Debt Free in 30

In a past episode we talked to four industry experts about good debt vs. bad debt. Having listened to that episode, my guest today argues that there is no such thing as good debt, there is only bad debt and not so bad debt. Today’s guest is Steve Stewart, a Financial Wellness Coach and podcast host from St. Louis, Missouri. Steve's opinion of debt is that

...we've made it almost a necessary evil. My opinion of debt is that we made it too easy for someone to get into it; and I don't mean just a little bit. I mean non-mortgage debt levels on cars, credit cards, our children's education. These debt levels can grow to be two, three, even four times our annual salary.

It's Financial Literacy Month here in Canada and to kick it off our guest today is retired math teacher of 30 years, educational speaker and publisher, Dave Mitchell to the show to talk about whether we should be teaching financial literacy in the high school classroom. We have a back and forth discussion about whether teaching financial skills to students who won't use it for many years is productive, or whether we need to focus on teaching skepticism instead.

As a trustee in bankruptcy, I meet with people every day who are struggling to pay off their debt. In the finance world, it's not uncommon to hear shocking stories from clients about threatening calls from collection agents or how they got into debt in the first place. On today's show, I'm joined by Hoyes Michalos bankruptcy trustee, Howard Hayes, collection agent Blair Demarco-Wettlaufer, credit counsellor, Nicole Olsen from Fitness Financial in Windsor and bankruptcy trustee at Hoyes Michalos, Rebecca Martyn from our Windsor and Leamington offices to hear some of the scary stories that they've heard over the years.

Interest rates are low and credit is readily accessible, making it easy to take on more debt. What's more is that debt becomes manageable in this kind of climate, until of course, it's not. This summer the Bank of Canada lowered interest rates, and since that time, media sources have been reporting that Canadians are managing their debt levels and that delinquency rates have fallen.

On today’s show our guests are bankruptcy trustees Blair Mantin from Sands & Associates in British Columbia and Barton Goth from Goth and Company in Alberta, to talk about the kinds of trends they're seeing in their own provinces and whether they think those reports accurately represent consumer debt across the nation.

On today’s show Nora Spinks, CEO of the Vanier Institute of the Family, explains why debt is very complicated in the family context.

When it comes to family debt, Nora explains that the majority of Canadians carry some sort of debt; the highest debt being mortgages, followed by car loans and education. The pattern has been, and continues to be, that people incur debt when they're starting out in life; buying a house and a car, having children and going to school. However, Nora explains that, “what we are now seeing, that's relatively new in sort of historic economics in this country, is older people with debt, more people retiring with debt and more people accumulating debt while in retirement.”

We explore the implications of debt on the family, and discuss some possible strategies to deal with and eliminate debt.

As the cost of higher education increases, so to does the amount of student loan debt for those graduating from university or college and entering the workforce.

On today's show we talk about the average student loan debtor, explain why females carrying student loan debt have more difficulty paying it off and Ted Michalos points out that student loan debt doesn't only delay big life events for graduates, but ultimately, it affects the overall economy as well.

Today's guest is Blair Demarco-Wettlaufer, Managing Partner of Kingston Data & Credit, a collection agency servicing Canada and parts of the United States. Blair is a past guest from show #20 where we discussed the collections process and how to stop collection calls. He's back to give us an insider's perspective about ways that collection agents find debtors, including the use of social media to do it, and what you should do once they've successfully contacted you.

Gone are the days when collection agents sat smoking at their desks, flipping through index cards and telephone books to find ways to contact debtors. Blair explains that today, there is no shortage of information available to the general public and debt collectors because there are ridiculous amounts of data available now through the internet, through databases, through information technology, and a lot of people aren't aware of what can and can't be used.

It's been over seven years since the Canadian government made changes to the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act (BIA) in Canada to make bankruptcy more expensive and to promote an alternative: a consumer proposal. Today they are more popular than ever because they have significant advantages over any other form of debt relief option in Canada. But since many still don't know a lot about what a consumer proposal is, we talk with Ted Michalos and Joel Sandwith, trustees at Hoyes Michalos, to answer some of the top questions about consumer proposals in Canada.

Today’s guest is financial blogger and podcast host, Jessica Moorhouse from Mo' Money Mo' Houses We discuss how to make big life changes including relocation, going back to school, buying a home and planning a wedding. These are all common life events that can take a toll on your finances and can be difficult to manage for those already facing debt. As a millennial, Jessica has recent experience with all of these changes and shares her experience and advice with listeners

Jessica relocated from Vancouver to Toronto two years ago, and has lots of great advice on planning for a relocation.

We also discuss buying a house, which may not be a great idea in an over-heated real estate market.

We have lots of great content, so we have a special bonus podcast only segment with more great practical advice from Jessica.

Today’s guest is Susan Eng, Vice President of Advocacy at CARP, an organization focused on helping seniors and future generations with issues like financial security. Susan explains that studies like our Joe Debtor whitepaper catalogue the fears that seniors have today; fears about outliving their savings and their children's and grandchildren's lack of economic opportunities. During our talk, she describes the need for government reform and options for reducing senior debt levels.

With the election campaign in full swing Ms. Eng talks about CARP’s past successes, and explains what she’s looking for from the politicians in this campaign.

Poverty, debt, and payday loans, we cover it all. In fact, the show ran long, so we’ve got an extra bonus podcast only segment with lot’s of great additional information.