7 Tips to Reduce Your Financial Burden Efficiently

Your debts are piling up and accumulating and you are starting to have serious concerns over your ability to cover them? At Bernier & Associates, licensed insolvency trustees in Gatineau and 14 other locations in Quebec and Ontario (Ottawa), we have put together these 7 tips to help you reduce your debts and avoid falling into excessive financial burden. Enjoy your reading!

1.  Breakdown a detailed budget: write down all your monthly inflows and outflows of cash so you can establish a detailed comparison. Then see if you can remove or cut back on a few expenses. For example, limit your restaurant outings and switch your coffee on the run for a home-brewed coffee.

2. Focus on the essentials: buy things you need only and reject unnecessary expenditures or look for cheaper alternatives.

3.  Walk away from "buy now, pay later" deals: Besides making you feel as if you have money which you don't have, they often come with high interest rates.

4.  Pay off high-interest debts: pay the minimum amount on all your other debts and make a larger payment on the debt with the highest interest rates.

5.  Restrain or stop using your credit cards: opt for cash or debit payments to avoid the risk of excessive debt. Keep your cards in a secure spot until you pay your debts.

6.  Talk to your creditors: see if you can get a lower interest rate to settle your debts or extend the length of your payments, which would allow you to reduce the amount of your debts.

7.  Consolidate your debts: check the eligibility to take out a loan with a financial institution, pooling all your debts into one loan, with a single term and generally at a lower rate.

Need further support to help you get out of the tough situation you are in? At Bernier & Associates, our team is made up of chartered professional accountants and licensed insolvency trustees (formerly known as trustees in bankruptcy since the 1950s) (SAI) who will be able to advise you on financial recovery, personal bankruptcy and debt consolidation. Contact one of our 15 offices (Gatineau, Laval, Montreal, Ottawa, etc.)!