Portage Ave Winnipeg, MB R3C 0B9 Phone #: (204) Fax #: (204) Toll Free #:

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1 Portage Ave Winnipeg, MB R3C 0B9 Phone #: (204) Fax #: (204) Toll Free #: debthelpmanitoba.com

2 Todays Session Overview of Services Banking in Canada Money Management Credit Common types of credit available to students Using credit wisely Question and Answer period

3 CFCS History Established in 1974 as Community Income Tax Services to combat unregulated tax discounting Credit Counselling began in 1976 Provincial funding in 1982 United Way Member Agency since 1984 Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries funding since 2004 CFCS is a registered charity and a nationally accredited non profit credit counselling agency Our Vision: All Manitobans will have the capacity to make informed decisions and navigate successfully the various financial systems that have impact on their daily lives

4 CFCS Services Credit and Financial Counselling Gambling Addiction Program Community Volunteer Income Tax Debt Management Program Educational Workshops Information and Referrals (All services are confidential; counselling services are FREE)

5 Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) You may qualify to have your tax return(s) completed for free by trained CRA volunteers if your tax returns are very basic and your income is below certain levels Seasonal: February April Tax filing deadline is April 30 each year CFCS works in partnership with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)

6 Opening a Bank Account To open an account, you have to: Go to the bank in person Provide the bank with some identification (ID). You must use original ID, not photocopies. Types of bank accounts Chequing accounts: for day-to-day banking transactions, like making a purchase Savings accounts: where you can set money aside for savings, emergencies, etc.

7 Bank or Credit Union? Banks: Regulated by the Canadian Government Typically charge fees to have a bank account, but most offer student bank accounts without fees Have locations throughout Canada- easy access 5 major banks in Canada: TD, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, BMO Credit unions: Regulated by the Provincial Government Usually have lower bank fees Do not have locations all over Canada

8 What can you do if the bank won't open an account for you? BANKS have the responsibility to provide a bank account as long as the person has 2 approved pieces of identification, one with a picture The bank must provide a written denial For more information or to file a complaint: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Website: CREDIT UNIONS have the right to deny accounts to people as they have different operational standards For more information or to file a complaint: Financial Institutions Regulations Branch Website:

9 Why Should I Budget? To take control of your finances and financial situation To make efficient use of your money and be a smart consumer To save money Budgeting To exit school with as little debt as possible To live within your means To reach your short, mid- and long term goals

10 5 Steps in a Successful Budget 1. Determining income 2. Cost of Living 3. Track Expenses 4. Review, Revise and plan 5. Maintain Plan & Motivation

11 Determining Income This can be a bit complicated for students Consider all sources of income, such as: Part time or full time work Money from family members Savings Money from student loans Scholarships and bursaries When considering employment income, use net income- money you actually receive after deductions for things like Employment Insurance or Income Tax

12 Case Study: Jennifer Jennifer is attending the University of Manitoba. During the summers she will return to her home country of the United States and live with her parents, where her living costs will be paid for by her parents. Therefore, she needs to budget for spending September-April (8 months) in Manitoba Jennifer will be working one night a week (equaling 6 hours a week) in a coffee shop on campus. She will be making minimum wage ($10.70/hour). Her paycheque after deductions will be $125 every 2 weeks, equalling $250/month She has some personal savings from when she worked during her summers in high school, and she intends on working every summer when she returns home. Jennifer is also lucky because her parents also have some savings that they will use to help her pay her tuition, books, and living costs. She has applied for a bursary for her first year, and received $3000. She has received a student loan for her first year of study from the United States.

13 Case Study: Jennifer Note that I have divided Jennifer's source of income into two categories- Lump sum income (to be received before school starts) and ongoing sources of income that will be received monthly during the school year

14 You will have both one time costs and ongoing expenses (your cost of living) while living and attending school in Manitoba Ongoing costs can include: Rent Food Entertainment Personal items (ex: shampoo) Utilities (ex: cell phone) One time costs can include: o Books o Other supplies (such as a computer) o Tuition Your Living Expenses

15 Cost of Living: Ongoing Expenses Cost of Living (COL) includes all ongoing expenses needed to maintain your daily life and important expenses (rent, food, health, etc) The COL does not include any debt or credit payments The COL shows an average look at a month (e.g. if you spend approx. $1200 on gifts each year the monthly average would be recorded as $100)

16 Case Study: Jennifer s Ongoing Expenses Jennifer and two of her friends are going to rent a house together. The house costs $1300 a month, and that includes utilities like heat and water. They plan on hooking up cable and internet, which will cost them $120 a month. They will split this cost 3 ways. Jennifer will pay for her cell phone separately. She plans on taking the bus everywhere she can, but wants to budget some money for taxi s for the occasional trip. She purchased the U of M health coverage as part of her tuition fees, which helps her pay her health care costs. However, she does have a regular prescription that she must fill every month. This costs $50 total, but she only has to pay 20% of this (she gets 80% coverage from her health care plan). She has budgeted $50 a month for clothing. This is taking into account having to purchase some winter clothing in November.

17 Expense Rent $450 Cell phone $65 Internet/cable $40 Groceries $200 Entertainment $50 Clothing $50 Bus Pass $67.75 Taxi $20 Toiletries $40 Health care $10 TOTAL Case Study: Jennifer s Ongoing Expenses Monthly cost $992.75/month for 8 months

18 Case Study: Jennifer's One-Time Expenses There are some expenses that Jennifer will have to pay for at the beginning of the year, before school starts Expense Cost Tuition $17,000 Books/supplies $2000 Moving costs $0 Damage deposit at rental (Jennifer s portion) $220 TOTAL $19,000

19 Allocating Income Case Study: Jennifer INCOME Lump sum income Monthly income TOTALS: $21,500 $750/month EXPENSES One-time expenses Monthly expenses TOTALS: $19,000 $ If we compare her monthly income to her monthly expenses, Jennifer is short by $ a month ($1942 for the 8 months she will be in Manitoba) After Jennifer pays her one-time expenses at the beginning of the school year, she will have $2500 left over. Therefore, Jennifer will have to use that $2500 to help cover her ongoing expenses throughout the year

20 Tracking Expenses Tracking expenses verifies the accuracy of your COL. There are a number of ways to track expenses: Keep all receipts; tally for the month or the week. Write down all purchases/spending in a notebook. You may be surprised how quickly small expenses add up, like buying coffee daily. *recording purchases daily may be easier than tallying up all purchases at the end of the month.

21 Review, Revise & Plan If you have a shortfall (spending more money than you make): How can you cut back on your spending? Can you increase your income? Can you set limits on your spending? For example, limiting eating out to $10 a week If you have a surplus (money left over): Pay off debt Increase savings Start an emergency fund for unexpected expenses

22 Setting Goals SMART Specific Exactly what is the goal? Measurable What is the cost in dollars? Action oriented What is the plan and structure? Relevant Is the goal realistic for you? Time certain Process should have due date

23 Credit: Credit cards vs. debit cards, the cost of interest, and using credit wisely

24 What is a Debit Card? A debit card is a card issued by a bank, letting you access the funds you have in your account. With every purchase, your bank balance goes down. You can also withdraw funds from your account at an ATM.

25 What is Credit? Credit is the ability to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the future. What is Interest? Money you pay to the credit card company for the ability to use borrowed funds. If you do not pay off your credit card each month, your interest charges will increase the cost of everything you buy. if you pay off your balance in full each month and don t use the card for cash advances, you won t pay any interest.

26 Credit Cards A credit card lends the user a limited amount of money to pay for goods and services, with the promise to pay the money back by a certain date If you don t pay the balance off in full every month, you will be charged interest Credit cards are different from debit cards as a debit card allows you access to funds in your bank account while a credit card allows you access to BORROWED funds that you must repay. The amount of borrowed money you can access is called your credit limit Many banks offer student credit cards with low credit limits.

27 Cash Advances on Credit Cards A cash advance is money withdrawn from a credit card It is still debt, and the amount you withdraw will be added to your credit card balance, the same way as a purchase would be The interest on cash advances is even higher than regular purchases Interest is charged from the moment the money is withdrawn until the day it is entirely paid off

28 Annual Percentage Rate (APR) Yearly amount of interest applied to borrowed money or loans to find out how much you are paying divide your APR by 12 and multiply your debt load by the interest Example: your credit card has 18.99% APR 18.99%/12 = 1.58% multiply your balance by this amount to find how much interest you pay monthly

29 Lines of Credit A loan that lets you borrow money up to a certain limit Given by a financial institution to those who qualify Eligibility requirements can include a certain level of income, pledging security, a good credit rating, etc. Advantage: lower interest rates, usually have no fees Disadvantage: interest rates change depending on the market conditions, and easy access to borrowed money may get you in trouble with debt

30 Lines of Credit Some banks offer student lines of credit to help students pay for the cost of education many require that you have a Canadian cosigner Interest only payments are required while you are in school Co-signer: When someone co-signs a debt for you, they are taking legal responsibility for that debt. If you don t pay back what you owe, the cosigner becomes responsible for paying back the debt.

31 Student Loans Loans to help you pay for school- typically given by the government To qualify, you must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident (landed immigrant), or protected person. You also must be a Manitoba resident Usually you receive a federal portion from the Government of Canada and a provincial portion from the Government of Manitoba You apply for both portions with Manitoba Student Aid Visit canlearn.ca for more information You do not have to make payments on the loan until 6 months after you stop attending school

32 Cell Phones When you sign your contract you are committing to make payments every month for a pre-determined length of time If you stop making payments and do not cancel your contract, you can incur debt to your phone company Cancelling a contract costs money Be VERY cautious about getting a phone contract for someone else, but putting it in your name

33 The Cost of Credit Source: fcac.gc.ca credit card payment calculator Balance Interest rate Monthly payment $ % Minimum payment* ($30 initially) $ % Minimum payment* + $5 $ % $50 fixed payment $ % Minimum payment* ($30 initially) $ % Minimum payment* + $5 $ % $50 fixed payment Time it will take to pay off 10 years and 5 months 6 years and 4 months 2 years and 1 month 19 years and 2 months 8 years and 8 months 2 years and 4 months Cost of interest Total cost $ $1, $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ * Minimum payment calculated as $10 or 3%, whichever is greater. As you pay off your balance, the minimum payment decreases

34 Using Credit Wisely Before getting credit 1. Read the Credit Card Application and ask questions 2. Know yourself and your spending habits. 3. Limit the number of credit cards you apply for. When you Have Credit 1. Avoid impulse buys. 2. Pay off your credit card every month 3. If you can t pay off your card balance, make AT LEAST the minimum payment 4. Make regular payments to help build a good credit history. 5. If your credit card balance is growing, stop using your credit card until you get your finances under control. Source: FCAC

35 Using Credit Wisely 6. Avoid taking cash advances on your credit card 7. Every month, read your credit card statement to check for mistakes 8. If your credit card has a rewards program, don t buy things you don't need just to get points. 9. If unexpected expenses come up, talk to your financial institution about your options. 10. Keep your card, your PIN, and your security code safe, private, and secure. Source: FCAC

36 The Dangers of Using Credit Having limited knowledge of debt and credit can put you at risk. The convenience of some forms of credit make it easy to accumulate debt. Interest rates can cause your debt to increase faster than you can pay it off. Remember that having a credit card doesn t increase the amount of money you have available to spend. A credit limit is borrowed funds, not actual money.

37 Your Credit Report- the Importance of Using Credit Wisely When you use a credit card (or other types of credit/loans), your payment history is reported to 2 credit bureaus in Canada: Equifax and TransUnion. This information creates your credit report, a snapshot of your borrowing history. If you have missed payments, been late making payments, or have not paid your debts, you will have more difficulty borrowing money in the future.

38 Do you have questions about anything you learned today? Are you struggling with debt? Do you want help setting up a budget? Give us a call! Portage Ave Winnipeg, MB R3C 0B9 Phone #: (204) Fax #: (204) Toll Free #: info@cfcs.mb.ca debthelpmanitoba.com