Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada, Inc.

Tips for Sticking to Your Budget

It is an acknowledged fact that sticking to a budget can be extremely difficult, especially for those unaccustomed to limitations on their spending. However, successfully managing one’s finances can engender a sense of pride in oneself that is both unique and long lasting.

If you are struggling to cope with the confines of your current budget, then take a look at the tips below—they may help you to better deal with the spending limits you’ve set for yourself in your efforts to free yourself from debt.

• Maintain a Written or Digital Budget—The first step in sticking to a budget is creating a physical, digital, or smartphone-accessible document that lists all of your expenses, income, and debts in minute detail. Keep this list as organized and up-to-date as possible.  Your expenses should be color coded and divided into categories.  Budgets quickly become complex—do not try to keep track of every detail mentally.

• Pad Your Budget—When computing your daily, weekly, and monthly expenditures, round up and provide extra padding for unpredicted expenses or accidental debts. Doing so will prevent any unforeseen costs from impacting your budget to any great extent and may even leave you with extra money to pay off your debt should you do better than expected.

• Sleep on Major Purchases—Before spending a significant amount of money, take a night to seriously consider the matter. This will prevent you from acting impulsively on any single purchase and inhibit you from accumulating up a mass of unnecessary debts.

• Reward Yourself—If you find that you are saving money each month, be sure to find some way to reward yourself. Just be sure that your reward system is cost effective and does not undo all that you have achieved in a month’s time.

If you’d like more counselling on sticking to a budget and relieving yourself of your debt, then feel free to call Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada at (888) 753-2227! Our accredited  counsellors can offer you further advice that will help you to successfully simultaneously live on a budget and pay off your debt.

How Your Business Can Benefit from Employee Assistance

Financial stresses can affect every aspect of an individual’s existence, including their professional life. As an employer, you can prevent employees’ debt-related anxieties from impacting your business by investing in employee-assistance programs. Use the following overview to learn more about employee counselling and find out how it can benefit your business in the long run.

Employee Assistance Program Basics

For those unfamiliar with the concept, employee assistance programs encompass any form of financial counselling services provided to workers within a corporation or business. These programs can include scheduled workshops, third-party presentations, and other in-office gatherings that feature expert counselling in the following areas:

• Budgeting advice.
• Managing and consolidating debt.
• Applying for and paying off home loans and mortgages.
• Improving credit scores.
• How to cope with unemployment.

Benefits Witnessed In the Workplace

Businesses that invest in this type of employee counselling will find that the instance of debt among workers is reduced drastically. As such, employees are less stressed and psychologically preoccupied. Inevitably, this leads to:

• Increased focus and productivity.
• Fewer vacation days taken.
• Fewer unexplained absences or tardiness.
• Increased accuracy and precision.
• Fewer creditor calls during office hours.
• Fewer requests for payroll advances.
• Fewer requests for worker’s compensation.

Ultimately, these changes in day-to-day office behaviours can positively affect profit margins, customer service, and product quality, not to mention the overall office morale.

If you think your employees could benefit from the above counselling services or you have noticed a decreased in productivity due to a lack of concentration in your workforce, then contact the experts at Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada. Our professionals are well-equipped to handle any office setting or dynamic and can provide a variety of counselling methods and mediums to cater to your preferences and the needs of your employees. Call us at (888) 753-2227 for more details today!

Budgeting Tips for The Financially Challenged

It's not very surprising that most people mentally wince at the very mention of "budgeting." After all, making a budget forces each of us to critically examine exactly how and where we spend our money. While it does take self-discipline to stick to a budget, it doesn't have to be difficult to properly plan for one.

Often, budgets will fail because the person doing the budgeting lacks an understanding of their actual financial situation and their day-to-day spending habits. Typically this person hasn't begun to define their financial needs, interests, objectives & goals or they have gotten into debt trouble.

In order for a budget to work properly, it's important to remember that while the initial process of setting up your budget will require some effort on your part, it's worth it in the long run.

• Keep things simple. Your budget should be straightforward & flexible so is can be easily modified if your income or expenses change.
• Set obtainable financial goals. Be honest with yourself. While it's fine to be bold, your budget objectives should be realistic and measurable. This will help you stick to your budget and to reach your financial goals and projects.
• Be realistic about your spending. Identify your day-to-day spending habits each month and scrutinize which expenses are frivolous and which are essential. Create an outline for each expense item (e.g. housing costs, groceries, utilities, transportation, investments, savings, entertainment, clothing, etc). Also, identify and itemize your bills. Keep in mind that not all expenses are monthly ones, so make sure to break them down into measurable monthly amounts.
• Stay organized. Save all of your receipts and use them to help monitor your spending. By keeping a close watch on your purchases, it will help you stay true to your budget and save you time when balancing your chequebook at the end of each month.
• Be prepared. Give yourself peace of mind by setting aside a little extra money each month to act as a financial cushion. This will give you some leeway for unplanned expenses that crop up, like emergencies or special occasions.

For more tips on how to successfully create and stick to a budget, contact Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada (888) 753-2227 today!

Planning for a Debt-Free Education

Post-secondary education is one of the first opportunities for Canadian students to work towards a highly lucrative career.  However, attending a university or trade school often begins with taking out loans to pay tuition.  Graduating with as little debt as possible is a great way to guarantee success in the future. The following guide offers some tips for obtaining a debt-free education:

Research
Educate yourself on the academic institutions that interest you. Find out how much the education will cost and take into account job opportunity and future revenue. Factor in the cost of fees, like required books, housing, transportation, and other possible living necessities. If entertainment is a must, then factor that into a budget, but always try to find cheap sources of fun!

Income
Determine how much money you’ll have to devote to paying for college. Consider the contribution that parents are willing to make as well as the money you have invested in your future. Figure out if you’ll have time to a part time job or if you can figure out another source of income. Always remember to look into scholarships, grants, and bursaries so subsidize the costs of education.

Budget
Now that you know your expenses and the money you have to live, it’s time to prepare a budget. Calculate the difference between expected costs and projected income.  If you have a surplus, then you’ll be able to pay for an education so long as you prevent unnecessary expenditures.  If you’re lacking funds, then your education can be financed through loans if necessary, but remember to take only what you need. Be creative to keep living costs low and save that surplus money to get started right out of school with a good financial situation.

For more information on keeping your debt in check, contact Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada. We offer credit counselling services at any one of our ten locations and can help you find a solution if you’re having trouble making minimum payments. Call (888) 753-2227 to set up an appointment or check out our website.

Financial Resources Available to Consumers

We live in a world with instant access to information on every topic imaginable so it’s not surprising that the average Canadian is subjected to hundreds if not thousands of advertising messages a day. It’s almost impossible to avoid noticing the ads on the radio, television, newspaper, billboard, yellow pages, as well as online. With all that clutter to deal with, understanding between what is real compared to what is hype can be a challenge.  It’s not easy to know where you can go to get unbiased advice on financial products and services. Usually, the best way to get independent advice is to deal with a person with knowledge and no personal stake in the situation.

Your local financial institution can be a good resource in terms of finding out ways to potentially reduce payments or interest. They may also see something in your financial situation that they can help you with. As always it pays to shop around.

Non-profit credit counselling agencies will look at your full financial situation and recommend an action plan and budget to improve your current financial situation.
Corporate Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) may include financial counselling in their coverage for employees.

For students in college or university, the institution’s Student Services Department will usually have counsellors available for students which may include financial aid plus some form of financial counselling.

Provincial Social Development or Community Services Departments may provide financial counselling as part of the services they offer.

Financial planning advice is also offered through companies and institutions. Be sure to look for someone with proper designations and qualifications.

Finally, as a consumer you can access numerous resources available at the local library or online. For any financial service advice, you need to meet with a representative before any arrangements are made. Be informed, and seek advice from institutions you trust.