There are a number of warning signs that might be telling you that you’re in debt and need assistance. However, sometimes we choose to ignore the writing on the wall. For your own financial, physical, and mental well-being, here are some warning signs you should pay close attention to.
This is often where it all begins. Maintaining even minimum payments on monthly bills becomes difficult, and you start to miss payments, resulting in expensive overdraft fees. You might find that you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul, surviving by transferring balances to manage credit card debt, or taking out cash advances.
Debt can keep us up at night, making it difficult to focus during the day. Worse, it can lead to high blood pressure and strokes. In fact, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada even recommends financial debt counselling if you’re feeling the pinch.
Debt problems and money issues are considered the number one reason why people argue, and can lead to broken relationships and even divorce, so it’s important to set financial goals with your spouse or partner to stay on (or get back on) track.
Next comes the non-stop calls. If you’ve put your phone on vibrate to silence the rings of bill collectors and debt collectors, you probably know you’re in over your head and need debt help and advice. In the meantime, here’s how you can stop collection calls.
If you’re experiencing any of the four “debt symptoms” above, try our simple debt assessment quiz to get an idea of where you truly stand and what your debt relief options are.
The French poet Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once wrote, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” That’s because setting goals and making plans go hand-in-hand. It’s what we call debt management. So when you're serious about eliminating debt, you’ll need both—goals and a plan. And the best approach to setting goals is to make them “SMART.” SMART goals are:
Identify who needs to be involved in the goal (you, you and your spouse, or the whole family); what you want to accomplish (save up money or pay down debt), where the money will go, when you want to accomplish the goal, and why you want to achieve the goal.
Place specific metrics to your goal to keep yourself on track.
Make your goals challenging but reachable, otherwise you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Decide which goals are most important to you at this specific point in time, and then zero in on them.
Set your target date for when you’ll achieve your goal, and make it reasonable.
Once you’ve determined your SMART goals, you need to make some foolproof plans for how you’ll achieve them. This is when it’s time to sit down and think, “What will help me with my debt?” For example, will you begin tracking your expenses better? Will you make lifestyle changes, like packing lunches, quitting smoking, or buying generic food brands? Will you pick up a part-time job or a side hustle, such as selling crafts online, dog walking, mystery shopping, or driving an Uber? Will you seek online debt relief or loans to consolidate debt? Or will you finally create that budget you’ve been meaning to put together? (If that’s part of your plan, our Budget Planner and other free tools are real debt helpers!)
“Help me get out of debt!” Our certified Credit Counsellors have heard that many times before, and they’re pros at doing just that, so don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call 1.800.267.2272. Credit counselling is a three-step process where our experts assess your situation, offer debt solutions, and provide money management and budgeting advice. Debt counselling is 100% free and completely confidential, so you have nothing to lose but your debt—and a whole lot to gain.
Debt counselling is 100% free and completely confidential, so you have nothing to lose but your debt—and a whole lot to gain.
Our certified Credit Counsellors also offer financial coaching. This consists of six debt assistance sessions that cover everything from changing your money mindset to managing credit and debt. By the end of the sessions, you’ll have a clear vision for your financial future and ready to live a stress-free, debt-free life.
Best of all, it really works! See what people just like you are saying about the financial freedom they achieved with Credit Canada by checking out our testimonials page.
