Home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) have emerged as one of the biggest contributors to the growth of household debt in Canada, particularly in markets where real estate values have surged over the last decade. The latest data from the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) shows that the balance of loans secured by residential real estate has reached another record high of 269 billion in June. .

A recent Ipsos poll conducted by MNP LTD. shows British Columbians are growing confident about their debt. Most notably, nearly three in five (57%) B.C. residents say they’re more optimistic than they were four months ago.

We’ve all been there – we swipe our credit card or sign on the dotted line to complete a long-coveted (or impulse) purchase only to realize a minute, a day or a week later that we’ve made a mistake.

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.

Many people dream of owning a home. But with consumer debt in Canada at an all-time high, a significant number may worry that goal is out of reach.

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.

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.