Debt Free in 30

On today’s show Nora Spinks, CEO of the Vanier Institute of the Family, explains why debt is very complicated in the family context. When it comes to family debt, Nora explains that the majority of Canadians carry some sort of debt; the highest debt being mortgages, followed by car loans and education. The pattern has been, and continues to be, that people incur debt when they're starting out in life; buying a house and a car, having children and going to school. However, Nora explains that, “what we are now seeing, that's relatively new in sort of historic economics in this country, is older people with debt, more people retiring with debt and more people accumulating debt while in retirement.” We explore the implications of debt on the family, and discuss some possible strategies to deal with and eliminate debt.

As the cost of higher education increases, so to does the amount of student loan debt for those graduating from university or college and entering the workforce. On today's show we talk about the average student loan debtor, explain why females carrying student loan debt have more difficulty paying it off and Ted Michalos points out that student loan debt doesn't only delay big life events for graduates, but ultimately, it affects the overall economy as well.

Today's guest is Blair Demarco-Wettlaufer, Managing Partner of Kingston Data & Credit, a collection agency servicing Canada and parts of the United States. Blair is a past guest from show #20 where we discussed the collections process and how to stop collection calls. He's back to give us an insider's perspective about ways that collection agents find debtors, including the use of social media to do it, and what you should do once they've successfully contacted you. Gone are the days when collection agents sat smoking at their desks, flipping through index cards and telephone books to find ways to contact debtors. Blair explains that today, there is no shortage of information available to the general public and debt collectors because there are ridiculous amounts of data available now through the internet, through databases, through information technology, and a lot of people aren't aware of what can and can't be used.

It's been over seven years since the Canadian government made changes to the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act (BIA) in Canada to make bankruptcy more expensive and to promote an alternative: a consumer proposal. Today they are more popular than ever because they have significant advantages over any other form of debt relief option in Canada. But since many still don't know a lot about what a consumer proposal is, we talk with Ted Michalos and Joel Sandwith, trustees at Hoyes Michalos, to answer some of the top questions about consumer proposals in Canada.

Today’s guest is financial blogger and podcast host, Jessica Moorhouse from Mo' Money Mo' Houses We discuss how to make big life changes including relocation, going back to school, buying a home and planning a wedding. These are all common life events that can take a toll on your finances and can be difficult to manage for those already facing debt. As a millennial, Jessica has recent experience with all of these changes and shares her experience and advice with listeners Jessica relocated from Vancouver to Toronto two years ago, and has lots of great advice on planning for a relocation. We also discuss buying a house, which may not be a great idea in an over-heated real estate market. We have lots of great content, so we have a special bonus podcast only segment with more great practical advice from Jessica.

Today’s guest is Susan Eng, Vice President of Advocacy at CARP, an organization focused on helping seniors and future generations with issues like financial security. Susan explains that studies like our Joe Debtor whitepaper catalogue the fears that seniors have today; fears about outliving their savings and their children's and grandchildren's lack of economic opportunities. During our talk, she describes the need for government reform and options for reducing senior debt levels. With the election campaign in full swing Ms. Eng talks about CARP’s past successes, and explains what she’s looking for from the politicians in this campaign. Poverty, debt, and payday loans, we cover it all. In fact, the show ran long, so we’ve got an extra bonus podcast only segment with lot’s of great additional information.

It’s the start of season number two of Debt Free in 30, and we start this season like we started the first season: we let Ted Michalos rant about payday loans. A lot has happened in the last year, and today talks about a presentation he attended this summer with the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, where Ted gave his thoughts on how to deal with the rise of many new types of high interest lenders. These loans are easy to get, but charge a high interest rate. Ted explains who gets these loans (it’s not who you think), and what borrowers should do if they find themselves caught in a cycle of high interest loans.

For the month of August we are rebroadcasting our most popular shows. We're going to wrap up our "Best Of" summer series with a discussion we had with Jonathan Chevreau about obtaining your own version of Financial Independence or "Findependence" as Jonathan calls it. Jonathan's approach to getting out of debt is to adopt a form of guerrilla frugality in order to get out of debt, stay out of debt and reach your goal of financial freedom. Last week with talked about how people get so deep in debt without evening knowing how they got there. One of the underlying problems is a lack of a balanced budget. To get out of debt Jonathan suggested taking the concept of balancing your budget one step further to something he calls 'Guerrilla Frugality'. He suggests we should live below our means, not just for a year or two, but as a life-long habit. Only by doing so can you pay off your debts and build a strong financial foundation that will support you throughout your life. In many regards that is the lesson learned by most people who file bankruptcy or a consumer proposal. Without access to credit while they are bankrupt, they must learn to live within their means. No credit cards means paying for groceries, the rent and everything else by cash or cheque. This is the ultimate way to ensure you live within your means.

For the month of August we are rebroadcasting our most popular shows. On today's rebroadcast we talk with Gail Vaz-Oxlade about how to build a repayment plan to deal with your debt before it reaches the tipping point. If however you find that you are looking at years and years to pay back your debt then you may need to consider other options. We also talk with Ted Michalos, bankruptcy trustee and co-founder of Hoyes, Michalos about how a consumer proposal can help you get out of debt while avoiding the need to file for bankruptcy.

Gail Vaz-Oxlade is one of the most popular financial experts for a reason. Her no holds barred approach is based on one consistent message: You need to be the one to take action to take care of your debt problems. You may criticize the bank, the credit reporting agency or payday loan companies but at the end of the day you have to be able to identify that you are too deep in debt and need to do something about it. types of debts that most often trigger deep financial problems include credit card debt, high interest financing loans, payday loans and misused lines of credit. In our rebroadcast of one of our post popular podcasts, Gail calls these types of debt 'callable debt'. She recommends you focus any debt repayment plan on this type of debt first, and for good reason. This is the type of credit that can be taken away at a moment’s notice. The bank can cancel your credit cards, your line of credit and demand immediate payment. If you don't have a good credit score this could leave you struggling and at risk of bankruptcy. In the bonus segment Doug Hoyes discusses his experience on reality TV.