The Christmas Season is meant to be filled with happiness and joy. However these feelings quickly change as we become caught up in the moment of spreading holiday cheer by means of expensive gifts.

There are two basic types of consumer debts: unsecured and secured. Below is a brief overview of the main differences between them.

The insolvency statistics for March have just been released and they are consistent with the trends for the previous few months. Generally filings are flat across the country except for those provinces affected by the decline in oil prices. Total filings in Canada for the 12 months ended March 31, 2016, were up only 2.8% and were basically flat in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

ARE PERSONEL AND CORPORATION BANKRUPTCIES DIFFERENT?

With over 17 years of experience, I joined a national firm to ensure that I am aware of all the new developments.

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday used to be predominantly American shopping events, Canadian consumers and retailers have gotten right on board in recent years.

As the Canadian economy continues to slump and unemployment grips thousands of households across the country, many Canadians are struggling to keep up with the costs of day-to-day living, let alone manage debt.

Finally we’re through the holiday season! But now it’s time for the bills to start rolling in. How nervous are you?

Using a credit card for everyday purchases has increased substantially in the past decade. The ease of obtaining credit cards plus the benefits credit card issuers provide have stimulated use by many Canadians. In 2013 there were over 80 million credit card accounts in Canada.

We are approaching the end of April and with that, the deadline for filing your 2016 income taxes. It is a safe assumption that some percentage of the 36 million or so Canadians will owe money to the federal government after filing and will either not be able to pay their 2016 taxes, still owe money from prior years – or both.