to start a family, so they knew they needed to tackle their debt.  They did.  They paid off their debt, and were in good shape financially to start a family.   Even though Christi is...

Today our guest is Scott Schaefer, Chartered Accountant, Consumer Proposal Administrator, and Trustee in Bankruptcy at Hoyes, Michalos and Associates to discuss the roles of specific parties during a bankruptcy and consumer proposal.  Scott explains the meaning of a debtor, creditor, and trustee, and breaks down the filing process, step by step. Scott also explains the role of the trustee.  Who do...

Today's guest is David Trahair, Chartered Professional Accountant and author of several books about personal finance including the book we talked about today:   Crushing Debt: Why Canadians Should Drop Everything and Pay Off Debt . David makes an excellent case for why consumers should pay off their debts rather than save money.   David explains that most of us have bought into the dream that we c...

Today we answer the question: is all debt bad, or is there such a thing as good debt? Our first guest is Par Foran from the CTV Television Network who gives his opinions (and not surprisingly he doesn't believe that borrowing for a vacation is good debt). Our second guest is Robert Brown, author of Wealthing Like Rabbits, who has a very interesting take on good-bad debt and bad-good debt.  Listen...

Our guest today is Robin Taub, a Chartered Professional Accountant, financial literacy consultant, public speaker, blogger, and author of The Parent's Guide to Raising Money-Smart Kids. Robin discusses why it's so important to teach children about money, the challenges that parents face, and solutions for getting started.   Money management isn't always easy and teaching it to someone else can be...

Today's first guest is Ian Martin, a bankruptcy trustee who explains that in many cases there is a "better" time of year to file a bankruptcy or consumer proposal. Howard Hayes is our second guest, and he explains how a bankruptcy filing impacts you acting as an immigration sponsor. Ian returns in our Let's Get Started segment to answer our final question of the day: is bankruptcy morally wrong.