Scott Schaefer, Credit Counsellor

In the Kitchener-Waterloo Region, I have seen and heard this term being used more and more. Staycations are a great way to take in the vast amount of activities and attractions we have in Kitchener and Waterloo. I think there are many activities that we have never experienced because they are local and often overlooked. So from a budget and local impact point of view, a satycation is an excellent way to save money and still get out. But the reality of it is that many people cannot afford to travel away from home right now. With financial debt levels increasing, the amount people are spending just to make their monthly debt payments is growing into a large number. I understand how the past 2 years have affected many people and families in the area.

I have found that summer can be a time when families in the Waterloo Region look at their situation and ask themselves, is this where they wanted to be financially? If a staycation is in your summer plans due to your debt levels, then maybe this is the sign that it is time to consider a plan for your future financial situation. Maybe a consolidation with a bank will help, or maybe it is time for a debt management plan or a consumer proposal.

At this point, the best thing to do is:
a) Create a list of all your debts with total owing and monthly payments to each;
b) Work on a monthly cash-flow tracking what you have coming into the family unit as income and where you spend your funds. See this link for a budget worksheet;
c) Talk to someone to see if your cashflow is missing or omitting something that you missed and will affect your decision making;
d) After drawing up your cashflow, determine what your overage or shortage is.

If you would like to sit down and review your situation to determine how the various options work for you, please call my Kitchener office at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail. There is no cost or obligation in meeting with us. We will gain an understanding of your situation and then provide you with details of how the options work and at what monthly amounts you would have to pay.

Scott Schaefer, BA CA CIRP

Consumer debts are reaching new levels and as all debts are tied to interest rates, any increase will have a significant affect. I have an economic degree from Wilfrid Laurier University so analyzing trends and effects is quite interesting to me, but one does not need this degree to see the impact interest rates will have on the people from Kitchener Waterloo. Every increase in an interest rate will affect everyone’s amount they have to pay. Let’s consider some of the following areas:

- First through the debts that they pay as interest rates are tied to prime – for example, line of credits, overdrafts, new loans, etc.
- Second, the cost of items we buy will have to rise over time due to businesses carrying debt. If the costs to a business go up, then they will have to pass these on to the consumer in order to maintain their profits.
- Third, higher interest rates could affect government debts as well, which are paid through taxes.

Overall, we have seen very low interest rates for a long time. People are not talking today about how mortgages used to be at 20% back in the early 1980s. That is like paying your mortgage on a visa card today. I am not saying we are going to see these high rates again, but the government is warning us to be ready for rates to increase.

The hard part is, as consumers we need to spend to help us recover from the recession, so if we are paying off our debts verses spending the money on consumer goods our economy could take longer to recover. With rising debts and costs, the question people are asking is how do we reduce our debts and still afford to live. Everyone’s situation is different so the same solution is not always available to everyone.

If you are from the Kitchener Waterloo area and feel that your situation is too tight now, then it may be time to consider a plan to deal with your debts. A debt management plan to pay 100% of your debts without interest may be one solution or a consumer proposal where you make one monthly payment to pay back part of your debts may be another. We can arrange a free consultation in my Kitchener office to review your situation and gain an understanding of how the various options would work in your situation. I can be reached at 519-747-0660 or by e-mail.

Scott Schaefer, Trustee

“Effective June 9, 2010, Wells Fargo Financial Corporation Canada discontinued sales of new customer loans, and closed Wells Fargo Financial store locations across Canada. We have shifted our focus to serving existing real estate, auto, and consumer loan accounts. There will be no change to our customers´ existing account terms and conditions.”

Wells Fargo had a store location in both Kitchener and Waterloo. Several local residents used Wells Fargo as a lender for many different reasons. One of the main reasons was that the banks had turned them down. So with this lender now not available in Kitchener Waterloo, individuals may not be able to consolidate their debts or renew their mortgages the same as they could in the past. This is one more example of the fall out of the financial crisis and recession has lead to.

If you feel your debt load is now too large to manage and want understand how a consumer proposal or a personal bankruptcy would work in your case, call me in my Kitchener office at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail. We will sit down and have a free meeting to discuss your facts and impact of each option.

Scott Schaefer Bankruptcy Trustee

So how are the Trustees at our firm different?

At Hoyes Michalos and Associates Inc. we think that people make the difference. In our Kitchener Waterloo bankruptcy office, my associate Ian Martin or myself meet with every individual. Ian and I are both Chartered Accountants. We personally work with everyone who sees us in the Kitchener Waterloo to make the process is fully explained and understood.

I was sitting in the Kitchener Bankruptcy Court last week where I noted some major differences between trustee firms. There were 65 individuals being seen by the court for their discharge hearing that day. Not all personal bankruptcies have to appear before the court, only certain cases go to court to get their discharge. I was there to report to the court as the trustee on 5 individual bankruptcies. There was only one other trustee firm represented at the court, even though there were individuals at the court for at least 10 other trustee firms.

How does court work? The judge deals first with clients whose trustee is present. Therefore, the individuals there from Hoyes Michalos were dealt with first and out of the court within minutes. After that it got interesting. I decided to stay in court until all cases were heard. I sat in the court room watching what happened for the individuals whose trustee chose not to appear at court. Each case was heard one by one, with just the individual sitting before the court and having to speak alone – without the support of their trustee. There were some cases where there appears to be some miscommunication between the trustee and the individual and the trustee was not there to sort it out. This left the individual confused and not sure of what had just happened.

For most people, they have never been in a court house. Now if their bankruptcy has to go to court, they are left to go it alone. At Hoyes, Michalos and Associates Inc. we will appear at all discharge hearings because we see it as part of our role as trustees. Further, it is imperative that everyone understands want the process is so that there is no confusion. This is one major difference between us and the other trustee firms in the area.

For a free assessment of your situation, call me at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail. The Kitchener Waterloo office is located in the middle of both cities at 607 King Street West in Kitchener – near the intersection of King and Victoria.

Scott Schaefer, BA CA CIRP

In 2009, 151,712 individuals filed a consumer proposal or bankruptcy in Canada. This was an increase of 31.0% over the 2008 number of 115,789. For Kitchener Waterloo, the increase in personal bankruptcies and consumer proposals was 39.2% which was higher than the Canadian increase of 31.0% and the Ontario increase of 32.7%. The numbers with respect to just personal bankruptcies in Kitchener are even more drastic – Kitchener bankruptcies saw a 45.9% increase as compared to Ontario of 28.5% and Canada 28.4%.

For my Kitchener office, we met with many people from Kitchener Waterloo and as such personally understand how hard this year was on them as they saw the impact of the recession on them and their families.

In the past, Kitchener Waterloo may have fared better due to our diverse economy with the high tech sector, universities and college, hospitals, insurance, and manufacturing sectors, but 2009 had a deeper impact that spread to all areas and sectors.

Kitchener Waterloo is rebounding, but individuals are still feeling the long lasting impacts that 2009 brought to their situation and with increased debt levels, individuals still will need the assistance to get a fresh start through a consumer proposal or bankruptcy.

If you would like a free review your situation to make a plan to deal with your debts, call our Kitchener office at 519-747-0660 or send me an e-mail.

Scott Schaefer on Ask the Expert on 570 News

While preparing for the show, I looked at various statistics. Here is what I found; the current debt to income ratio is now at 145%. When we did a similar show in February 2006, the ratio was only 118%. That is a significant increase of 27%, but the fact that this number has increased to over 100% is of concern. This could be one of the leading causes that for the 12 months ending November 2009, there were more than 150,000 personal bankruptcy and consumer proposals filed in Canada. Further, when I compared previous data, I found that 2005 was the first time more than 100,000 people filed personal bankruptcy or consumer proposals. Seeing an increase on this scale is of concern because it can cause people to fall into financial hardship when they experience something unexpected in their life.

Kitchener Waterloo has been affected by the recession as well as unemployment rates which are now at 9.9%. This is above the current national average of 8.3%. Many people have gone back to work to be retrained, taken lower paying jobs, or have had over-time slashed. When you compare that to the demands for debt payments, people are overwhelmed.

As Trustees in Bankruptcy, we are available to help people obtain fresh financial starts through consumer proposals and personal bankruptcies. Ian and I meet with many people from Kitchener Waterloo who have faced tough times and were thankful for the options available. While a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy is not the option people plan for, it does provide a safety net and allows these individuals to take control of their financial future.

If you are from Kitchener Waterloo and want to sit down and discuss your situation in detail so that we can make a plan to deal with your debts, call us at 519-747-0660 or send us an e-mail. There is no cost in meeting with us.

These are staggering increases. Working in the Kitchener office, I have met with many people that were facing the decision of how to deal with their debts. There is a variety of reasons that someone has to file, here are a few key factors; the economy downturn has caught up with the Waterloo Region, the debt levels of the average person has increased, as well as a result of the new bankruptcy rules that came into effect on September 18, 2009. These are average people who fell under tough financial times and needed to obtain a fresh financial start.

To discuss actual numbers, in the 12 month period ending September 2009, total consumer bankruptcies and proposals in Canada totaled 148,378. This is a 36% increase over the same 12 month period ending September 2008.

If you are experiencing financial difficult in 2009, you are not alone. Call us at 519-747-0660 and we will discuss your situation in detail to help make PLAN for the future.

Scott Schaefer, CA CIRP

We receive many e-mails from people in the Waterloo Region. These e-mails are asking questions about garnishments, personal bankruptcy, consumer proposals, assets, creditors, or any debt related question to name a few. Personal finance problems are stressful and overwhelming, so hopefully our live radio show will help you understand your options and how specifics in your situation will be handled.

As a Trustee in Bankruptcy, I am responsible for our Kitchener Office. I can be reached at 519-747-0660 or at this e-mail if you would like to talk specifically about your situation.

Who are we? We are a licensed Trustee in Bankruptcy firm that focus on solutions for individuals. The firm, Hoyes, Michalos and Associates Inc. started in 1999 in Waterloo Town Square. Since then, we have moved to our Kitchener location at 607 King Street, on the second floor of the strip mall near Zeke’s Restaurant. We have helped thousands of people from the Kitchener-Waterloo region since then. We are the largest firm in Kitchener-Waterloo that only provides solutions for individuals.

My back ground consists of:
1997 – BA Economics and Accounting from Wilfrid Laurier University
1999 – Chartered Accountant (CA)
2002 – Insolvency Credit Counsellor Certification
2007 – Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional (CIRP)
2007 – Licensed Trustee in Bankruptcy

If you are interested in a free consultation to review your situation and discuss your options to make a plan, call me at 519-747-0660 or e-mail me. My approach to our meetings is non-judgmental and my objective is to provide you with the information you need to understand the pros and cons to your options so that you can choose the right one for you.

When someone calls us, we try to gain an understanding of the situation so we can advise on all options. It is important that people understand how all options work so that they can make the best decision for themselves after evaluating the pros and cons of each.

This coming Saturday, Doug Hoyes and myself will spend the noon hour on the 570 News radio show called Ask the Experts. We are going to discuss the new bankruptcy rules, the economy, and answer caller’s questions. We go on this show to help Kitchener-Waterloo residents understand personal bankruptcy and consumer proposals in more detail.  Please tune in to 570 News at noon on Saturday for our one hour live broadcast, or go to the 570 News web site to listen live.

If you have a question that you would like answers to and do not want to call into the show, send me an e-mail or call me at 519-747-0660 and I will try to answer it on the air.