Debt Consolidation Vancouver

Sometimes you have to hit bottom, to know how to climb back up.

Bottom came when a repo man appeared at my door on a Wednesday morning in April. He wanted my television, my couches, my sound system and my laptop. I was able to save the laptop with a quick loan from one of my neighbours. The couches, TV, speakers and receiver were put on a truck.

Sitting in my apartment that afternoon, I pulled out all my bills and made a list of what I owed. I wrote the number on a piece of paper with a sharpie pen and stared at it for over two hours as I thought about all the options at my disposal.

My Parents: I had gone to them for money when I was in University, but that was it. I could have gotten student loans, but they helped me pay for my entire tuition outright. I still owed them that favour. I couldn’t go to them again.

The Bank: Use one loan to pay for another…? I hear you could do it, but was it worth borrowing from one evil empire to pay another?

My Friends: They had money, but I had Butch’s nagging sting. I could never ask them.

Who or what then would be the answer? How would I continue with my payments with the smallest of incomes?

Alright readers, this week we are going to get a little personal. We’re going to talk about relationships and financial compatibility.

Before you jump into a serious relationship, it may be worth your while to have a long talk with your partner about their financial goals and current status.

You may have been working for years to improve your credit rating, but your new partner could be concealing thousands in debt. Financial conversations are just as important as discussions on childbearing. In an alarming statistic, 35 per cent of couples don’t talk about money before marriage. This is not healthy. You need to have the talk.

If you don’t ask you will never know. And sure it’s not very romantic, but neither is taking out the garbage. They both have to be done.

You don’t want to be carrying someone’s unpaid debt for the next twenty years. If your partner’s financial history is drastically different than your own, you may want to reconsider your compatibility.

If not. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Love conquers most things, but it doesn’t pay the bills at the end of the month.

"The Talk"

Well readers, with all the social unrest demonstrated around the world these past few weeks, it probably isn’t a surprise that Canadians are finally taking to the streets to mount their own protests. But instead of demanding a power change or basic human rights, Canadians are fighting to hold on to the one free luxury that has surfaced in this modern age of technology: the glorious Internet. The CRTC, the same group that recently pulled a Dire Straits classic from the airwaves, has just approved a plan to allow service providers to charge their users according to their Internet usage.

What does that mean for the average Internet user? You know all those movies you have been downloading? That could potentially spike your Rogers Internet bill.

But before we march on Ottawa, it should be noted that the government has already seen the potential for a unilateral surge of public outcry. Harper’s Conservatives have stepped in and delayed the notion until further review.

Thank god!

In a day and age when movie theatres charge close to fifteen dollars and CDs cost close to twenty, it’s nice to still count on Al Gore’s wonderful series of pipes and tubes to provide us with free entertainment as we go about our busy lives.

Even with the government’s intervention plans have been made for public demonstrations against the CRTC ruling. Several major groups are planning to stage protests across Canada on February 26th.

Let’s keep those bills down.

Stay tuned for more details.

The Future (maybe)

I have something to admit. I forgot to mention one little detail in my last post. And that’s that I am deep in debt. And when I say deep, I mean like 69-days-to-rescue-the-Chilean-miners-deep. I’m still trying to pay off my student loans, and my credit card bills are piled as high as that rescue shaft was deep. I really don’t know why my personal finances always trip me up, considering the fact that I help people balance their checkbooks all day. I really have to get it together soon, god forbid one of my future clients finds out.

So my debt poses a problem for my entrepreneurial aspirations. How am I supposed to pay my web programmer and graphic designer if I’m struggling to make ends meet? At the very least, I know I need to have a solid website if I want this business to succeed…

The bad habit starts when you’re a little kid, when you put off going to the bathroom until…an accident happens. Then it’s when you’re a big kid, and you put off cleaning your room until…your mom yells at you. Then it’s when you’re in high school and you put off studying for your physics exam until…the night before the exam. And now? Well, you avoid paying the bills, or in severe cases, you avoid opening them altogether until…your pile of bills takes over every square millimeter of writing surface on your desk.

The difference, though, between you now and you then is that you’re supposed to be all grown up and mature. Which means, that when it comes time to pay the bills, you gotta pay ‘em! And in a timely matter. So if you’re sick of waiting until… “stuff” hits the fan, then give us a call, consolidate your debt, and say good bye to last-minute stress.

At Full Circle, we love our clients. Helping them manage their debt is our passion, and sending them on their way to a debt-free life is what we aim for. We build such strong bonds with our clients, that it’s a bittersweet moment when they reach the point of financial freedom – and part ways with us.

Such is the case with Scarlett, who was kind enough to share her story with the world on our blog. Now that she’s got the skills she needs to manage her debt, she’s more than prepared for staying on top of her bills and payments. Although she’s parting ways with us today, we know that it’s not goodbye; rather, it’s more of a see you later. Not because she’ll fall off the wagon, but because we know she’ll be back, but with success stories to tell.

This past Sunday, Mark and I were sitting in the kitchen after a particularly festive brunch, relaxing and enjoying our lazy Sunday. The kids were in the den, watching their cartoons, and we were sipping on our coffee, and flipping through the pages of the Sun. I was doing some serious newspaper reading (Dilbert, my ultimate guilty pleasure!), when Mark said to me, in a voice that he reserved for emotional or confessional moments, “Scar, I’m proud of us”.

This got me to thinking… We’re finally out of the woods with debt thanks to my rehabbed spending habits and our debt management consultant at Full Circle, and we’re finally making progress on the kids’ college funds. People are even asking me (me!) for financial advice. 4 years ago, I would have never guessed we’d be this far along.

So, dear readers, I think it’s time to say goodbye…As sad as I am about it, and as much as I love sharing my debt stories with you, I’m excited. Excited about my newfound financial responsibility and all the freedom that comes it. I can’t  wait to spend time with my family, without the stress of thinking about interest rates, and bills. So thanks for hearing me out, and good luck to you on your road to financial freedom!

Last week, my friend Vicky asked me for advice. She had just gotten laid off at work, and was freaking out because she was receiving all of her monthly bills, and had no clue how she was going to pay them off. I could tell she was real upset, right when I picked up the phone and heard her voice. And boy, did I know how she was feeling. After all, when Mark and I first fell into financial trouble, we even considered skipping town. But I knew Vicky, and I knew she would never even think about defaulting on her debt – after all, she has a little one to consider.
At first, I guess I was surprised that she would think of me to reach out to, of all people. But then I remembered that nobody really knew about what Mark and I had gone through in our younger days, except for my family. I realized, at that moment, that I had to be there for Vicky, 100 percent of the way, just like my sister was there for me, in my time of need.
The first thing I suggested to her was to call my debt management consultant at Full Circle and get his advice on how she could consolidate her debt. All I can hope for is that she’ll be able to get all her bills and debt under control, just like Mark and I did, and be able to live stress-free again.

You know, when I graduated from Emily Carr, I went through this whole phase where I was really into decorating my apartment. I was going for the mid-century modern feel and even splurged on a tufted velvet couch to complete the look. I hired someone to do crown moldings, redid my window treatments, and even repainted my walls. Clearly, I was on a mission to obtain my dream apartment with no regard for my credit card debt.
When I finally completed the apartment (and accrued a boatload of debt), I was so excited to invite all my friends over to admire my work. I invested another $300 on the housewarming party, justifying the expense on all the compliments I would receive – after all, it would have been a waste of money spending all this money on my home if nobody could appreciate it, right?
Well, what I should have realized is that no matter how much money you spend (a lot, in my case), nobody will even notice your awesome one-of-a-kind lambskin rug if your apartment is a mess. My guests were pirouetting through the clutter in my apartment the whole night and the closest thing I got to a compliment was, “oh, I like the area you live in”. Gee thanks. Not only was I up to my neck in bills debt, I was also knee deep in a huge mess.

1. Don’t open up a credit card account just because they offer you a discount. It’s too hard to keep track of multiple accounts and you’ll end up racking up the bills.
2. Ignoring the pile of bills on your desk will NOT make them go away. The only thing that will go away is your credit and the only thing you will gain is debt (at a high interest rate!).
3. Your kids do not need to wear designer duds. Not only do they not appreciate it, kids are cute no matter what brand they’re wearing.
4. It doesn’t matter how much money you spend on decorating your home. Nobody will notice it if your house is a mess.
5. Managing your debt is a full time job – unless, of course, you’ve got Full Circle and their team of licensed debt management consultants by your side.

There’s a reason why people let their bills pile up on their desk. The task of paying them is a grueling process, one that takes a big toll on the wallet. There’s a lot of ‘why the heck did I buy this?’, and even more of ‘how the hell am I going to pay for that?’ The problem is, the more we let them pile up, the more they will show up in your mailbox, with the addition of late fee notifications.

At Full Circle Debt Solutions, our goal is to make debt payment easier for you. Our team of licensed debt management professionals will design a debt reduction plan that is tailored to your needs and concerns. We will talk to your creditors and consolidate your debt so that paying your bills feels less like walking into a battlefield and more like a walk in the park.

Mark’s always been the responsible one. And when we first met, he seemed to have it all together – spacious apartment, nice (aka functioning) car, and a stable job that was going somewhere. Once I got to know him, it became very apparent to both of us how different we were when it came to money management. Where Mark was diligent about paying his bills, I was getting late fees and overdrafts. Where Mark only had only one credit card, I had five. Needless to say, he was pretty much free of debt while I was swimming in it. The poor guy, he always had to foot the bill whenever we did something nice, or for that matter, whenever dined at an establishment posher than Pita Pit.

But when Mark lost his job, everything else seemed to unravel along with his career, including his good habits. Instead of opening his bills as soon as he got them, Mark would let them pile up on the desk. So much so that his tower of bills started to compete with my own. Pretty soon, he was swimming right along with me in our ocean of debt.

Our saving grace came when my sister suggested we call Full Circle Debt Solutions. I was skeptical, but at her insistence we gave them a call. I got connected right away to one of their credited debt management consultants who outlined a debt consolidation plan specifically for our situation. Miraculously, he minimized our payments to one so we wouldn’t have to worry about paying so many creditors at the end of the month. I guess it just goes to show that even the best of us can get into money trouble, and only the best can get us out.

At Full Circle Debt Solutions, we’ve got lots to be proud of. We’re proud to be Canadian, we’re proud to call Vancouver home, and we’re proud of our clients, all of whom have taken control of their debt. But what we’re most proud of is our team of debt management consultants.

As Canada’s largest independent group of licensed debt management professionals, they will walk you through every step of debt consolidation, even tailoring consumer credit counseling programs to your needs. By contacting your creditors to negotiate debt payment plans that are more manageable for you, our debt management experts help you get rid of those annoying calls from debt collection agencies.

So if you find yourself knee-deep in bills, give us a call. We’ll set you up with an expert from our team right away. We will help you reduce your interest rates, and cut down your monthly payments so that you can, once again, take control of your debt.

Bills are one thing, late fees are another. At least when it comes to paying bills, I know I’m paying for something that I used or received. Paying late fees, on the other hand, is almost like you’re giving money away. Although I know that late fees are supposed to be more of a deterrent than anything else, so that these companies don’t fall behind on their own accounting and so that you don’t fall into the habit of paying late – it doesn’t stop me from channeling my inner petulant child whenever I get fined with one.

But with all the bills I have to pay, it’s easy to fall behind. For example, there was this one time when Mark and I first moved into our new apartment in Vancouver. I got so caught up in the unpacking, furniture shopping, and setting up of our new apartment, that I had forgotten to tie up our loose ends in Calgary – and we ended up getting late fees on our cable and electric bills. And this other time, in my college days, when I let the credit card bills pile up, for fear of dealing with what was inside.

Ever since we got in touch with Full Circle though, we’ve been pretty good about keeping on top of our monthly bills. By helping us consolidate our debt, the process of paying the bills has become a lot less daunting. So if you find yourself paying late fees all time, consider giving Full Circle a call. They’ll walk you through the entire process of managing your debt so that you can be one step closer to financial freedom.

I’m so sick of getting bills in the mail. And I’m sure the mailman is sick of the dirty looks I send his way whenever I happen to see him on my daily walks around the block. Poor guy, it’s not his fault that I’m perpetually swipe-happy with my credit cards, and that I have student loans that will take me until retirement to pay back. Add that to bills I have to pay for auto insurance, car payments, and electricity, and you’re looking at a mailman who is going to be looking at a huge chiropractor bill by the time he finishes delivering my mail.

If it weren’t for Full Circle Debt, I’d be knee deep in these bills. But thanks to my debt management consultant at Full Circle, I’ve consolidated my debt so that I just have to submit one payment each month. Much more manageable – to my relief but also to my mailman’s.

when he sees me...