Brantford Ontario Personal Bankruptcy Blog: September 2008: Answers to Personal Bankruptcy Questions

Posted on Thursday, September 18, 2008

Credit Counselling in Brantford

Earlier this week Howard Hayes and I had lunch with Michelle, Sue, Nina and Terri from the Family Counselling Centre of Brant.

(Totally off topic, we had lunch at Cafe Andreou on West Street; I had never eaten there before and we wanted to try it. I was told the food was great but the owner is a bit unusual. Sure enough, the food was great, but when the waiter made a small mistake on Terri's order, the owner, rather than apologizing, came out an basically said "you have no choice but to sit and wait until we fix it." Maybe it's just me, but perhaps an apology and a free appetizer might have been a better approach).

The Family Counselling Centre of Brant is the only not-for-profit credit counselling agency that personally meets with clients in Brantford. I have worked with their team for many years, and highly recommend their services.

They work with many other agencies in Brantford, as well as with employers and schools. Their main focus is on prevention.

I think their focus on preventing financial problems is great, because no one else is doing it. (The credit card companies want you to borrow more, not less).

Their Brantford credit counsellors are experts in helping you create a budget. Creating a proper household budget is the first step in assessing and preventing financial problems.

In addition to giving advice, the credit counsellors at Brant Family Counselling can also negotiate payment arrangements with your creditors through a debt management plan. For example, if you owe $20,000 on four different credit cards they can probably negotiate a plan where you pay $400 per month for 50 months to pay off your debts in full, and the credit card companies in most cases will waive all future interest, so you can get out of debt faster.

If you think a debt management plan may be the correct solution for you, call Brant Family Counselling in Brantford at 519-753-4173, or call my office in Brantford at 519-770-4440, or e-mail me and I can explain credit counselling and your other options for dealing with your debts.

Labels: credit counselling Brantford

Posted on Monday, September 08, 2008

How to Survive a Recession in Brantford

Each week I meet with about a dozen people in my Brantford bankruptcy office. Over the past few weeks, I have been hearing a number of stories that lead me to believe that the economy is really slowing down in Brantford. We are in a recession in Brantford.

I spoke to a car salesman at one of the local new car dealerships. He told me that he sold half as many cars last month as he did in the same month last year. I met with another person who told me that his factory has now gone to a work share arrangement, so instead of getting five days per week of work, he only gets two or three days per week, with a partial top up from unemployment insurance for the rest.

Lots of other Brantford residents have told me that they are having a hard time finding a job, and those with a job have had their hours cut back at work.

I have also heard lots of stories about house prices in Brantford. One person this week told me that last year their house in Brantford was appraised at $195,000, but a recent appraisal for mortgage purposes put the value at $175,000. This means it is now harder for people in Brantford to re-finance their mortgage if they need to raise extra money to deal with their debts. And, of course, it is now harder to sell your house to get enough money to pay off all of your debts.

The good news is that there is still hope. Since opening our office in Brantford ten years ago I have helped hundreds of Brantford and area residents file a consumer proposal or bankruptcy to deal with their debts.

That may not be the correct solution for you, but there is no charge or obligation if you call my office in Brantford at 519-770-4440, or e-mail me to set up a free initial consultation. I will review your options and help you decide what you need to do to protect yourself in this down economy.

Labels: bankruptcy Brantford, consumer proposal Brantford

Welcome to Bankruptcy Brantford Ontario

Posted on Thursday, September 18, 2008

Credit Counselling in Brantford

Posted on Monday, September 08, 2008

How to Survive a Recession in Brantford