Debt Free in 30

Struggling financially is difficult for anyone. It can be exceptionally stressful if you're a single parent trying to juggle your finances, work, and parenting all on your own. Without a partner you're solely responsible for the fate of your family. My guest today is here to talk about how going through insolvency as a single parent feels, and how she overcame her debt. Her name and personal information are kept anonymous for confidentiality reasons so we'll call her Joan. Joan was a working professional with a job on Bay Street. Like many Bay Street positions, Joan was making a very good salary. Shortly after Joan celebrated her 50th birthday, work at her office was slow and she was downsized. On today's show we hear her story, and how a consumer proposal helped her deal with her debts.

Welcome to the second edition of our Debt Free in 30 News You Can Use round table. Our first one aired in January 2017 and covered Walmart vs. VISA, 2017 Debt Repayment Predictions, Bank of Canada Warnings and Paid Promotions vs. Personal Finance Advice. This month we have a whole new panel of experts and a whole new stock of stories to cover. Today's guests are Blair Mantin from Sands & Associates in British Columbia, Daniel Budd from M. Diamond & Associates in Montreal, and Ian Penny from Janes & Noseworthy in Newfoundland & Labrador. As you might have guessed from the firm names, we are all Licensed Insolvency Trustees. Specific bankruptcy details vary from province to province and we're all facing different economic factors depending on where you are in the country. Our panel of experts today provides insight from coast to coast.

My guest today is Shamez Kassam, a financial advisor based in Calgary who has just published his first book, Your Money's Worth: The Essential Guide to Financial Advice for Canadians. Shamez wanted to write a book that acted as a road map for how the Canadian financial advice industry worked. There's only so much you can learn within the traditional educational institutions. Shamez himself tried learning on his own before losing it all in the tech bubble. That's when he decided to go back and do his MBA in New York. The Millennial Conundrum Younger generations or anyone who is just starting out have a lot of challenges to overcome to succeed financially. Debt loads are high, job security is low, and student debt is higher than ever. Our Joe Debtor study found that millennials are the most likely of all age groups to use payday loans. So they're not only operating within unsecured territory, but they're adding volatile, high-interest debts to their list of challenges. We discuss this and more on today's show.

My guest today is Shamez Kassam, a financial advisor based in Calgary who has just published his first book, Your Money's Worth: The Essential Guide to Financial Advice for Canadians. Shamez wanted to write a book that acted as a road map for how the Canadian financial advice industry worked. There's only so much you can learn within the traditional educational institutions. Shamez himself tried learning on his own before losing it all in the tech bubble. That's when he decided to go back and do his MBA in New York. The Millennial Conundrum Younger generations or anyone who is just starting out have a lot of challenges to overcome to succeed financially. Debt loads are high, job security is low, and student debt is higher than ever. Our Joe Debtor study found that millennials are the most likely of all age groups to use payday loans. So they're not only operating within unsecured territory, but they're adding volatile, high-interest debts to their list of challenges. We discuss this and more on today's show.

Earlier this week, our firm Hoyes, Michalos & Associates launched our 2017 study of Joe Debtor. Joe Debtor is a report on the average insolvent Ontarian that we publish every two years. This year marks our sixth published study, which means we have a lot of comparative data and can identify trends. We're increasingly seeing a certain type of Ontarian filing insolvency. Although we have Ontarians from all income levels filing either a consumer proposal or bankruptcy, there are certain vulnerable debtors who are more likely to declare themselves insolvent. Key findings from our study: Joe Debtor's take-home income is 41% below the median Ontario household income He is using most of his income to pay for necessities, not luxuries Joe Debtor has just $302 a month available for unsecured debt repayment - but that debt carries an estimated interest cost of $960 a month Who Are the Vulnerable Debtors? We're seeing an increase in certain demographics based on our findings year-over-year. We'll post demographic-specific podcasts in the upcoming weeks so we can discuss each one in detail. There is a steady rise in insolvent millennials, who are just starting out their adult lives. We've also seen an increase in senior debtors who are carrying debt into retirement. Today's podcast talks about the certain types of debt that these vulnerable debtors are carrying and why it's so dangerous.

On Debt Free in 30 I interview many debt experts, but I don't often have the opportunity to speak with someone who has actually dealt directly with their own debt issues. We have conversations with clients every day, but it's very rare that one wants to open up about their story and help others from one debtor to another. My guest today is Dana Pharant. Dana operated a successful business that was doing more than a million dollars in sales. The business unfortunately experienced three major catastrophes, including a large customer stiffing her on the bill, and Dana turned to her personal credit to support her business. With more personal debt than she could handle, Dana reached out to the professionals at Hoyes Michalos in January 2012. We discussed her options with her and she decided to file a consumer proposal. Dana is pleased to report that in just a few months her consumer proposal will be paid in full. Like most clients, Dana weighed her options before making the decision to file. On today's show she discusses that decision, and talks about her own business, and how she developed a money, and life, mindset.

My guest on show #131 was Victoria Ryce, co-author, with Gail Vaz-Oxlade, of a new book, CEO of Everything: Flying Solo and Soaring, that deals with how to cope with becoming suddenly single. On that show we talked in detail about the emotional aspects of becoming separated, divorced, or widowed, and Victoria had a lot of practical advice for either the person who is now single, or for people who have loved ones who are suddenly single. Click here to listen to show #131. In many relationships, one person manages the money while the other is happy simply being kept in the loop or ignoring the money completely. This is very common, so one of the challenges when you become unexpectedly single is that you are now in charge of everything. Your first priority will be to "take stock" and make sure you have access to funds for day-to-day living. But what's the next step? What if you get a life insurance payout, or a divorce settlement? What should you do with the money? Victoria has some surprising advice: the correct answer, initially, may be to do nothing. On today's show Victoria explains doing nothing, and the steps necessary to be financial secure when you become suddenly single.

In 2016 the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) received 77,348 mass marketing fraud complaints with a total reported dollar loss of $99,198,188. That's a big number, but CAFC believes that fewer than 5% of victims file a report. It's likely that because of the unreported instances, victims lost approximately $2 billion in Canada due to mass market fraud in 2016. Fraudsters keep coming up with new scams, so it's important to be aware of the new scams, and understand how to protect yourself and your loved ones. To find out how to recognize the new scams and protect yourself, I'm pleased to welcome Kelley Keehn back to our show. Kelley was my guest back on show #75 where we discussed a book she wrote for the CPA Institute Protecting You and Your Money: A Guide To Avoiding Identity Theft and Fraud. Kelley has published eight books, co-hosted a TV show, regularly contributes to publications like The Globe & Mail, and has had numerous TV appearances including as the personal finance expert on The Marilyn Denis Show. On today's show we discuss the most dangerous frauds of 2017, including the romance scam, phishing frauds, and the CRA scam.

How could you cope if, due to divorce or the death of your partner, you became suddenly single? That question is the theme of a new book, CEO of Everything, Flying Solo and Soaring, co-authored by Gail Vaz-Oxlade and my guest today, Victoria Ryce. As they say in their book, the biggest adjustment when you become suddenly single is that: Everything in the house is now your job: when the smoke alarm starts beeping, when the water stops flowing, when the microwave blows ups, you must act. Grass will grow and you will cut it. Snow will fall and you will shovel it. The cat will puke on the carpet and you will clean it up. As a suddenly single person you worry about what people will think, whether or not you will lose your friends, and whether or not you will always be alone. Sudden changes are emotionally draining. What's Victoria's advice to stay sane and regain control? All that and more on today's show.

We have a crisis and it's called payday loans. At Hoyes Michalos we believe payday loans are a real problem because all too often they create a vicious cycle of debt. We also don't believe that recent efforts by the Ontario Government have been enough to deal with the hidden truth behind payday loans: already indebted Ontarians are borrowing multiple payday loans, from multiple payday lenders at the same time, and this is contributing to a record rate of payday loan induced insolvencies. How we know this is because every two years we analyze data from actual insolvencies to find out why someone files insolvency. We call this our Joe Debtor study. Part of our study includes a detailed dig into payday loan use by Joe Debtor so that we can isolate the behaviour and profile of the average insolvent payday loan user. Our data points to four startling findings: 1 in 4 insolvent debtors had at least one payday loan at the time they filed a bankruptcy or consumer proposal. The average insolvent payday loan borrower has 3.4 payday loans with total outstanding balances of $2,997. Payday loans make up 9% of borrower's total unsecured debt of $34,255 An insolvent debtor with payday loans owes 121% of their MONTHLY take home pay in payday loans. Full details on the show with Doug Hoyes and Ted Michalos.