The pandemic has created challenges for parents across the country. Here’s how Canadians are spending this year.

The COVID pandemic has put financial planning to the test. Ask these questions and see if you make the grade.

Do you remember the days when sending kids back-to-school was easy—a few pens and pencils, some notebooks, a binder and hand-me-down clothes from older brothers and sisters? Unfortunately the days of sending the kids back to school without a hassle seem long gone. Now it seems like every class has a list of special supplies, your kids can’t possibly face their friends if they’re not wearing $100 jeans and, of course, they need the latest and greatest cell phone, laptop and tablet for “school work.” How is a family living on a limited budget supposed to get by? If high back-to-school costs are sending you to the poor house, Consolidated Credit can help. We’ve put together this helpful infographic showing the series budget challenges you’ll face this year. We also provide tips on making the added costs work within your budget.

Why you shouldn’t put your wedding on plastic
Stop the presses: weddings are expensive.  According to Slice.ca, the average price tag sits at just over $30,000.  That’s right, for the amount of money that some people earn over the course of an entire year, you can enjoy an “average-priced” wedding.

The gargantuan price tag can grow even bigger, depending on how you pay for your nuptials.  Your wedding bills might add up to $30,000, but if you pay with credit, you will be paying a lot more.  This is because of the sky-high interest rates on credit cards.  The longer you take to pay everything off, the more you’ll end up spending in the long run.  You could be paying off your wedding for the next decade if you’re only making minimum payments on the debts incurred.

The infographic below is designed to help you understand what the real cost of your wedding will be if you put all or part of the costs on a credit card. We also show you how much you’ll pay if you commit to paying down your debt within certain periods of time instead of just relying on your minimum payment schedule.  Seeing the cold, hard numbers will help you hatch a plan that will give you the wedding you want without a heavy burden of debt.

Remember, if expenses leave you in a bind with credit card debt, we can help. Call Consolidated Credit today at 1-888-287-8506 or complete a budget analysis online and receive a free evaluation with a trained credit counselor.  We can figure out a way to get you the leg up that you need in order to conquer your debt.

Personal finance is a topic you are either comfortable speaking about or you are not. The unfortunate reality is – many Canadians do not feel confident about their finances. How do we know this? The Canadian Capability Survey revealed only 43 per cent of men vs. 31 per cent of women says they are financially literate. So what does this mean? It means Canadians have a lot of learning to do with respect to their finances! Nevertheless, there is always a chance to improve your financial literacy. See our infographic for tips to help you increase your financial literacy!

This Cyber Monday many Canadians will be taking advantage of various online deals however some consumers may end up racking up piles of credit card debt while they shop. Although shopping online can be fun, if you do not have a plan to pay off all of your online purchases within 30 to 60 days, that deal you thought you scored, it will cost you a lot more once the thrill of your purchase is gone.

Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada examines “That Cyber Life” in our latest infographic below.

Gone are the days when Halloween was a simple event for many Canadians. Before it would be enough to throw a sheet over your head, poke two holes and you would be a ghost. Now many Canadians spendsome serious coin to not only wear the best costume they can find; many are willing to overspend on their budget and go into debt to hand out the best candy and also have the spookiest home decorations on the block.

The following creepy infographic will give you a spooky look at how Canadians spend their cash for Halloween. It also includes ghastly tips to keep your foot out of the Halloween overspending grave.

Love is in the air which means we are getting closer to Valentine’s Day. Whether you love or hate this day it’s coming. So it’s time to get prepared for it without piercing your wallet with Cupid’s long and pointy arrows! For some easy and frugal Valentine’s tips, click here.

By the way, Valentine’s Day can cost you an arm and a leg if you let it, our infographic will explain…

Happy Valentine’s Day from the staff at Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada!

Two methods to hack away at credit card debt
Credit card debt levels can get out of control and they can easily cause Canadians to lose their financial grip.  Unlike bank loans or car payments, your monthly credit card bill is not a set amount – if your balance grows, so do your payments.  At the same time, high APR means a lot of your bill payments will go toward interest charges and not the actual balance.

If you want to maintain financial stability, you need to battle back, and every successful battle is based on sound strategy.  If your minimum payments are getting you nowhere, it’s time to take aggressive action to reduce your debt quickly so that you can regain control.  We developed the infographic below to help you choose a tactic that fits your budget.  Stick to the plan, and you will eliminate high-interest balances regain control of your credit cards as quickly as possible.

Use the infographic to help choose the plan that works best for you.  If you have any questions, or feel like it is simply too difficult to get ahead, call one of our trained credit counselors, free of charge.  They’ll give you advice and offer suggestions on your best options for eliminating debt.  You can call 1-800-632-1722 or complete the online application to request your free confidential consultation.

Correct mistakes, tidy up your credit profile, and save money
If you’ve ever borrowed money, you have a credit report.  But most of us have no idea what is on our credit report, and very few have even checked.  Studies indicate that less than 1 in 5 Canadians have accessed their credit report.

This is astounding when you consider the importance of your credit report.  Your credit report is a written history of your consumer credit use, and it directly influences your credit score, which is the all-important three-digit number that determines your access to credit and the interest rates that creditors will offer you.

Credit reports are free to order from Canada’s two credit bureaus – Equifax and TransUnion.  Why is it important to review your credit report?  Because they could have errors.  The two bureaus deal with hundreds of millions of entries and there are bound to be mistakes.  This means that you could have negative remarks on your report that have nothing to do with you.

The following infographic will guide you throw the process of fixing errors, which will help prevent any pitfalls on your path to financial fitness.