Bankruptcy Kitchener Blog by Scott Schaefer

Today’s blog is to pass on an e-mail that we received from someone who has just completed a consumer proposal through our Kitchener office.

E-mail received:

“This is not a question but a thank you. The service and advice I received was way more than I expected, Any question was answered, and in a very timely manner. You handled every detail with utmost professionalism. From the moment we started to work together right up to now, my mind was at ease and I am so happy to have reached the end of one road and the start of another. I have recommended you to others I have encountered in my position and want to once again thank you for helping me get my life (and finances) back in shape.”

At Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc. we take pride in helping individuals obtain a fresh financial start. We understand that financial strain can have a significant impact on personal and family life. A consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy are some of the options that individuals have available to ease their stress and obtain a fresh start.

Our approach is to answer questions and provide facts so that individuals can make an informed decision for themselves. When they file a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy with us, we attempt to provide assistance when they need it.

If you’re experiencing financial hardship and want to discuss your options in detail, e-mail us or call us at 310-PLAN. There is no cost in calling us or having a meeting to review the options and we are located at 607 King Street, Kitchener – between uptown Waterloo and downtown Kitchener.

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A good friend of mine, Dr. Tracy Penny Light, asked that I be a guest speaker in one of her courses on the campus of University of Waterloo. Dr. Penny Light is a professor in the program “Sexuality, Marriage and Family Studies” from St. Jeromes University. The course she’s teaching this semester is “Couples, Marriage, and Family”. Specifically, she asked me to speak about “Family Work and Family Money”.

The class was an hour and twenty minutes, during which we discussed:

• Today’s working families
• Financial constraints
• Budget/Cash-flow
• How to manage credit
• What can go wrong
• How financial troubles impact marriages
• How to resolve tough situations

We explored how family employment has changed over the years resulting in an increase in the number of relationships that have both spouses working. One of the reasons for this is the financial constraints we have in today’s society which has added great stress to couples and families.

When you factor in the increase in credit use, the average family is now carrying more balances on credit cards and loans then they make in a year’s income. Thus, costs of living have increased over the years and we are spending more and saving less.

During my talk, I had the class work on a family budget for a year’s period. I wanted them to assume they were a family of 4, bringing home $60,000 per year. It is interesting to see the amount of difficulty that the students had with this project. I have always believed that our education system has not properly prepared today’s youth with the fundamentals in personal financial management. There are many techniques and methods to budgeting and not all them work for each person/family.

We then discussed that one of the major leading causes of insolvency in Canada is marriage breakdown. When a couple dissolves a relationship, the costs of living increases significantly as there is now the requirement for two residences as well as support payments. The impact of financial strain on a relationship, like all other stresses should be dealt with as they arise. There are solutions to these financial strains.

If you are experiencing financial stresses or strains and they are impacting your relationship, call us at 310-PLAN or e-mail us to discuss the options you have.

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We’ve all experienced frustration trying to contact a utility company, bank or government agency with simply requests. Let me tell you about my experience this morning.

I called a utility company with a simply request to cancel a service. Simple, in theory, but it took me 27 minutes (I’m not kidding) to perform this task. First I connected to an automated attendant which gave me four options, none of which was appropriate to canceling a service. OK – I chose the one I thought might be closest only to find myself back at the beginning again. Alright, let’s try something different. This time I was lucky enough to be connected to a live person. Of course, it was the wrong person (and I might add this person was very difficult to understand). He in turn transferred me to another person, who was also the wrong person. This person then transferred me to the billing department (there was nothing wrong with my account). This person fortunately was a lot easier to talk to, understood my frustration, but couldn’t help me. He transferred me again and finally (after being on hold in between each of these transfers) I was able to state my request and get the help I needed. I had the time to waste on this process this morning (which really isn’t the point), but under normal circumstances the 27 minutes I spent in performing this simple task would have been completely unacceptable.

At Hoyes, Michalos & Associates this will never, never happen. We pride ourselves on operating with the latest high tech systems, but we also believe in people. If you are calling us at 310-PLAN for information about our services or for information about your file you will always be able to speak directly to one of our courteous and well trained associates. During regular business hours your call will be answered by one of our receptionist who will direct your call to a professional who will assist you. We are constantly adding new associates to insure that each and every call is answered promptly.

Or you can go to our website at www.hoyes.com which is full of interesting information about our services and will allow you to send a Question or obtain an evaluation of your situation. Questions and evaluations are answered as promptly as possible. A few weeks ago I responded to a Question that had been emailed only 10 minutes prior to my call. The comments was “Wow, I just sent that email a few minutes ago”.

It is very comforting to know that at Hoyes, Michalos & Associates you will always be treated like a person by a person.

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