A Calgary-based company specializing in insolvency and debt relief options says International Women’s Day is a prime time look at how inflation is affecting women and what one's sinking in debt can do about it..Bromwich + Smith has licensed insolvency trustees and debt relief specialists across Canada. In an interview with Western Standard, its public relations and communications specialist Sarah Stachiw said women are worse off from a higher cost of living..“On average, women who worked full time only earn about 75 cents for every dollar earned by a man. And that gap is actually really big. When you think about everything we pay for. The women in the household are typically not always, but typically, the driving force behind household purchases. So we actually find females end up going into debt a whole lot faster than our counterparts do,” Stachiw explained..“In Saskatchewan, we know insolvency filings are getting higher. In January, which is the most recent months that the OSB announced the insolvency filings, we saw 276 consumer proposals or bankruptcies filed. That number has been going up and up over the last couple of months. And that's actually 36.4% higher than the same month of the previous year.”.These times make it more important than ever to spend wisely..“We're telling everyone to educate themselves. There's a lot of financial literacy that we're not educated on,” Stachiw said..“The cost of living is up for absolutely everyone at the gas pumps at the grocery stores, our rents, and everything's going up.”.Stachiw said many clients put expenses on credit cards until they reached their debt limit. Compound interest mounted, then letters from bill collectors come in..“That credit wears down and you don't have anything available. We're having a lot of people call in because just astronomical cost of what's gone up in their lives and across all aspects, an 11% increase just at the grocery store,” Stachiw said..Refund demands on Canada COVID-19 benefit payouts pushed some people over the financial edge..“A lot of people started getting those letters coming out saying you owe back for CRB. A lot of people had a couple of thousand dollars they were having to put back into Canada Revenue,” Stachiw said..“When you're looking at all the costs of absolutely everything you're trying to pay off, now you're trying to make those strides, and then you get a letter like that in the mail. And it's just devastating, right? .“We knew that these government programs were a Band-Aid fix, and they weren't going to last forever. It subdued the hurts we were feeling financially for a little bit. But now we're back in the full brunt of it. And we're really feeling the hurt now.”.Stachiw said people feeling bad about their debt should take hold of the options companies like hers make available..“There are resources available. People who are struggling with debt, you don't have to be in it alone. We hear so often that people are feeling guilty or they're feeling shameful, it's an embarrassing feeling,” Stachiw said..“A licensed insolvency trustee is the only person who's federally regulated to help you with debt relief programs in Canada. Reach out and find out that there are options because you don't need to struggle alone, and there are people who can help you get on top of your debt.”
A Calgary-based company specializing in insolvency and debt relief options says International Women’s Day is a prime time look at how inflation is affecting women and what one's sinking in debt can do about it..Bromwich + Smith has licensed insolvency trustees and debt relief specialists across Canada. In an interview with Western Standard, its public relations and communications specialist Sarah Stachiw said women are worse off from a higher cost of living..“On average, women who worked full time only earn about 75 cents for every dollar earned by a man. And that gap is actually really big. When you think about everything we pay for. The women in the household are typically not always, but typically, the driving force behind household purchases. So we actually find females end up going into debt a whole lot faster than our counterparts do,” Stachiw explained..“In Saskatchewan, we know insolvency filings are getting higher. In January, which is the most recent months that the OSB announced the insolvency filings, we saw 276 consumer proposals or bankruptcies filed. That number has been going up and up over the last couple of months. And that's actually 36.4% higher than the same month of the previous year.”.These times make it more important than ever to spend wisely..“We're telling everyone to educate themselves. There's a lot of financial literacy that we're not educated on,” Stachiw said..“The cost of living is up for absolutely everyone at the gas pumps at the grocery stores, our rents, and everything's going up.”.Stachiw said many clients put expenses on credit cards until they reached their debt limit. Compound interest mounted, then letters from bill collectors come in..“That credit wears down and you don't have anything available. We're having a lot of people call in because just astronomical cost of what's gone up in their lives and across all aspects, an 11% increase just at the grocery store,” Stachiw said..Refund demands on Canada COVID-19 benefit payouts pushed some people over the financial edge..“A lot of people started getting those letters coming out saying you owe back for CRB. A lot of people had a couple of thousand dollars they were having to put back into Canada Revenue,” Stachiw said..“When you're looking at all the costs of absolutely everything you're trying to pay off, now you're trying to make those strides, and then you get a letter like that in the mail. And it's just devastating, right? .“We knew that these government programs were a Band-Aid fix, and they weren't going to last forever. It subdued the hurts we were feeling financially for a little bit. But now we're back in the full brunt of it. And we're really feeling the hurt now.”.Stachiw said people feeling bad about their debt should take hold of the options companies like hers make available..“There are resources available. People who are struggling with debt, you don't have to be in it alone. We hear so often that people are feeling guilty or they're feeling shameful, it's an embarrassing feeling,” Stachiw said..“A licensed insolvency trustee is the only person who's federally regulated to help you with debt relief programs in Canada. Reach out and find out that there are options because you don't need to struggle alone, and there are people who can help you get on top of your debt.”
