If you have some questions, maybe we've already answered them for you
• My wages are being garnished to pay for my outstanding debts.
• I am afraid to answer the phone because it may be a debt collector calling.
• My creditors are threatening to sue me, repossess my personal property or hire a collection agency to recover their money.
• I have been borrowing money for household expenses from friends and family to make it from one pay cheque to the next.
• I am paying one creditor one month and another one the next because I don’t have enough money to pay them both.
• My financial problems are affecting my health, my job and / or my marriage.
• I am going over my spending limit or using credit cards as a necessity, instead of a convenience.
• I am only making the minimum payment on my credit card balances.
• I have been receiving second notices about overdue accounts.
• At least one utility company cut off service because of my outstanding bills.
• I spend 20% or more of my take-home pay on loans and credit card debt payments.
• I am paying overly high interest or service charges because I don’t pay my bills on time.
• I am renegotiating loans to cut monthly costs or looking for a debt consolidation loan to pay off old bills and a few new ones.
A secured debt is directly tied to an asset which may be seized by a lender if you fail to make your required payments on it. For example, a mortgage is considered a secured loan, with your home as the related asset. If you fail to make your mortgage payments, your secured mortgage lender has the right to foreclose on (i.e. seize) your home and sell it to pay off your debt. If the proceeds from the sale of an asset don’t entirely cover your debt, your lender will usually require you to pay the difference. Typically speaking, secured debts include loans for your home (including second mortgages), vehicles (including cars, boats, RVs, equipment, etc.) or personal loans that pledge personal property as collateral.
In contrast, unsecured debts do not give your creditors any right to directly seize your assets. If you fall behind on payments, they may take other actions, such as garnishing your wages, hiring a debt collector or threatening legal action. In addition, they will likely report your delinquency to a credit bureau, which may hurt your credit score. Examples of unsecured debts include credit cards, student loans, payday loans, cable / phone bills, utilities and debts owing to the government (CRA) for income taxes.
Debt management is designed to help people reduce their repayments back to their creditors. This is achieved by spreading your payments over a longer period, thus making them more manageable. Your debts are re-structured into one affordable monthly payment. Levels of payment are agreed with your creditors and paid on your behalf.
What is the difference between secured and unsecured debt / creditors
This all depends on where you live as certain areas such as Scotland have different laws to the rest of the U.K Whatever your financial circumstances are we can help with multiple options
After understanding your current circumstances, we can then give qualified advice for you on what the first steps on becoming debt free would be.