Recorded on: September 17, 2024
Length: 60 minutes
Summary
Learn practical tips from Credit Counselling Society’s Mark Kalinowski to help you budget and save, organize your money, and deal with the Canada Revenue Agency so that you can feel more confident and less stressed about your finances.
Highlights
In this webinar, you will learn:
Financial wellness
What financial wellness means. [3:00]
Whether you need a lot of money to have financial wellness. [4:15]
Key indicators of financial wellness. [5:50]
Savings tips and strategies for people who struggle with impulsive spending. [10:00]
Money management
Systems and strategies to organize your money. [16:35]
Whether you need a budget and how to get started. [21:15]
Steps to take when you owe a lot of money and feel too stressed to think about it. [24:10]
Three top tips to improve your credit score. [27:55]
Steps to take now to make it easier for someone else to deal with your finances if you get into a serious accident or die. [33:45]
Dealing with the Canada Revenue Agency
Common challenges when it comes to paying taxes. [37:15]
What happens if you don’t file your taxes on time. [38:05]
What to do if you owe a lot of money in taxes but don’t have any money saved to pay them. [38:40]
Tips for calling the Canada Revenue Agency to deal with outstanding taxes. [40:35]
What to do if you make a mistake on your tax filing. [42:20]
Live questions
The difference between a non-profit and a for-profit credit counselling agency. [43:50]
Whether the utilization ratio used to calculate your credit score is measured per credit card or on your overall borrowing. [45:50]
Whether the Canada Revenue Agency can insist on quarterly payments. [46:45]
Tips for keeping cash on hand for disasters or emergencies. [47:20]
Factors to consider in making a consumer proposal versus declaring bankruptcy. [49:30]
Strategies for preparing for and saving money for your funeral. [51:05]
How to dispute a collections account on your credit report. [52:35]
Whether to increase your credit card limit in order to keep your utilization ratio at 60%. [54:10]
Whether checking your own credit score affects the score. [54:25]
What happens after a bankruptcy, including how long it takes before you can get a loan. [54:55]
Featuring
Mark Kalinowski
Mark is a financial educator with the Credit Counselling Society with previous experience helping individuals solve their money problems as an accredited credit counsellor. Mark has also worked with banks and has completed various financial courses including the Life Licensing Exam, Insolvency Counsellor Qualifying Course, Canadian Securities, and Investment Funds in Canada Course.
Attendee feedback
“Thank you for this excellent webinar and the resources attached! 😀”
“The way a credit score is calculated, and ‘tempo’ are just two points of interest. Well done, Mark for his engaging presentation, and of course thanks to Paula Price and team at People's Law School for yet another worthwhile webinar.”
"Had some great takeaways on the CRA and not spending more than 60% of your credit card limit."
“Great information given in an easy to understand format. Thank you so much.”
“Nice to have a real person answering the questions.”
“Thank you so much for this helpful workshop!”
Additional resources
From People’s Law School:
From the Credit Counselling Society
Also:
Financial well-being survey, from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
How a non-profit credit counsellor can help, from the government of Canada
Finding a non-profit credit counsellor, from Credit Counselling Canada