This past week of November 14th to 18th was Credit Education Week across Canada. Credit Education Week is a national initiative designed to increase the knowledge of Canadians about how to use credit wisely and avoid taking on more debt than they can handle. The theme of Credit Education Week this year was “The Sandwich Generation”. The Sandwich Generation is defined as people who are caring for their aging parents at the same time as they are supporting their own children. Being in this situation puts a great deal of pressure on family finances, and the goal of this year’s Credit Education Week was to offer suggestions to Canadians on how to handle this pressure, as well as providing more general credit-related information.
Our local Thunder Bay Counselling Centre, as it always does, put together a week-long series of information events and presentations to coincide with the national program. The events included presentations entitled “Family Finances”, “Protecting My Identity”, and a fun shopping-themed game called “The Price is Right” at Intercity Mall. These events and presentations were well attended by the community and the efforts of the Counselling Centre staff were much appreciated. Their team includes two excellent counsellors in Bev Dunnill and Cyndi Sereda. As credit counsellors, they can help you make a plan to pay off your debts in full and can help you work with your creditors to reduce the amount of interest they are charging you on your debts, sometimes even to zero. The goal of the Thunder Bay Counselling Centre is to “Help you take control of your financial future”. They offer a weekly drop-in centre where people can “Ask A Financial Coach” for some assistance. The Thunder Bay Counselling Centre provides a great service to our community, and we often refer clients to the Centre that contact us but whose financial situation is not dire enough to require a bankruptcy or consumer proposal under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.
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