What does the typical person who files bankruptcy in Brantford look like? As reported in an article in The Brant News titled The Face of Bankruptcy my firm just released a study where we profile a person we call “Joe Debtor”, the average person who who files a consumer proposal or bankruptcy in Ontario.

Jason Teakle, the reporter on the story, wanted to know what the typical person who files bankruptcy in Brantford looks like; here’s what I told him:

The average person in Ontario who files a consumer proposal or bankruptcy has total unsecured debts (not including mortgages or car loans) of just under $60,000 at the time they file. In Brantford total unsecured debt is just over $51,000, so Brantford residents have slightly less debt than the provincial average.

However, $51,000 in debt is still a massive amount of debt, so it’s not surprising that with that level of debt a bankruptcy or a proposal is often the only solution.

Here’s another scary statistic. In Ontario “Joe Debtor” owes $24,390 on four credit cards. In Brantford the typical person I meet with is also carrying a balance on over four credit cards, owing a total of $23,358. As you can see, credit card debt in Brantford is a problem, just like it is throughout Ontario.

Another interesting finding deals with a popular misconception about bankruptcy. Many people believe that people who go bankrupt don’t have a job, and don’t own a house. We found that most people who file bankruptcy in Brantford are working, and about a quarter of them own a house. The average mortgage balance owing at the time of filing in Brantford was $187,000, which is lower than the provincial average of $210,000, due primarily to the more reasonable house prices in Brantford.

I was asked what individual residents of Brantford should do if they have more debt than they can handle. My advice is this:

First, make a list of your debts, and make a budget, and crunch the numbers to see if it’s possible to repay your debts on your own. If you need help with budgeting, or just want someone to talk to, the credit counsellors at Brant Family Counselling here in Brantford can help; they are a not for profit agency dedicated to helping you find solutions to your problems.

If budgeting alone won’t eliminate your debt, give me a call in Brantford at (519) 770-4440, or e-mail me, and we can discuss whether a consumer proposal is the correct solution for you. As a Brantford consumer proposal administrator and bankruptcy trustee, we can use a proposal to negotiate a settlement with your creditors, where you make monthly payments to eliminate your debt, often for less than the full amount owing.

Give me a call to discuss your options today.

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Every few months my associate, Howard Hayes, and I meet with the credit counsellors at the Family Counselling Centre of Brant. Their office is at 54 Brant Avenue, which is about a five minute walk down Brant Avenue here in Brantford from our office at 218 Brant Avenue. They are a not-for-profit agency that specializes in helping residents of Brantford find solutions to their financial problems. They can often work out a debt management plan where you repay your debts over a period of time, with a reduced interest rate, so you can avoid bankruptcy.

We discussed some of the new bankruptcy rules that came into force on September 18, 2009. Some of the new rules are complicated, and I was impressed by their knowledge of the implications of many of the new rules. They truly want to find the best solution for their clients, and to do that they take the time to explain all of the options.

(As an aside, there are some “for profit” debt consultants who pretend they are acting in your best interests, but often they will charge you a fee and NOT explain all of your options. At the Family Counselling Centre of Brant, and here at my firm, Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc., we explain all options so that you can make an informed decision).

They told me that there are a lot of people in Brantford having financial problems, and I agree; we are also very busy. However, the good news is that there is help available, so if you want a trustee’s advice, call my office in Brantford at (519) 770-4440, or contact the credit counsellors at the Family Counselling Centre of Brant for a no charge initial consultation.

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Today Howard Hayes and I had lunch with Michelle and Sue from the Family Counselling Centre of Brant.

As readers of the Bankruptcy Brantford Blog know, the Family Counselling Centre of Brant is the only not-for-profit credit counselling agency that personally meets with clients in Brantford, and I highly recommend their services.

Since we last met for lunch in September, Sue and Michelle tell me that they are seeing more clients than ever. With the recession in full swing, and with debt levels at record high levels, and increasing number of Brantford residents are finding themselves in financial trouble.

Their approach is the same as my approach when meeting with someone for the first time: we review your assets, who you owe money to, and what you earn and spend each month. Based on that we recommend solutions.

Brant Family Counselling specializes in working out Debt Management Plans, where they negotiate a plan to repay all of your debts, in full, over a two to five year period, at often a reduced or zero rate of interest. In the past these plans were only used for unsecured debts, like credit cards and bank loans. Sue tells me that now they have even had some success negotiating extended payment arrangements on car loans.

So, if you are having debt problems, and you don’t want to talk to a bankruptcy trustee, give Brant Family Counselling a call in Brantford at (519) 770-4440, and they will be happy to walk you through your options.

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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) 770-4440, or e-mail me and I can explain credit counselling and your other options for dealing with your debts.

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Today I received an e-mail from Michelle Miranda, the manager of Credit Counselling at the Family Counselling Centre of Brant, located at 54 Brant Avenue (about a five minute walk from my office at 218 Brant Avenue).

The Family Counselling Centre of Brant is the only not-for-profit credit counseling agency in Brantford that offers one-on-one, face-to-face meetings with people experiencing financial problems. Michelle and her team can help people learn to budget, and they can negotiate payment arrangements with your creditors, called a debt management plan.

She e-mailed me today to remind me that today is the launch of the first annual Credit Education Week, which runs from November 13 to November 16. During the launch, the results of a national consumer survey of more than 4,000 Canadians were released, and the survey showed that the majority of Canadians do not have a sufficient understanding of basic personal finance and credit.

Michelle and I have discussed credit problems many times over the years, so neither one of us was surprised that the survey found that 92% of the survey respondents feel that Canadians have more debt than they did five years ago, however only 7% perceive that it makes sense to carry a larger amount of debt now as compared to 5 years ago. Full results of the survey can be found at crediteducationweekcanada.com.

If you are carrying more debt than you can handle, you should take action now, before your problems get even worse. As described in our article on credit counselling in Brantford, one option is a debt management plan that typically involves your creditors agreeing to a reduced or zero interest rate, provided you repay them in full over no more than a five year period. Michelle and her team at the Family Counselling Centre of Brant would be happy to explain the process.

If you have more debt than you can repay over a five year period, then a consumer proposal or a bankruptcy may be another option.

Whether it’s a debt management plan, consumer proposal, or bankruptcy, help is available, and the sooner you get help, the sooner you can get your financial life back on track. For more information on credit counseling or debt management plans, contact Family Counselling Centre of Brant in Brantford at (519) 770-4440. For information on consumer proposals or bankruptcy, please call me at the Hoyes Michalos office in Brantford at (519) 770-4440.

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