If you are an individual who has filed a bankruptcy under the BIA and you have not been discharged from bankruptcy, you may opt to make a Consumer Proposal to your creditors.

The warning signs of financial trouble are everywhere, if you know where to look. Knowing what they are and how to recognize them can be the difference between quickly recovering from one or two bad months and being trapped in a months or years-long battle with debt.

Your credit record contains information reported by various lenders — including credit card issuers, banks and mobile phone companies — detailing when you opened your account, how much you owe, your payment history, if and how frequently you exceed your credit limit and whether your accounts have ever lapsed into collections.

One of the first questions I typically ask my clients is this: “When was the last time you drew up a budget?”

People often worry meeting with a Licensed Insolvency Trustee means they’ll be forced into Bankruptcy or a Consumer Proposal and not offered any other options.

The Bank of Canada has raised interest rates five times since July 2017 after going nearly a decade without an increase.

It’s not very often a bankruptcy is advertised in the newspaper – in fact, only about five percent of bankruptcies filed are ever listed in the paper.

One of the worst parts of having debt problems is dealing with the multiple phone calls from creditors and collection agencies looking for payment.

Despite the Bank of Canada stating it will keep interest rates stable until next year, nearly half (48%) of British Columbians say they are more concerned about their ability to repay debts than they used to be.

The number of consumer insolvencies per thousand residents in Calgary, aged 18 years or above, hit 4.3 in 2018 – the highest level since 1997 when it sat at 4.8.