Find Out Where You Are

You need to prepare where you are from what you have, I suggest making a list of all loans, credit cards, and bills. Pull them together with check registers, bank statements, receipts of purchases not made on credit card, credit card statements, and records of other expenses, including tax payments, medical, etc. All bills that you have. Include a list of all the people you have borrowed funds from, secured and unsecured. 

Once you have developed this intense gathering of information, you will simply have to take the expenses and break them down into Fixed Expenses, Variable Expenses, and Periodic Expenses.

Fixed Expenses: Expenses that are the same per month, such as rent, mortgage payments, etc.

Variable Expenses: These expenses change from month to month, and literally include all other expenses.

Periodic Expenses: Expenses that occur quarterly, yearly, which means they may be fixed or variable. Insurance premiums for example for a vehicle, a tuition fee, membership to an organization, etc.

Pouring Your Money Down The Drain?

What do I mean by this? Most offices have a coffee machine in the office, why buy coffee at Starbucks? You are going to go for a meeting, why does it have to always be at a coffee shop or in a restaurant, can you think of somewhere that you might not get stuck with another bill? One bill a week could add up, let’s say it’s a $30 lunch of some kind, its $120 a month! It really adds up, in a year that’s $1440. For one month, write down everything you pour money into one drip or drop at a time. Take a picture of it on your phone, store it, write it down, but do it. Also write down everything you buy with debit cards and credit cards, when you get the statement, look at the fees you are paying. Add them up as an average, and this will give you an idea of “how” you spend your money is affecting your personal bottom-line.

Make sure you include this in your expenses list below as you prepare the information. Put it down as a guessed amount under other expenses until you have actually been able to build a one month journal. 
———————————————–

Write a list of all the credit cards you own include department store cards:

 
Credit Card 1

Company Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Credit Card 2

Company Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Credit Card 3

Company Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Credit Card 4

Company Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Credit Card 5

Company Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Credit Card 6

Company Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Credit Card 7

Company Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Credit Card 8

Company Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Credit Card 9

Company Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind: 
 ——————————————-

Write a list of all the loans you have:

 Loan 1

Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Loan 2

Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Loan 3

Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Loan 4

Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Loan 5

Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

Loan 6

Name:
Balance Owing:
Monthly Payment:
Is this Debt Joint:
Months Behind:

————————————————-

LIST YOUR EXPENSES

HOUSING EXPENSES
First Mortgage
Second Mortgage
Property Taxes
House Insurance                                                  
Rent/Condo Fees
Telephone (Land Line)
Cell Phone
Hydro
Water/Sewer
Heat:    
TV Cable Rental
Internet
Maintenance Contracts
Maintenance (Immediate Needs)
Other:     
Other:     
Subtotal:   

WORK EXPENSES
Transit – Applicant
Transit – Spouse
Applicant Lunches/Breaks
Spouse Lunches/Breaks
Daycare
Special Clothing
Other:     
Other:     
Subtotal:   
LIVING EXPENSES
Food
Personal Travel
Bank Fees
Gas Expenses (Car)
Car Payment
Clothing
Alimony and Support
Auto Insurance
Life Insurance
Medical/Doctor
Prescription Drugs
Dental
Laundry/Dry Cleaning
Pets
Other:     
Other:     
Subtotal:   
PERSONAL EXPENSES
Tobacco
Alcohol/Beverages
Recreation
Babysitter
Personal Grooming
Barber/Hairdresser
Gym/Other Memberships
Magazines/Newspapers
Gifts
Religious Donations
School Expenses
Donations
Allowances
Other:     
Other:     
Subtotal:   

TOTAL
Total Expenses:

LIST YOUR INCOME

PERSONAL INCOME
Employment Income
Stocks and Bonds
Investment Interest
Consulting
Alimony/Support Payments
Child Tax Credits

Royalties

Other:     
Other:     
Subtotal:   

TOTAL
Total Income:

What does it mean to consciously get out of debt?

The basic information you have filed out in the information above has given you an idea of how you got into debt, where you are, and how much money is needed to save and or make to get out of this situation. The idea that you consciously know where you are allows you to gain the greatest piece of knowledge you may ever gain, consciously documenting and knowing how to get out of debt. By consciously knowing how you got into debt will help you never get into debt again. This philosophy works for making money as well, as consciously knowing how you made $1, you can make $1 million.

Go To Kasu.ca today to check out how you can document some of the loans you have listed above, www.kasu.ca

Written by Ryan Gibson, ryan@publishknowledge.com

Consciously Get Out Of Debt: Part 1

You have decided to take a loan from a friend, family, or associate. You have made this decision because you need the cash flow, however, in order to pay it back you have to understand it is a debt, and you need to manage a debt to pay it back. In this case, we have compiled some basic tips of how to get a grip on your debts and whether you have the appetite for what it takes to manage yourself.

It is just a matter of time before you become concerned with how much money you owe to your creditors. It’s natural in business to have your highs and your lows, success is around the corner when you have a plan. Well, in any event, we intend on helping you handle your debts, stay out of debt, and think about making money, cash flow, and responsibly growing your wealth.

You might think you have been irresponsible before with money, or maybe you have not been irresponsible and you simply are victim of flat wages, raising costs, and or the woes of investments that have not panned out. All income levels take loans, all are stretched at times, and there is no question that you want to take the right approach by knowing where you are at and doing something about it.

Where You Are At

Monthly Income versus Monthly Spending

One of the tricks of have developed over the years with new technology is simply taking pictures of my bills, receipts, and invoices with my personal telephone camera. The actual receipts end up in a box, labelled, and rarely ever reopened. If you own a business, you keep track of expenses and in coming income. Create a spread sheet of your monthly spending, right down to the change you put in the parking meter. It’s important to do so. If your expenses are larger than your monthly income, you are keeping yourself poor. Sometimes it takes money to feel good about yourself, sometimes happiness attracts more money, but if you don’t consciously have control and knowledge of how your money is spent or invested, than you will never consciously become wealthy. There is actually a free assessment that you could look at using at: http://www.creditcanada.com/welcome.asp

Consciously Creating Your Success

If you can consciously identify how you made $1 you can make $1 million dollars. If you don’t consciously know how you made your money, than when it’s taken away, it becomes even more difficult to get it back. How you spend your money is just as important in how you make your money for your success. If you consciously know how you are spending a dollar, than you can spend a million dollars and know how you did it, why you did it, and where it went. Knowing where you spend it is a major part of knowing how you made it, as every dollar is an investment in your success, your happiness, your conscious success. Be conscious of how you make your money, be conscious of how you spend your money. It is important not to dwell on the debt, think of it as the stepping stone to your success and a kink in the road.

Financial Information

It is vital that you order your Credit Reports, such as:

-          https://www.econsumer.equifax.ca/ca/main?link=CDN10&lang=en

-          https://www.creditprofile.transunion.ca/entry/bronze.jsp?cb=ccgt

You should find out your FICO score, this is to assist in finding out your financial health. What do these reports mean to you and why should you invest in having them? So this is how it works: Your financial behaviour is run through a computer that uses an algorithm to produce your personal credit score on spending behaviours, accounts, debts, and timeframes related to these activities. The scale for the score runs from 300 to 900, with most consumers falling in the 600 to 750 range. Credit bureaus that license the software for generating FICO scores (the abbreviation for the leading company in the field Fair, Isaac & Company) agree not to share scores with individual consumers. You can ask your Bank, or you can just purchase this from Equifax: https://www.econsumer.equifax.ca/ca/main

Firstly, the reports may stand as a personal tool to help you manage your credit worthiness and fix it if there is a problem. Secondly, the reports and FICO score may be useful tools to show to the person or entity you are taking a personal loan with. If you have taken the time to purchase a loan document, such as that made by www.kasu.ca, or www.documentyourloans.com, then the report simply improves your credibility and gives an honest view of your financial situation. A negative is sometimes a selling point if it shows a positive, such as honesty, integrity, and the intention on paying back the loan. Making a plan, backing up that plan, and taking the loan responsibly is the best way to get loans in the future and leverage who you are. Someone is lending you money because they know you, they like you, they trust you. You might even want to show them the financial plan so they can see how their money will be put to use, what in coming income you have, and forecast of how you intend on getting out of debt.

If you feel overwhelmed by your debts, you could consider debt counselling, you could talk to a free resource such as, http://www.creditcanada.com/.

Written by Ryan Gibson, Ryan@publishknowledge.com

Loan Documents For Canadians

Loan Documents are under Federal Law, and therefore, a generic Loan Document as set-out at Kasu Lending, www.kasu.ca, is perfect for all Canadians. This Loan Document structure is quite simple for people to set-up loans who are either giving a loan or receiving a loan from friends or family. 

On average in Canada a loan document from your lawyer or a legal firm costs $200+ depending on their hourly rate. However, in 10 minutes you can have an agreement for roughly a quarter of that price online.

Simply choose the loan agreement that best suits your topic, a personal loan, a business loan, or a student asking friends and family for a loan of funds. Click the section, click make a loan document at the bottom, and fill in the document. You will have a loan document completed in 10 minutes.

Go To: www.documentyourloan.com

You are from the Province of Alberta, and likely went to Athabasca University, University of Calgary, University of Alberta, and University of Lethbridge in Edmonton or Mount Royal University.

The reason why you are interested in ready what we have to say is that during this time, you have either taken family loans, loans from friends, and student loans. Now that you are nearing being finished, or require earning more funds to pay back loans, you are thinking about how to manage your debt.

In the meantime, consolidation of debts or debt consolidation is something you should be considering to try and lower the interest rate on loans, credit cards, etc. This would be a good choice, and there are several Government websites such as www.creditcanada.com that deal with these pressing issues for free.

There are several reasons why you as a student from Alberta should be considering documenting all the loans you make and take. If you are in dire straits and believe you can not pay back loans, you may have people advising you to consider bankruptcy. There is often a consumer proposal that can be designed which takes your total allotment of debtors, and they vote on a pay back proposal and schedule. In the event your friends and family debts are larger than that you have with the other creditors, they can vote in favour of your not going bankrupt and accept the proposal which could be as little as $0.10 on the dollar. If you are in this situation, immediately go to www.documentyourloan.com or www.kasu.ca and get your family loans in writing. Attach payment schedules to them, and ensure you submit these as creditors in the process.

Another good reason of documenting loans, is that they can be submitted as debt’s repaid based on the loan agreement, and subsequently build your credit.

Obviously with our good old Albertan values, we often just give the funds to our friends and family, but sometimes a gift is better written down as a loan. For the person giving the loan, it can be written off if there is an agreement and it doesn’t get paid. The person giving the loan feels the comfort of the transaction being taken seriously, and the money truly being appreciated. It is a good reason for Parents and Grandparents to document the loans they give, as it also makes the student appreciate the loan, even if the repayment is over a long period of time, it builds value around money.

If you where anything like my family, we worked night and day for every penny, and if I wanted money I had to work for it. However, my father did give me my first $5,000 down payment on a car once, and it wasn’t written down as a loan, it was a gift. The idea however, that the money would be a loan helps him and helps me appreciate money. Sometimes it just feels better to pay them back, instead of their being the family discomfort. Especially in the cases of sibling rivalry, where one family member feels the other family member is”GIVEN” more money than they get. When it is documented as a loan, then the loan can often settle these disputes on the pretense of it having to be paid back. It is often however a good idea if such loans are made, and there doesn’t seem to be a chance of repayment, one should have a clause in their last will and testament absolving the debts so that it doesn’t become a matter of family dispute and doesn’t come out of the person’s inheritance.

Regardless, one should seriously look at www.documentyourloan.com to settle some of the issues discussed above. The website can also be found at www.kasu.ca, a platform for helping friends and family document their loans in Canada.

University of Alberta Students With Loans Should Document Them

Are you a student or Alumni of the University of Alberta? Did you take a student loan, have you found it difficult to pay back your student loans? Most people do, several people allow for student loans to weigh down their financial situation. It is an absolute relief when it is finally paid off. Many of my close friends have borrowed money from their friends and family to pay off their student loan. Students also take several loans during their education for tuition fees, down payment on a car, rental and food needs, and unexpected medical needs if they are taking time-off during their break.

The best thing for students in Alberta to do is document their loans with friends and family. Another idea, is to try to borrow funds from friends and family to get the “student loan” off your back. Often student loans occur because your family was not capable of helping to pay for your schooling during the time you where studying, however, times change, and they may be able to help you with the debts of your education now.

Make sure you document the loans at www.documentyourloan.com

Sometimes you may have borrowed funds so many times from friends and family, it feels hard to ask again. However, the chances are you never approached them with a loan document. The loan document allows for a scheduled pay-back time, can be reported to help your credit when it is paid off, and makes the family member comfortable with the terms in writing.

For all of the University of Alberta students and Alumni, consider documenting your loans today, www.documentyourloan.com

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE CREDITOR ON THE PHONE?

Your situation needs to one of which you have been put through that you believe you can only get out of if they give you this break, or else there is no hope. What would this look like?

THE EXCUSE

-          You are unemployed, or lost your job and need this break, or my employers lowered my income as a cost cutting measure for them to survive, and it has taken me by surprise.

-          You have a medical condition that has stopped you from earning income, and need to find another source of income

-          You have not been getting Government Tax benefits for your child, your spouse has not been paying support, school fees have increased, or child expenses were higher than expected.

-          You have too much credit on credit cards, department store cards, and or mounting debts that the interest is leaving you no funds personally, and you will need to negotiate out of the debt as you soon will not be able to pay the principle let alone interest.

-          You vehicle required fixing this month, and you couldn’t pay with credit as you are not making enough money. It was either lose your job or fix the car, you had to make the expense. (The car is a lease?) Be careful mentioning cars, it is an asset if you own one.

THE SOFT TOUCH

-          Inform them you are taking a course on credit management, and how to deal with this problem, part of this process is trying to deal with existing debts since you have been living month to month in a deficit

-          You are implementing and living by a family financial management plan to put a budget in place and method of paying as many of the debts I can overtime, but I need a break because of my employment status, etc.

-          You, your spouse, your family members have taken on or are looking for jobs to add money to the household, even second jobs.

HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO PAY OR CAN YOU PAY?

Be specific, and get it down to a timeline and schedule. If you want to lower credit card debt of $1,000 to $300 paid immediately, some credit card companies will take the change to get the money if you are not in a good position to pay. Lower your monthly payments to an amount such as $50 a month for the next 12 months. You may want to consider discussing this with a credit counsellor, but go through the exercise and get yourself out from under the weight of these debts. Your freedom is something you need to do yourself, and do something about. Get back your free will by letting them know what you can and are willing to pay. Stick to it, its the price of your freedom. Work out the details, such as duration, deadlines, payment amounts, interest changes, upfront payments that need to be made, everything they have agreed to or not to. Try to negotiate that they don’t report the overdue fees to a credit agency or bureau. Define what it means for you to be in default of the agreement. Getting this in writing will assist you in possibly finding friends and family who can lend you the money to pay off the credit card and other debts, and consolidate the loans to a friendly lender.

Explaining the plan for example to a family member who may be able to help you could assist in backing your decisions with creditors if you don’t have the money otherwise. Make sure you document the family loan, I suggest www.documentyourloan.com, and have payment schedules and interest to be made to them versus giving your business to someone else. It also allows for the family member to know, you are serious about repaying the loans. In some cases, you may already have family members you owe money to, document the past loans and the new loan in a new agreement with a payment plan. Do what you can to generate the money for less to pay off the expensive debts over your head.

Once you have labelled the documents, many of the debts you have at this point you may consider consolidating to one creditor and lowering the overall interest rate on the total debt. Sometimes this can be done utilizing a home-line-of-credit or through a credit company. Other times this can be done by friends and family, in some events, there is a new phenomenon that allows for entrepreneurs to be social lenders, and give you a loan to consolidate your debts. In Canada, this type of social lending or peer-to-peer lending has not come to its full maturity. However, within the US, this is becoming a common source of funds, and I believe it to grow in popularity with firms like www.kasu.ca who are initially focusing on helping people develop the loan documents, but has aspirations to develop future business models for Social Lending with institutional partners registered to facilitate such transactions online. It’s an interesting world, and there are ways to find money for your cause.

You may want to discuss agreements with a lawyer before signing off on them. Once you have a final agreement, place them in the budget.

When considering loan consolidation, once you have had a chance to negotiate the costs as low as possible, you should consider:

-          A Bank Consolidation Loan

-          A Mortgage at a lower interest rate, borrowing against home equity with your Bank or another Bank as a second mortgage, refinance your existing mortgage. Consider Annual interest rate, penalties for paying it off in the event that you sell the house, monthly periodic rate, fees, amount of your monthly payment, how long to repay, balloon payments and expiration. There are pitfalls, and many things to be careful of with the home, so make sure you are aware and Google and research as much as you can on home equity line of credit do’s and don’ts.

-          Transferring higher interest debts to lower credit card interests, check the internet for websites in Canada than may list some competitive offers

-          Cashing retirement funds or borrowing against it if this has less of a tax consequence

-          Borrow from friends and family, but document the loan as them consolidating your debts, and build a payment plan for them

Key points to consider, borrow as little as possible, try to lower interest rates, pay off debt as quick as possible, get it as low as possible, try to avoid secured loans, avoid penalties, get the agreement reviewed by a lawyer, don’t just sign because they offer you what you want, beware of high pressure sales people or those pushing to sign that day. Don’t pay upfront fees to anyone, don’t borrow more than you can, and don’t take loans you can’t pay back according to your budget or plan.

Use a  credit counselling service to get a grip on your finances if you simply find you can’t find the motivation to do all of this on your own. Google the do’s and don’ts of Credit Counselling, there are many sharks in the business, most Government Agencies provide suitable debt counsellors and referrals.

If you need to document your loans with friends and family, I suggest purchasing a loan document from www.kasu.ca also known as www.documentyourloan.com. Make sure you get all of your loans with friends and family documented. You can buy a loan document for as little as $59.99, versus paying a lawyer $100 for a simple document. Get those loans in writing now!

Loan Documents: Document Your Loan With Friends and Family Part 3

You are trying to consolidate your debts, you have maybe hired a credit counsellor or are seeing one like www.creditcanada.com. Now you have possibly written all of your debtors in a long list, you may have even called some of them and negotiated the price down for your outstanding debt in return they will not report you to a credit bureau. Now you need to consolidate it and make payment. You can give the loan to the Bank, or you can go to a friend or family member. However, this is a sizeable amount, and you do not know how to ask for it, you know how much of a difference this will make in your life, so you need a plan. Luckily, you probably have looked at your monthly expenses, and built a budget and a plan, or at least filed in the free assessment at www.creditcanada.com. So you present to your friends the plan you have to get out of debt, possibly some of the creditors you have negotiated down in value, and identify the amount of money you need. He plan you have developed adds credibility to your choice to get out of debt, and to add additional credibility you present the idea of building a loan agreement with friends and family who can lend you funds, with a payment schedule and proper loan terms. Instead of paying these creditors 19% credit card rates or 29% in the event of default, you can pay them 5% or even 10% on their money over a one year period or however the timeframe fits into your budget. If the numbers look right, and the investment in you is higher than they can get from the Bank, and the plan is believable, you get the loan and document it. You go to www.documentyourloan.com and fill out the loan document form for $59.99 as it is cheaper than going to a lawyer for $100+ in legal fees. The frugal decision to document the loan with a provider versus a lawyer impresses the friend and family member because you are already showing your desire to save money and use innovative replacements for what is an unnecessary extra expense when you can get it cheaper at www.documentyourloan.com

Use your loan documents and personal financial plan as a way to achieve loans from friends and family.

Loan Documents: Document Your Loan With Friends and Family Part 2

Documenting loans with friends and family that you pay back can be positive information reported to a credit bureau. Although it doesn’t hold as much weight as a well known institution, it can help give a good image of the person they are lending money to. On your credit rating, they can see such information as Child Support Payments missed, bills paid late, taxes owing, and various other information. Some of this information can be negative, but doesn’t affect your rating as much as it could be a decision point. Borrowing money from friends and family, drafting loan documents, registering the debt as paid in full when it is paid, all adds to positive information on your credit rating.

If you need to document your loans with friends and family, I suggest purchasing a loan document from www.kasu.ca also known as www.documentyourloan.com. Make sure you get all of your loans with friends and family documented. You can buy a loan document for as little as $59.99, versus paying a lawyer $100 for a simple document. Get those loans in writing now!

Loan Documents: Document Your Loan With Friends and Family Part 1

You may be at a point in your life where you are learning how to manage debt in your life. You may have creditors, debtors, and friends and family who have leant you money over the past months or even years. Most of the loans with friends and family are not secured and not even documented. The Loan Document is a very important tool to helping you, almost as important as the money that was originally leant to you.

Believe it or not, but documenting your loans could save you from Bankruptcy and financial peril. Why is this? In Canada, the Bankruptcy process is initially put into a dispute process of which your creditors can vote to put you into Bankruptcy or vote on a negotiated settlement. In order to be heard in these settings, you need to have a documented loan. Thus, the loans between your friends and family if documented, can apply to the situation. The majority of your debtors decide and negotiate the settlement agreement.

By documenting loans with your friends and family, you can accrue a group of positive debtors that can vote against bankruptcy and in favour of your settlement. Sometimes this can be done for pennies on the dollar. Thus, documenting a loan could save you if you are in a personally tough spot financially and face the possible decision of bankruptcy.

If you need to document your loans with friends and family, I suggest purchasing a loan document from www.kasu.ca also known as www.documentyourloan.com. Make sure you get all of your loans with friends and family documented. You can buy a loan document for as little as $59.99, versus paying a lawyer $100 for a simple document. Get those loans in writing now!