Debt Free In 30

Every financial guru says that achieving success starts with setting a goal. I disagree.  While there is some benefit to setting goals, you are more likely to achieve success if, instead of focusing on goals, you have a system. I discuss goals vs systems on this special rebroadcast episode, originally aired in January, 2019. If your goal is to get out of debt or to save more money, you might be a little frustrated knowing another year has come and gone without improving your finances. So what if your goal this year is to get out of debt? Or save more money? What’s the best way to achieve any goal? The answer may be to not focus on the goal at all, but instead to create a system to reach that goal.  Today on Debt Free in 30, I want to explain why, in most cases, systems are better than goals. 

In over 20 years of helping Canadians eliminate their debt, I've yet to hear a single client say they chose to have debt problems. Debt accumulates over time and then it becomes an even bigger problem when you lose your job, become ill or get divorced. But for many of my clients, despite knowing that the cause of their money troubles was beyond their control, they still blamed themselves for their financial woes.  So, how does one overcome self-blame to achieve debt relief? On today’s special rebroadcast episode we talk with Shannon Lee Simmons, author of Living Debt-Free: The No-Shame, No-Blame Guide to Getting Rid of Your Debt about how negative feelings towards debt can create more debt and strategies that can put you in the right direction when dealing with your debt.

When used correctly, a credit card is a helpful tool to build your credit history, and it's a safer than carrying cash. However, when mismanaged, a credit card can quickly become one of the most expensive borrowing options, leading to serious debt trouble. For many of our clients, credit card debt is the second biggest debt they carry. To help you avoid the common pitfalls that come with owning a credit card, on this special rebroadcast episode I talk with Diane Cunha, one of our certified credit counsellors. She shares tips for using credit wisely to avoid debt problems.  We discuss billing cycles, due dates and grace periods, and we have 8 tips for avoiding credit card debt.

It’s August, and we are rebroadcasting our most downloaded episodes of the last year, with a new introduction, and this one has opera! How do you stay on top of your finances when your income differs from one month to the next? Chris Enns is an opera-singer and a fee-only financial planner specializing in helping people who work in creative careers organize their sporadic salaries. He understands first-hand the struggles of applying traditional financial advice to a non-traditional cash-flow. Today Chris outlines his approach for managing cash-flow when you have variable or intermittent income. Chris explains that many people in the creative world avoid thinking about money because they believe they are just bad at it; they just don't get it so they think managing their finances is something they can't do. As 'money misfits' they don't feel they are part of the financial conversation. The terminology around money is foreign so they don't connect with the language. On today’s show Chris explains how creative p

A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a loan secured by the equity in your house. A HELOC is often presented as a great borrowing tool because unlike with credit cards or unsecured loans, you have access to a large amount of revolving cash at a lower interest rate. But what you probably don't know is that your bank can change the borrowing terms on your HELOC whenever they want. On today's special rebroadcast, we talk with Scott Terrio and he shares why you need to think twice before signing up for a home equity line of credit. 

What is a debt buyer?  What should you do if you find out that a debt buyer has bought your debt? On today’s show a former collection agency lawyer explains the law, and discusses options for negotiating with a debt buyer.

Could you survive without debt?  Sounds like an easy question to answer, but many of our clients are so dependent on credit cards that they don’t realize they are borrowing to live. On today’s show Ted Michalos discusses how you can tell if you are dependent on debt, and how to get off the debt treadmill.

Today we discuss a wonderful, magical place called Costco.  Is it a store?  A finance company?  Something else?  And why does it matter?  All that and more on today’s podcast (and I’ve got slides, so if you want to see the numbers, the video is posted on the Debt Free in 30 channel on YouTube).

Many people have no choice: if they want to work, they have to be a “sub-contractor”, or “self-employed”.  This is very common in the construction industry (Dry wallers, framers, plumbers, electricians, roofers) and in high tech (programmers, web developers). On today’s podcast Ted Michalos helps us explore how you can finance your self-employment, and we give a warning about personal guarantees and other traps to be wary of, including the tax man.

My guest today is Dr. Thomas Richardson.  He has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology, with a special interest in financial difficulties and mental problems.  He’s done a lot of research on the subject, including co-authoring a research paper that examined the relationship between personal unsecured debt and mental and physical health. Does debt cause mental health problems, or do mental health problems lead to debt? We explore the answer, and some solutions, on today’s podcast.

My guest today is Hilliard Macbeth, an investment portfolio manager and author of When the Bubble Bursts: Surviving the Canadian Real Estate Crash. When Mr. Macbeth first appeared on this podcast just over 3 years ago we discussed his prediction that the real estate bubble would burst. My first question to him today: did it? Was your prediction wrong? We also discuss how money is actually created (it’s not how you think) and how banks and faulty economic thinking have contributed to our massive levels of debt. He’s got advice if you are thinking of buying a home, so this is a “must listen” episode.

Even though the economy appears to still be in good shape, our stress levels are very high.  Why? On today’s show I explain that everyone isn’t benefitting from the good economy; the cost of living is high; we have longer commutes to work; we are carrying more debt and we use debt to survive. I provide my advice on how to deal with high stress in today's stressful world.

You’ve heard of the five stages of grief; today Scott Terrio returns to discuss the 5 stages of debt, with examples from the people we meet with every day. Stage 3 (Bargaining) is where we can make the most mistakes; stage 4 (depression) is where most people are when they reach out for help, and stage 5 (acceptance) is the most important stage to get a fresh start. Lots of client anecdotes on today’s show!  

Today on the podcast we have a first time guest, Danielle Park, a Chartered Financial Analyst and the President and co-founder of Venable Park Investment Counsel Inc., a money management firm. In her book, Juggling Dynamite, she accurately describes the risk of excessive debt, and she says that she has come to “see credit and prescription drugs as some of the great ironies of our time.” On today’s show Danielle explains why saving money is more important than making money, the importance of liquidity, and how to build wealth in a challenging world.

For the average Canadian family, their largest monthly expense is their rent or mortgage payment, and unless they have a very expensive car, their second biggest expense is often food. If you have a limited income, how can you manage your food budget effectively? Is it possible eat healthy without breaking the bank? On today’s show we welcome Heidi Pola, a Registered Dietitian who gives practical advice on how to eat healthy and save money.

You’ve got debt, you think you might need to file a consumer proposal or go bankrupt, but you’re worried, because you travel for your job, or you have a family vacation booked, and you are worried that if you are bankrupt you may get stopped at the border. Is that a thing? Can you travel while you are bankrupt? That’s today’s question here on Debt Free in 30, so to discuss it I’m joined by Ian Martin, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee with Hoyes Michalos here in Kitchener.

When I ask my clients “what happened; how did you get into so much debt?”, they tell me that the credit card company offered them a credit limit increase on their credit card, so they took it.  Or, they offered me a line of credit, so I took it. Makes sense; if someone offers you something, you take it. But is it always a good idea? What should you watch out for? So today on Debt Free in 30 I’ve invited back Diane Cunha, who was with us back on show 235 when we talked about credit cards; today we’ll have a discussion about the pros and cons of pre-approved credit limit increases and lines of credit. I’m going to explain why conventional wisdom says they are a good idea, and Diane will explain why the conventional wisdom is often wrong.

When Sears went bankrupt and the employees discovered they wouldn’t get their full pensions, there was an understandable outcry, and many people has said that the solution is to make pensions the first creditor to be paid in a bankruptcy, ahead of the banks. That sounds good, but that policy may cause some unintended consequences that hurt workers, as we explain on today’s podcast, and we offer some other solutions to this very serious problem.

Debts arising from the failure of a business is a common reason that someone may have to file a personal bankruptcy. That’s not surprising; you borrow money personally to invest in a business, it doesn’t work out, you’re left with the debt, so you file bankruptcy.  I’ve personally done hundreds of bankruptcies that were the result of a business failure. So what can you do to reduce the chance of business failure? Or stated with a more positive perspective, what can you do to make your business a success? That’s the question I’ll answer on today’s edition of Debt Free in 30, where we’ll tell you the 6 Skills You need to be successful in business.

There is a lot of bad credit and debt advice out there.  We see it on YouTube, and Twitter, and Reddit, and in personal finance blogs.  And it seems that one of the most popular areas to give bad advice is on how to improve your credit score. So, today, Scott Terrio and I are going to share and debunk the bad advice you can get on the internet for improving your credit score.  Some of the bad advice we discuss: Raise your credit limit Have many credit cards Have a 30% utilization on all of your credit cards Don’t pay off your credit cards early Show credit growth – get a new card every few months Take out longer loans Start getting credit cards as a student