Debt Trouble and Credit Solutions

Hello Readers,

I found a couple of articles on the CBC website that I thought would be of real interest for those of you out there struggling with the debt issue.  They speak to issues about what to do if you are in debt, what options you have, where to go and even a follow-up article entitled "Options For Those In Serious Debt Trouble"  Here are the websites: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/personalfinance/dealingwithdebt.html  and http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/personalfinance/credithelp.html.  Check them out and be sure to call (331-4567) or email us at info@integrabenefits.ca if you want to speak with Shawna for some real help and solutions to your debt problems.  Also visit our website http://www.integrabenefits.ca/ for further information about our products and services.

Helping you Gain Control of Your Finances

Hi Readers,
I found this article in ezine articles about Debt Restructuring - how to gain control of your finances.  It was a short but helpful read about looking for the right debt consolidation specialist to go to, when you need some help.  Check it out at: http://ezinearticles.com/?Debt-Restructuring---Helping-You-Gain-Control-of-Finances&id=153133.  Check on our website as well for helpful hints to becoming debt free with our help http://www.integrabenefits.ca/. 

Erin

And feel free to give a call (403.331.4567) or email us (info@integrabenefits.ca) if you have any questions or to book a free consultation with Shawna today!!

Filing for Bankruptcy: What is Exempt

Considering filing for Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy in Canada: What You Get To Keep

Property exempt from seizure is set by the provinces and territories and applies to the equity in the asset. Equity is the excess that the value of an asset has over any charges or encumbrances against that asset. So if you have a car worth $25,000 and there is a $20,000 secured debt against it then the equity in the car is $5,000. In BC the exemption for a car is $5,000 so in this example you are entitled to keep the equity of $5,000 and the unsecured creditors cannot take this.

Download this article in PDF format If I Choose Bankruptcy, What Can I Keep?

Bankruptcy Exemptions for BC

• Equity in a home in Greater Vancouver and Victoria: $12,000.  In the rest of the province: $9,000
• Equity in Household items: $4,000
• Equity in a Vehicle: $5,000 
• The vehicle exemption drops to $2,000 if the debtor is behind on child care payments (to facilitate the enforcement of Maintenance Orders)
• Equity in work tools: $10,000
• Equity in essential clothing and medical aids is unlimited

Bankruptcy Exemptions for Alberta

• Food required by the debtor and his/her dependants during the next 12 months
• Necessary clothing of the debtor and his/her dependants $4,000
• Household furniture and appliances $4,000
• One motor vehicle $5,000
• Medical and dental aids required by the debtor and his/her dependants
• Where the debtor is a bona fide farmer and whose principal source of  livelihood  is farming 160 acres if the debtor's principal residence is located on that 160 acres and that the 160 acres is part of the debtor's farm
• The equity in the debtor's principal residence, including a mobile home $40,000
• If the debtor is a co-owner of the residence, the amount of the exemption is reduced to an amount that is proportionate to the debtor's ownership interest
• Personal property (i.e. tools, equipment, books) required by the debtor to earn income from the debtor's occupation up to a value of $10,000
• Where the debtor's primary income is from farming operations, personal property required by the debtor for the proper and efficient conduct of the debtor's farming operations for the next 12 months

Bankruptcy Exemptions for Saskatchewan

For Non-Farmers

• Household furniture and personal effects $4,500 per person
• Tools of the trade $4,500
• A motor vehicle, if required for employment
• Equity in personal residence $32,000 ($64,000 if jointly owned) to a maximum of $128,000 if held by four parties
• Certain life insurance policies
• RRSPs, RRIFs and DPSPs are exempt from seizureFor Farmers
• Furniture, furnishings and appliances $10,000

For Farmers

• The cash equivalent of produce sufficient to provide food and fuel for heating until the next harvest
• All livestock, farm machinery and equipment, including one car or truck, necessary for the next twelve months operations
• One motor vehicle, if required for business or profession, but not in addition to the one above
• Tools and equipment used by a farmer in his trade or profession $4,500
  Equity in personal residence to a value of $32,000 ($64,000 if jointly owned) to a maximum of $128,000 if held by four parties
• Seed grain equal to two bushels per acre of land under cultivation
• RRSPs, RRIFs and DPSPs are exempt from seizure
• Certain life insurance policies
• Cash equivalent of crop equal to unpaid harvesting costs
• Living expenses to next harvest
• Necessary costs of farming until next harvest

Bankruptcy Exemptions for Manitoba

• Furniture, household furnishings and appliances $4,500
• One motor vehicle, if necessary for work or transportation to and from work, $3,000 in value
• Actual residence of the bankrupt, equity of $1,500 each if in  joint tenancy, or $2,500 if not in joint tenancy
• Tools, implements, professional books and other necessaries  not exceeding a total value of $7,500 used in practice of  trade, occupation or profession
• Necessary and ordinary clothing of the debtor and family
• Health aids, including wheelchair, air conditioner, elevator, hearing aid, eye glasses, prosthetic or orthopaedic equipment, necessary to debtor or family
• Locked-in pension plans
• Certain life insurance policies
• Food and fuel necessary to family for period of six months or cash equivalent.
• If debtor is a farmer animals necessary for farming operation for 12 months
• Farm machinery, dairy utensils and farm  equipment necessary for ensuing 12 months
• One motor vehicle if required for purposes of agricultural operations
• Any 160 acres of farm land upon which the debtor or his family resides, or which he cultivates or uses for grazing or other purposes, as well as all the buildings thereon
• Seed sufficient to seed all land of debtor under cultivation

Bankruptcy Exemptions for Ontario

• Clothing $5,650.00
• Household Goods $11,300.00
• Tools of the Trade $11,300.00
• Farmers $28,300.00
• Motor Vehicle $5,650.00Note: These exemption amounts received a cost of living increase (reviewed every five years) and went into effect on Wednesday December 14, 2005.

Bankruptcy Exemptions for Quebec 

• The movable property which furnishes his main residence, used by and necessary for the life of the household  $6,000
• Food, fuel, linens and clothing necessary for the life of the household
• Instruments of work needed for the personal exercise of his professional activity
• Family papers and portraits, medals and other decorations
• Property declared by a donor or a testament to be exempt from seizure except in certain cases
• Judicially awarded support and sums given or bequeathed as support
• Benefits payable under a supplemental pension plan to which an employer contributes on behalf of his employees, other amounts declared unseizable by an Act governing such plans and contributions paid or to be paid into such plans
• Periodic disability benefits and expense reimbursements under a contract of accident and sickness insurance
• Property of a person that he requires to compensate for a handicap
• A certain portion of salaries and wages based on the number of dependants
• Nevertheless, the property referred to in first and third items above may be seized and sold by a creditor holding a hypothec thereonBankruptcy

Bankruptcy Exemptions for Nova Scotia

• Necessary wearing apparel, household furnishings and furniture
• Necessary fuel and food
• Necessary grain, seeds, cattle, hogs, fowl, sheep and other livestock
• Necessary medical and health aids
• Farm equipment, fishing nets, tools and implements used in debtor's chief occupation $1,000
• Household goods $5,000
• Motor vehicle $3,000
• Motor vehicle if required for work or business $6,500

Bankruptcy Exemptions for New Brunswick

• Furniture, household furnishings and appliances used by the debtor or a dependent $5,000
• Food, clothing and fuel necessary for the debtor and his family
• Two horses and sets of harness, two cows, ten sheep, two  hogs and twenty fowl, and food for six months
• Necessary tools, equipment and books $6,500
• Necessary seed grain and potatoes required for planting purposes to the following quantities: forty bushels of oats, ten bushels of barley, ten bushels of buckwheat, ten bushels of wheat and thirty-five barrels of potatoes
• One motor vehicle $6,500
• Necessary medical and health aids
• Pets belonging to the debtor
• Pension plans

Bankruptcy Exemptions for Prince Edward Island

• Necessary and ordinary clothing of the debtor and his family
• Motor Vehical $3,000
• Household furniture, utensils, equipment, food and fuel that are contained in and form part of the permanent home of the debtor $2,000
• RRSPs are exempt (no limit) provided they have a defined beneficiary which is a specific member of direct family
• In the case of a debtor other than a farmer: tools, instruments and other chattels ordinarily used by the debtor in his business, trade or calling $2,000
•  In the case of a debtor who is a farmer: Livestock, fowl, agricultural machinery and equipment ordinarily used by the debtor in his farm operation  $5,000
  Sufficient seed to seed all his land under cultivation not exceeding 100 acres

Bankruptcy Exemptions for Newfoundland and Labrador

• Food required by debtor and dependants during the next 12 months
• Medical and dental aids required by debtor and dependants
• Domesticated animals which are kept as pets and not used for business purpose
• Fuel or heating as a necessity for the debtor and his or her dependants
• Clothing of the debtor and his or her dependants $4,000
• Appliances and household furnishings (which are defined as washing machine, clothes dryer, "reasonably necessary" bedroom suites and bedding, oven and stove top burners,  "necessary" dishes and kitchen utensils, and "necessary" strollers, cribs and highchairs) $4,000
• Motor vehicle of the debtor $2,000
• Items of a sentimental value to the debtor $500
• The debtor's equity in his or her principal residence $10,000
• Personal property used by and necessary for debtor to earn income from occupation, trade, business or calling $10,000

Source: www.bankruptcycanada.com

Personal Debt Restructuring

Debt problems affect hundreds of thousands of people. Many companies offer debt restructuring and consolidation services. Debt restructuring and consolidation offers the chance to reduce debt, manage your finances and begin again with more knowledge about money management.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. • 1
     Make a list of all your outstanding debts. Include the amount you owe, the monthly repayments and the interest due. This will give a clear picture of your finances before you begin the restructuring process.
   • 2
     Contact your mortgage lender to renegotiate the terms of your home loan. This will not help to reduce debt, though restructuring the debt will make repayments easier to manage.
   • 3
     Ask a credit union for a loan. It seems strange to ask for more money when you are already in debt, but credit unions usually lend money at lower rates. This means you can use the credit union loan for debt consolidation.
   • 4
     Borrow against an insurance policy. This is a good way to get cash for debt consolidation because you do not have to repay it. If you don't repay the loan your beneficiaries will receive a smaller payout when the policy matures.
   • 5
     Find a credit card company that offers a balance transfer deal. Use this for debt consolidation. Transfer all your credit card debt onto the new credit card. Pay off as much as you can afford each month to reduce debt.
   • 6
     Take out a home equity loan. If you have equity in your home, you can borrow against it on favorable terms. Use the money you get for debt consolidation.

Read more: How to Restructure Debt | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2072833_restructure-debt.html#ixzz1NIOpOFC4

Budgeting for Children

Check out this article I found in The Globe and Mail.  A  great idea for those of you with  children...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/household-finances/teach-your-chicks-early-how-to-build-their-nest-egg/article1990829/

Credit Card Debt

Canadian credit card debt dropped during holiday season
TORONTO – There was a surprising drop in the amount borrowed on credit cards by Canadians during the holiday-laden fourth quarter, but overall non-mortgage debt went up substantially across the country, a credit analysis firm reported Wednesday.
TransUnion said average total debt per Canadian consumer, excluding mortgages, was $25,709 in the fourth quarter of 2010 — up 5.6 per cent from $24,346 in the comparable period of 2009.
Only a small portion of the total in either year was drawn on credit cards, which usually charge among the highest rates of interest.
The surprise, according to TransUnion, was that the average credit card debt in the fourth quarter of 2010 dropped by 2.7 per cent from a year earlier to $3,688.
Lines of credit were the biggest form of consumer debt tracked, and increased to nearly $34,000 — up 8.8 per cent over the year.
“From the increase in lines of credit this quarter, one can safely assume that many Canadians ultimately relied on this form of credit during the last three months of 2010 and the important holiday shopping season,” said Thomas Higgins, TransUnion’s vice-president of analytics.
“Since many lines of credit offer attractive interest rates, many Canadians have learned to use credit cards in their initial purchase and then pay off or down the balance using their line of credit. This allows them to take advantage of both the loyalty programs many credit cards offer and lower interest rates of their line of credit.”
Auto loans were the second-biggest form of non-mortgage debt tracked by the report and TransUnion found the Canadian average rose to nearly $16,200 per borrower in the fourth quarter, up 11 per cent from a year earlier.
However, it found that total auto debt for the country as a whole declined to $45.8 billion in the fourth quarter, from $48.3 billion in the comparable period of 2009.
“While total auto debt continues to decline in Canada, it is interesting to see auto debt per auto borrower rise,” Higgins said.
“This means those Canadians with autos loans are either purchasing higher end vehicles, or newer ones.”
TransUnion’s analysis is based on an active credit population of 24.9 million consumers in Canada.
The Canadian Press http://www.therecord.com/news/business/article/485988--canadian-credit-card-debt-dropped-during-holiday-season

If you are interested in learning more about managing credit card debt and budgeting you should talk to one of our debt advisors. We can give you a bit more information on how you should be handling your credit.  http://www.integrabenefits.ca/http://www.integrabenefits.ca/

Holiday Financial Troubles

Has Christmas left a hole in your wallet?  You are not alone.  Come January many people find themselves faced with those dreaded credit card bills from December, not quite how you wanted to start the New Year off.
 Making financial decsions at this time of year can be very overwhelming, and Debt Advisors are here to help! They are there to help you make those financial decisions that are stressing you out.  Whether you need budgeting advice, refinancing your mortgage, negotiate debts, or ways to build up your credit, they will do their best to listen to your situation, and try to provide assistance.
Call 403.331.4567 to speak to someone today about your situation, and relieve some of your stress.