iy Hava? . € wa ‘ as Bo - Sunday, January 15, 1984 - North Shore News PERSONAL FINANCING Too much credit costly THE OVER-USE of credit 1s a major cause of personal financial problems and marital discord. Some social scientists — blame business. They claim that if business was stricter with its limits of credit, fewer people would get into trouble through overindebtedness. in the final analysis, however, it is up to the in- dividual user of credit to ex- ercise reasonable self- control. This is especially so at times like Christmas, when millions of Canadians want to please others by buying them gifts. Many people terrd to get carned away, charging too much to their credit ac- counts at retailing establishments. The day of reckoning comes in the New Year ‘when all the bills from pre-Christmas buying sprees are totalled up. The financial hangover effect can be devastating. Of course, there are many prudent consumers who set aside a certain amount of money for the holiday season and stick to their pay-as-you- go plan. Others are equally careful even though they make credit purchases, by limiting the amount of their newly acquired indebtedness. Unfortunately, there are still others who don’t handle their finances responsibly. These are the ones who assume more consumer debt than By DON HUGHES they can cope with. That lat- ler group often blames the providers of credn for their personal predicament. They claim that if cred wasn't so teadily available they would not have over-extended them- selves. In extreme cases peo- ple will declare personal bankruptcy rather than get into a regime to clear their debts. lt isn't always the fault of the individual that a con- sumer finds his or her credit payments too heavy a burden. If a bread-winner falls sick and doesn’t have disability insurance coverage, a family’s income can drop drastically. Whatever the contributing factor, a person who becomes enmeshed with too heavy a personal debt load should take action as soon as the problem is identified. The first thing to do is ap- proach your creditors and endeavour to have the debt- repayment terms modified. Frequently, creditors will ac- cept such a proposal. If they balk at that, you should seek out a trained counsellor. During the past few years provincial government and community agencies have set up credit-counselling services in major centres. Counsellors can provide very valuable ad- vice. In effect, they will act as a mediator between the creditors and the person who has the debt problem. Most creditors will respond positively to a debt- repayment schedule recom- mended by a credit counsellor. - A typical recommendation would take the form of a pro- posal that the repayment period for the debts would be extended over a longer period of time, thus bringing down the actual amount of the monthly payment total to a total that was affordable to the debtor. Although credit counselling services do not have any legal authority to impose debt settlements, granters of credit usually leap at any reasonable proposal made to them. It will save creditors debt-collection costs, or having to write an account off as a bad debt. Don Hughes is 2 Chartered Financia] Planner in West Vancouver and can be reach- ed at 926-0136. TIME of Day FREE Call 24 hours 669-2555 KEN HAWLEY, of North Vancouver, sits comfortably in the 1984 Ford Tempo presented to him by Confederation Life Insurance Company, Vancouver, recently, as the premier award in a nation-wide sales promotion contest. Hawtey. who owns a private insurance agency in Vancouver, has represented Confederation over a long period of time and is ac- tive in a variety of community projects on the North Shore. Industrial Growth FU the 100k both ways” RRSP “a - ag When vou busy an RESP tte best wan to tel the future is to lob to the pase “Senil pays to book beth wavs Hecause a long tenn recond of cvasastentiy high growth is your best gauge Of pnasperts to come With Industinal Growth Fund the numbers in wur past speak for themosetyes One year: 32% Ten years: averaging 19% © and were past as excited about Uhe future! Te talk ateout an badastnal Cceowth band RRSP Hey yeours Pustisee Cectuseny Chue coousgoeony Poach ow sor Cuntlaae t DOROTEINY MOORE OK BOB EAGER Caveat Partth Management (oo | ott LOLOQ 1 AUD) Urstard Ss Varwinnat 1 669 1143 SD A AD ED SSD OS UD OD El Oh OD OD i > Gb DED OF Om OD OF OD OD OO iE Nhe more information atout an indwustnal Growth Fund RRSP NAME AL ett ws Ts han an Pear NG The Industrial Group of Funds. Our past could be your future. AD fqures to Nowemited 91 repreereting | cmpeund eereage annual return with diwiends crinvested Any offer ov made Oy (he peongpe tin WINTER SPORTS ACTIVITY GUIDE ~ ol hristmas is over. there's snow on the mountains, and many of our readers are turning ther attention to winter sports like skung, skating, ice fishing, snowmobiling, tobogganing. and a whole lot more The Winter Sports Actmty Guide in the January 25th tssue of the North Shore News will be a treat for our readers and for businesses who should be advertising thew winter sports equipment, clothing. recreational services. rentals, travel packages. snow mobiles. off road vehicles. tire chains WIN A Big White Ski Vacation Solve the puzzle in the Winter Sports Guide and you could win & tree ski vacation Advertising Deadline Wednesday January 18 300 pm Call Linda, our Feature Specialist If your business is winter sports you should be advertising tn our Winter Sports Actimty (suide - 980-0511 Unsplay Advertising: 1139 Lonsdale Ave NV sunday news north shore news