Archive for May, 2006

Many people that we see at Hoyes- Michalos and Associates come to us at the point when they are faced with few choices. Their financial problems have become too large to handle, they are facing the proverbial “mountain of debt”. When people find themselves in this position, usually they can identify the event that triggered their troubles and they can see how it all happened. It could be a job loss, illness, accident or other significant event. More often than not it was an unforeseen event that they had little control over. When you look back you simply can’t dwell on what has happened you have to look forward and make a plan.

The decision to seek help is a big one filled with many emotional factors, anger, guilt, frustration, embarrassment and despair are all natural and normal reactions to coming to terms with being unable to pay your bills. The good news is that the problem can be fixed, there are remedies available to enable people faced with such problems to recover and continue on with the business of living.

If you find yourself unable to pay your bills, don’t wait untill you face that “mountain of debt” research your options before you are out of options. This site has plenty of information useful to anyone facing financial difficulties and if you have more questions professional help is only phone call away, you can arrange a meeting with any one of our Trustees by calling 310- PLAN

Don’t wait until you run out of options, make a plan today.

When I meet with people in our Mississauga office, I am often asked if they need to include all the people they owe money to, including family and friends and also if they can keep a credit card.

The answer is a simple one. You need to include all debts in a proposal or a bankruptcy. Both are formal proceedings that allow you to get a fresh start from all debt so you will want to include all the people you owe money to in order to get that fresh start. There is little point “cherry picking” and being potentially stuck with a debt after you have completed the bankruptcy or proposal. Including debts to friends and/or family is difficult, however, it could potentially be more difficult down the road if you have excluded them and there is a falling out between the parties. You do not want to be responsible for the debt after you have completed your bankruptcy or proposal because you deliberately excluded someone.

As for keeping a credit card, I get asked this question most often if people have points they have accumulated on the card and they owe no money on the card at the time of the bankruptcy or proposal. Credit cards, the actual card itself, is the property of the credit card company that issued it to you and it needs to be returned to that credit card company when you file for bankruptcy or a proposal. So unfortunately, even with points and no balance, the card needs to be returned.