Thanks again for yesterday, you are the first person who actually listened and showed me where my money was going! I had been to another credit counselling agency in the past and the service provided by you was far more superior! I wanted to let you know—I appreciate it.
-Anonymous client, Dec 2015
One of the counsellors was an amazing speaker (at an Orientation session). Clear, conscise, positive and very helpful. She is GREAT at what she does. Thank you!
-Anonymous, Nov 2014
I have had several interactions with Community Financial Counselling Services over several years to request and obtain assistance for a friend who has multiple cognitive challenges. Each time I have contacted the Service, I have been met with patience and kindness by the staff, as has my friend for whom I have a Power of Attorney. Their assistance has been invaluable and in each case the staff has been well-informed and helpful, with timely responses when messages were left. This service is truly a beacon in what is sometimes a frustrating landscape of voice mail and unreturned messages.
– M.
I am going to start with my opinion and experience on debt and what to do about it. To begin, I also want to agree that having a financial planner is great idea. Although ours is also known as a credit counselor, she has been there for us (my wife and I) through “thick and thin”, well mainly “thin” I should say.
Before I was married, I had the habit of using a credit card. It was “ok” (that’s me when I justified it), because I was working full time and I could pay it off as necessary, even though I could almost max it out. However, it all changed when I began university. I was used to the lifestyle of working full time and the income it provided. So when I began to study, my income dropped to almost nothing, the problem was that I still wanted to go to the movies almost every weekend and eat out. This is how I learned to abuse credit essentially. When I was married, we had many wedding related expenses, and those ended up on a credit card. My wedding was in a different country (where my wife is from), so flights aren’t exactly cheap, among other expenses. So we began our marriage using the crutch of a credit card. When my wife was offered a scholarship to further her studies, our only income was me working casually and 40 hrs. a week was never guaranteed. So unfortunately, we put our shortfall on the credit card for over a year. This wasn’t frivolous spending, mind you, it was on mainly essentials such as variables such as food and clothing.
After my wife finished school, we had amassed a whopping credit card debt and it was becoming increasing impossible to cope with the payments. We would miss payments and our creditors would come calling. It was often humiliating to say to them that it was either groceries or making a payment. However, they were usually nice about it and were authorized to negotiate with what I was able to pay without having my credit rating affected. This was not enough however, and grew to be quite anxiety inducing and taxing. It was like putting bandages on a gaping wound.
So, in order to really deal with this issue, we first tried getting a consolidation loan from any bank that would have us. Unfortunately our debt-servicing ratio was too high and no one wanted to touch us. That was tough to handle, as we were desperate to find a way to reduce the massive interest we were paying on the credit. Later, a co-worker of mine who was familiar with our credit/debt issues recommended a service to us called Community Financial Counseling Services. They are a non-profit organization that provides counseling and debt management services. The good thing about that is there’s no hidden agenda with the service they provide, and that is peace of mind.
We entered into their Debt Management Program that has had a huge positive impact on our finances. In this program, CFCS negotiates with our creditors in order to pay simply the principal of the debt while being forgiven the interest. This comes with a hit on my credit rating however. I was moved down a level just above bankruptcy and will remain there for two years after I have paid back my principal in full at which time my credit history will reset. On the plus side, however, the interest I was forgiven was nearly ten thousand dollars, over the period it would have taken me to pay the interest and principal. It was a matter of looking at the tradeoffs of the program and program made “cents” for me: Stay on the interest “tread wheel” with high stress, or take charge of my finances?
So in the end, I would encourage anybody to really respect credit cards and loans. While one can build up a credit history quickly this way, it comes with the dangers of abuse and dependency. Consolidations loans are recommended if you can get them, but may not provide the teaching tool necessary to learn the respect of credit as they permit the customer to continue to access more credit. As in my case, consolidation was not possible and in order to escape total bankruptcy, I was fortunate to hear about CFCS. Not only have they helped us with their DMP, they also provide invaluable financial planning and sound strategies that can help anybody in any financial situation.
– J
Thank you so much for your presentation at the “money matters” session. It was exactly what we were hoping for. Your knowledge of the resources is very impressive, but even more important, your manner is non-judgemental and warm. Thank you very much.
– I
I appreciate and am grateful for your time, patience, and proficiency.
– L
