Debt – Prosper Canada Learning Hub

FCAC Financial wellbeing survey edited copy

Money and Youth: A guide to financial literacy

Dollars Seen Differently Podcast

How to manage financial stress and avoid burnout

Paying your mortgage when experiencing financial difficulties

Navigating Finances: Paying Down Debt vs. Investing

Credit comeback: how to rebuild credit

Motivations and barriers to seeking debt advice

Check up on your financial health

The new wealth agenda: A blueprint for building a future of inclusive wealth

Canadians’ Financial Well-being: Summary of FCAC survey findings

How to spot sketchy debt advice

Options you can trust to help you with your debt

Credit scores and credit reporting in Canada

While your credit score is a number to quickly show how creditworthy you are, your credit report is more detailed. It covers your entire credit profile and includes information such as personal information, credit account (including credit cards, lines of credit, mortgages...), bankruptcies...

Watch this video by Scotiabank to learn what a credit score is and why it matters.

Then learn how to check your credit score for free in Canada.

You may also learn how borrowing can impact your credit score.

If you check your credit report and your credit score is low, follow these tips for how to help increase credit scores.

The mastering money podcast

Brought to you from CPA Canada, this financial literacy podcast talks about key issues, trends and tips as they relate to financial education.

Season 7 of the Mastering Money podcast takes a deep dive into debt and the way it affects Canadians.

Season 6 of the Mastering Money podcast will help prepare you for retirement and give you the tools to get there, no matter your age.

Season 5 of the Mastering Money podcast unpacks the hard financial conversations you need to be having with your kids, partners, financial planners and more.

Season 4 of the Mastering Money podcast explores the role money plays in the lives of women from all walks of life, now and in the future.

Season 3 of the Mastering Money podcast looks at the difficult financial decisions Canadians are making during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Season 2 of the podcast takes listeners on a journey across various financial literacy hot topics and trends. These include how to fit financial literacy into existing programs, the financial health of future generations as well what it takes to take the plunge and start your own business.

In this introductory season of the podcast, hear from financial educators on topics such as behavioral economics, the emotions of money, financial wellness, and more.

Your financial toolkit

A comprehensive learning program that provides basic information and tools to help adults manage their personal finances and gain the confidence they need to make better financial decisions. Learn more about the program and how to use the learning modules.

Dealing with Debt

English

Dealing with debt: Tips and tools to help you manage your debt

Dealing with debt – About this resource

DWD Worksheet #1 – Your money priorities – Fillable PDF

DWD Worksheet #2: What do I owe? – Fillable PDF

DWD Worksheet #3: Making a debt action plan – Fillable PDF

DWD Worksheet #4: Tracking fluctuating expenses – Fillable PDF

DWD Worksheet #5: Making a spending plan – Fillable PDF including calculations

DWD Worksheet #6: Your credit report and credit score – Fillable PDF

DWD Worksheet #7: Know your rights and options

Dealing with debt – Resources

Dealing with debt – Full booklet

Dealing with debt: Training tools

Dealing with debt – Facilitator tools (Training deck, facilitator guide, and sample Equifax credit report) – English

Resources

Managing debt , Ontario Securities Commission

Options you can trust to help you with your debt, Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada

Debt advisory marketplace/ consumer awareness, Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada

Navigating Finances: Paying Down Debt vs. Investing, CIRO

Loan and Trust, FSRA

French

Gestion de la dette: Conseils et outils pour vous aider à gérer votre dette

01 – Vos priorités financières
02 – Combien ai-je de dettes?
03 – Faire un plan d’action
04 – Suivi des dépenses variables
05 – Faire un plan de dépense
06 – Dossier de crédit et cote de solvabilité
07 – Connaître nos droits et nos options
Ressources : Pour en savoir plus
Gestion de la dette : Livret complet

Ressources

Gestion de la dette, La Commission des valeurs mobilières de l’Ontario

Des options fiables pour vous aider avec vos dettes, Bureau du surintendant des faillites

Marché des services-conseils en redressement financier et sensibilisation des consommateurs, Bureau du surintendant des faillites

Rembourser ses dettes ou investir? OCRI

Services de prêt et de fiducie, ARSF

Rising prices and the impact on the most financially vulnerable: A profile of those in the bottom family income quintile

This study uses the 2022 Portrait of Canadian Society Survey to examine the impact of rising inflation on the lowest income Canadians. Using multiple pre-pandemic data sources, the study takes a closer look at people living in the bottom family income quintile, examining their family income, debt and assets levels, as well as some indicators of economic hardship.

Managing your money in a changing world

Managing your finances means finding the right balance. Inflation and higher interest rates signal that you may need to adjust your budget to find the right balance between daily spending and paying down debt. The right balance will depend on your financial situation and goals.

This selection of tools from the FCAC provides information and tips on:

How to manage your money when interest rates rise

Make a plan to pay off your debt

What to consider before borrowing money

Know your rights when borrowing money

Pilot study: Buy now, pay later services in Canada

A key component of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s (FCAC’s) mandate is to monitor and evaluate trends and emerging issues that may have an impact on consumers of financial products and services. Technological innovations in financial services and shifting consumer behaviours have resulted in a steady increase in retail e-commerce sales over the past several years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on how consumers make retail purchases. Retail e-commerce sales reached record levels during the pandemic. This has further contributed to the proliferation of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services in Canada.

Emergency savings preparedness and perceptions

According to Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), workers with household incomes of $75,000 or more are more than twice as likely to say they feel they can handle an emergency expense than those with household incomes of less than $35,000.

This report outlines the results of the 2022 survey that polled nearly 2700 Americans 25 and older.

Emergency savings features that work for employees earning low to moderate incomes

Workers earning low to moderate incomes (LMI) continue to face challenges in financial security. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the financial situation of many workers earning LMI. Along with the current macroeconomic environment, it has become even more challenging to build liquid savings for unexpected expenses. In this brief, we will share insights from our latest research with DCIIA Research Retirement Center on how employers and service providers can build and offer emergency savings solutions that are inclusively designed for workers earning LMI.

Thriving or surviving study 2022

Debt consolidation calculator

Debt Consolidation is the process of combining multiple debts into one. Use this calculator to calculate what your new monthly payments would be, how soon you could be debt free, and how much your total interest amount would be when you consolidate your debts.

Pay down debt or invest tool

If you have extra money, this calculator helps you decide whether to invest or pay off debt.

Money Mentors’ free financial education programs

Money Mentors’ free online courses are available to everyone. The 1-2 hour narrated courses make it easy to learn at your own pace. These online courses provide the same great content as our in-person presentations, but at the touch of a finger.

They cover a variety of topics including budgeting, debt, credit, fraud, life events and one course even focuses on managing money and understanding credit for high school students.

Read more about Money Mentors' free financial literacy presentations to provide K-12 students with money concepts and skills here.

National Report on High Interest Loans

ACORN Canada undertook a study focusing on high interest loans, especially when taken online. For the purpose of the study, high interest loans were defined as loans such as payday loans, installment loans, title loans etc. that are taken from companies/institutions that are not regular banks or credit unions.

The study was conducted to examine the experience of lower-income consumers in the increasingly available online high-cost credit markets.

The study was divided into three phases - conducting a literature review and webscan which was undertaken by Prosper Canada; legislative scan to understand the regulatory framework; and a national survey to capture experiences of people who have taken high interest loans, especially online.

Money Mentors – Savings & Debt Resources

Collection of money management resources, including how create effective budgets, realistic spending plans, deal with your debts, save more money, build a stronger credit rating, and prepare for retirement.

State of Fair Banking in Canada 2020: Borrower and Lender Perspectives

The DUCA Impact Lab defines fair banking as any financial product or service that lives up to the following set of principles:

Pricing is clear, transparent, and well understood
Pricing is representative of the cost of funds, cost of administration and risk, rather than what the market will bear
It is clear to all parties how any personal data is being used by the lender
Personal data is only used for purposes agreed to by both the borrower and lender
The terms and conditions, including penalties and the rights of each party are clearly explained and well understood by both lender and borrower
Products are only recommended that will bring the borrower closer to their expressed goals
The borrower is clear on what the institution will do (and not do), with deposits to earn a return
The assessment of risk is objective, transparent and not prejudicial
Financial institution recommendations are not biased towards in-house product recommendations
Products empower consumers when they need access to financial services, not just when they do not

Their Fair Banking 2020 report presents data on the following areas:

Debt load and its impact on Canadians
Financial confidence
Divide between borrowers and lenders
How financial products are priced
Poor credit and ability to access to financial product and services
Demographic snapshot: People of colour and Indigenous Canadians

Attitudes Toward Debt and Debt Behavior

This paper introduces a novel survey measure of attitude toward debt. Survey results with panel data on Swedish household balance sheets from registry data are matched, showing that debt attitude measure helps explain individual variation in indebtedness as well as debt build-up and spending behavior in the period 2004–2007. As an explanatory variable, debt attitude compares well to a number of other determinants of debt, including education, risk-taking, and financial literacy. Evidence that suggests that debt attitude is passed down along family lines and has a cultural element is also presented.

Retirement Security and Financial Decision-making: Research Brief

A growing number of retirees are not experiencing the expected gradual reduction in spending after they retire. This report summarizes the findings of a Bureau study into whether people who retired between 1992 and 2014 had the income, savings, and/or non-housing assets to maintain the same level of spending for at least five consecutive years after retiring. The study found that about half of people who retired between 1992 and 2014 had income, savings, and/or non-housing assets to maintain the same spending level for five consecutive years after retiring. In addition, the Bureau found that the ability to maintain the same spending level in the first five years in retirement was associated with large spending cuts in later years. The study helps identify ways to protect retirees from overspending their savings in early retirement.

Debt Relief Options in Canada – Long Term Outcome Comparison

This research report compares the long-term financial outcomes of Canadians, based on a study comparing consumers who used a debt management program (DMP), bankruptcy (BK), or a consumer proposal (CP) to obtain relief from debt.

creditcounsellingcanada-debtreliefoptions

Bien choisir son crédit : un guide pratique [A Practical Guide to Making Smart Credit Choices]

A guide comprised of 12 fact sheets for consumers to learn more about credit, grouped into the following topics: general information, warnings, credit products, and comparison tables. (Please note this is a French-language resource.)

Review of Financial Literacy Research in Canada: An Environmental Scan and Gap Analysis

The Review of Financial Literacy Research in Canada highlights past and current advancements in financial literacy research (produced by government and non-governmental stakeholders) while identifying existing gaps within the financial landscape. The overriding goal is to help strengthen the financial well-being of all Canadians. The review contains four research priorities: managing debt, navigating the financial marketplace, building savings, and budgeting.

Consumer debt and household vulnerability among low and moderate- income households in Canada

Resources

Handouts, slides, and time-stamps

Read the presentation slides for this webinar.

Handouts for this webinar:
Report: Roadblock to recovery: Consumer debt of low- and moderate-income Canadian households in the time of COVID-19 (Prosper Canada)
Survey results: Canadians with incomes under $40K bearing the financial brunt of COVID-19 (Leger and Prosper Canada)

Time-stamps for the video recording:
4:42 – Agenda and introductions
7:52 – Audience polls
10:55 – Researching consumer debt (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
18:55 – How much does debt cost? (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
23:17 – How do different kinds of debt work? (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
29:17 – What are people using their credit for? (Speaker: Vivian Odu)
40:49 – What help is available to Canadian borrowers? (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
45:22 – Q&A

How to really build financial capability

Recent years have seen an explosion in interventions designed to improve financial outcomes of participants. Yet on-the-ground evidence suggests that not all financial education programs are equally successful at achieving this aim.

This paper examines the difference between interventions that work, and those than do not. It attempts to answer the question: “How do you actually build financial capability?” In doing so, we aim to help interested parties enhance the effectiveness of their programs and policies by providing them with evidence-based recommendations to drive positive outcomes in participants.

COVID-19 Financial Resource Centre

Credit Canada has pulled together financial information from trusted sources and released original content to help Canadians manage their finances during COVID-19.

The Early Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Credit Applications

This report documents the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on credit applications, which are among the very first credit market measures to change in credit report data in response to changes in economic activity. Using the Bureau’s Consumer Credit Panel, how applications for auto loans, mortgages, credit cards, and other loans changed week-by-week during the month of March, compared to the same time in previous years was studied.

Roadblock to Recovery: Consumer debt of low- and moderate-income Canadians in the time of COVID-19

Almost half of low-income households and 62 per cent of moderate-income households carry debt, with households on low incomes spending 31 per cent of their income on debt repayments, according to a new report published by national charity, Prosper Canada.

This report analyzes the distribution, amount and composition of non-mortgage debt held by low- and moderate-income Canadian households and explores implications for federal and provincial/territorial policy makers as they develop and implement COVID-19 economic recovery plans and fulfill their respective regulatory roles.

Making Safety Affordable: Intimate Partner Violence is an Asset-Building Issue

This brief explores three existing unmet needs that contribute to survivors’ inability to build wealth: money, tailored asset-building support, and safe and responsive banking and credit services. Within each identified need, specific issues facing survivors, strategic actions in response to those issues, as well as innovative ideas and existing promising practices to help funders take action to prioritize survivor wealth are discussed.

Wealth and Health Equity: Investing in Structural Change

Building on the Asset Funders Network’s the Health and Wealth Connection: Investment Opportunities Across the Life Course brief, this paper details:

What we know about the health-wealth connection for adults.
Why investment in integration is important.
How philanthropy can contribute to improving health-wealth outcomes for adults.

On September 29th, AFN hosted a webinar to release the paper with featured speakers:

Dr. Annie Harper, Ph.D., Program for Recovery and Community Health, Yale School of Medicine
Joelle-Jude Fontaine, Sr. Program Officer, Human Services, The Kresge Foundation
Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, Chief of Race, Wealth, and Community, National Community Reinvestment Coalition

Lifting the Weight: Consumer Debt Solutions Framework

Aspen Financial Security Program’s the Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC) has identified seven specific consumer debt problems that result in decreased financial insecurity and well-being. Four of the identified problems are general to consumer debt: households’ lack of savings or financial cushion, restricted access to existing high-quality credit for specific groups of consumers, exposure to harmful loan terms and features, and detrimental delinquency, default, and collections practices. The other three problems relate to structural features of three specific types of debt: student loans, medical debt, and government fines and fees.

This report presents a solutions framework to address all seven of these problems. The framework includes setting one or more tangible goals to achieve for each problem, and, for each goal, the solutions different sectors (financial services providers, governments, non-profits, employers, educational or medical institutions) can pursue.

Indicators for Financial Empowerment: Learnings from the National Financial Empowerment Champions Project

English

Indicators for financial empowerment

French

Indicateurs d’autonomisation financiere

Questions and answers to legal topics in Ontario

The Community of Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) website contains answers to common questions pertaining to a number of legal topics, including: COVID-19, debt and consumer rights, and employment and work.

Canada’s Forgotten Poor? Putting Singles Living in Deep Poverty on the Policy Radar

This report presents the findings of extensive research about employable singles on social assistance undertaken by Toronto Employment and Social Services, in partnership with the Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation. Drawing on data from 69,000 singles who were receiving social assistance in Toronto in 2016, and 51 interviews with randomly selected participants, the report highlights these individuals’ characteristics, their complex needs, and the barriers they face in moving off social assistance and into employment. Complementing the quantitative analysis, the interviews provide important insights into the daily realities of participants’ lives and their journeys on and off assistance.

Debt settlement and financial recovery companies: too risky an option?

This report presents a study of the debt settlement and financial recovery industry and examines Canadian consumer issues from these services.

Data is gathered from company websites and contracts as well as customer surveys and questionnaires completed by governmental and non-governmental organizations. A comparative study of legislation applicable to the industry is also conducted.

Financial well-being in America

This report provides a view into the state of financial well-being in America. It presents results from the National Financial Well-Being Survey, conducted in late 2016. The findings include the distribution of financial well-being scores for the overall adult population and for selected subgroups, which show that there is wide variation in how people feel about their financial well-being. The report provides insight into which subgroups are faring relatively well and which ones are facing greater financial challenges, and identifies opportunities to improve the financial well-being of significant portions of the U.S. adult population through practice and research.

Prosperity Now Scorecard

The Prosperity Now Scorecard is a comprehensive resource featuring data on family financial health and policy recommendations to help put all U.S. households on a path to prosperity. The Scorecard equips advocates, policymakers and practitioners with national, state, and local data to jump-start a conversation about solutions and policies that put households on stronger financial footing across five issue areas: Financial Assets & Income, Businesses & Jobs, Homeownership & Housing, Health Care and Education.

Building Sustainable Communities

State of Fair Banking in Canada

Everyone needs to bank and nearly everyone has a relationship with at least one financial institution. Financial Institutions need relationships with consumers too, in order to thrive as businesses. The role these relationships play in financial decision making for Canadians is an important consideration for anyone seeking to understand the financial health of Canadians and the impact of the banking sector in Canada. This report discusses the findings from a national sample of both banking consumers and lenders who were asked about their perspectives on fairness, access, credibility and transparency.

Financial Health Index: 2019 Findings and 3-Year Trends Report

This report explores consumer financial health, wellness/ stress and resilience for Canadians across a range of financial health indicators, demographics and all provinces excluding Quebec. This report provides topline results from the 2019 Financial Health Index study and three-year trends from 2017 to 2019.

Video: Debt collection scams

Dealing with debt collection issues can be challenging—especially when you’re not sure if the person you’re being contacted by is a legitimate debt collector or someone trying to scam you. This video from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the United States shares useful tips on spotting debt collection scams and protecting yourself from scammers.

Backgrounder: Preliminary findings from Canada’s Financial Well-Being Survey

This backgrounder reports preliminary findings from a survey of financial well-being among Canadian adults.

Preliminary analysis of the survey data indicates that two behaviours are particularly important in supporting the financial well-being of Canadians. First, our analysis indicates that Canadians who practice active savings behaviour have higher levels of financial resilience as well as higher levels of overall financial well-being. In other words, regardless of the amount of money someone makes, regular efforts to save for unexpected expenses and other future priorities appears to be the key to feeling and being in control of personal finances.

Secondly, Canadians who often use credit to pay for daily expenses because they have run short of money have lower levels of financial well-being. While this behaviour is likely symptomatic of low levels of financial well-being, our analysis indicates that a person can substantially improve their financial resilience and financial well-being by implementing strategies to reduce the frequency of running out of money and of having to rely on credit to get by.

Retirement 20/20: The 2019 Fidelity Retirement Survey

The Fidelity Retirement Survey is focused on how Canadians near, and already in, retirement approach the next stage of their lives. This is the 14th year of the survey.

The results indicate Canadians are retiring earlier than expected. They also show 46% of pre-retirees expect to have some long-term debt when they retire, and that 70% believe they will be working in retirement, among other results.

Trading Equity for Liquidity: Bank Data on the Relationship Between Liquidity and Mortgage Default

For many, homeownership is a vital part of the American dream. Buying a home represents one of the largest lifetime expenditures for most homeowners, and the mortgage has generally become the financing instrument of choice. For many families, their mortgage will be their greatest debt and their mortgage payment will be their largest recurring monthly expense.

In this report, we present a combination of new analysis and previous findings from the JPMorgan Chase Institute body of housing finance research to answer important questions about the role of liquidity, equity, income levels, and payment burden as determinants of mortgage default. Our analysis suggests that liquidity may have been a more important predictor of mortgage default than equity, income level, or payment burden.

Debt and mental health: A statistical update

Financial problems can be a significant source of distress, putting pressure on people's mental health, particularly if they are treated insensitively by creditors. Some people in financial difficulty cut back on essentials, such as heating and eating, or social activities that support their well being, to try and balance their budget. In many cases this has a negative impact on people's mental health.

This policy note from draws on nationally representative data to update key statistics on the relationship between debt and mental health problems, and sets out implications for policymakers, service providers and essential services firms.

Debt management solutions

Resources

Handouts, slides, and time-stamps

Read the presentation slides for this webinar.

Access the handouts for this webinar:
How we help people – An overview (Webinar handout) – Credit Counselling Society
Our services (Webinar handout) – Credit Counselling Society
Debt solutions 101 (Webinar handout) – msi Spergel Inc

Time-stamps for the video-recording:
4:13 – Agenda and introductions
7:00 – Audience polls
12:31 – Debt in Canada (Speaker: Glenna Harris)
15:20 – Credit Counselling Society on debt management plans (Speaker: Anne Arbour)
34:05 – Spergel Msi on Consumer Proposals and Bankruptcy plans (Speaker: Gillian Goldblatt)
56:00 – Q&A

Debt and assets among senior Canadian families

Using data from the Survey of Financial Security (SFS), this article looks at changes in debt, assets and net worth among senior Canadian families over the period from 1999 to 2016. It also examines changes in the debt-to income ratio and the debt to-asset ratio of senior families with debt.

This study finds that the proportion of senior families with debt increased from 27% to 42% between 1999 and 2016.

Mortgage and Consumer Credit Trends Report

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) publishes a quarterly report on Canadian trends relating to mortgage debt and consumer borrowing. Find out the level of Canadian household indebtedness, and emerging trends in outstanding debt balances in different urban areas and by age group.

Consumer Insights on Managing Spending

The CFPB conducted research on consumer challenges in tracking spending and keeping to a budget. The research found that consumers aspire to manage their spending but for many reasons, many consumers spend more than intended and sometimes have\ difficulty in staying within their budgets. In addition, we found that although most people would like to use budgets and plans, they often don’t use them to guide spending decisions in the moment.

Budgeting and tracking spending are often considered to be overwhelming or too much of a hassle, and even those consumers who have a budget generally do not benchmark their spending to their budget frequently or regularly.

An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers: Building People’s Financial Stability as a Public Service

This report is a three-year evaluation of the Financial Empowerment Center initiative’s replication in 5 cities (Denver, CO; Lansing, MI; Nashville, TN; Philadelphia, PA and San Antonio, TX). Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs) offer professional, one-on-one financial counseling as a free public service. The evaluation draws on data from 22,000 clients who participated in 57,000 counseling sessions across these first 5 city replication partners, and provides additional evidence of the program’s success.

Economic Well-being Across Generations of Young Canadians: Are Millenials Better or Worse Off?

This article in the Economic Insights series from Statistics Canada examines the economic well-being of millennials by comparing their household balance sheets to those of previous generations of young Canadians. Measured at the same point in their life course, millennials were relatively better off than young Gen-Xers in terms of net worth, but also had higher debt levels.

Higher values for principal residences and mortgage debt mainly explain these patterns. Financial outcomes varied considerably among millennial households. Home ownership, living in Toronto or Vancouver, and having a higher education were three factors associated with higher net worth.

Financial Expectations and Household Debt

This Economic Insights article quantifies the degree to which families who expect their financial situation to get better in the next two years have, all else equal, more debt than comparable families.

The study shows that even after a large set of socioeconomic characteristics is controlled for, families who expect their financial situation to improve in the near future have significantly more debt and generally higher debt-to-income ratios than other families.

Mortgage Calculator

This calculator from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada determines your mortgage payment and provides you with a mortgage payment schedule.

Debt and assets among senior Canadian families, 1999 to 2016

These results are from the new study "Debt and assets among senior Canadian families." released in April 2018. The study examines changes in debt, assets and net worth among Canadian families whose major income earner was 65 years of age or older.

In recent years, household debt has increased. The level of debt and value of assets are especially important for the financial security of seniors. Because income typically declines during the retirement years, seniors often need accumulated assets to finance their consumption, especially if they do not benefit from a private pension plan. Debt can also be particularly problematic for seniors as repayment can be more difficult on a reduced income.

Infographic: Canadian Payroll Association’s 2018 Survey of Employees

This infographic shows results from the 2018 Survey of Employees conducted by the Canadian Payroll Association. It shows some marginal improvements but also some concerns. 44% of Canadians are living paycheque to paycheque, 40% feel overwhelmed by debt, and 72% have saved only one quarter or less of what they feel they'll need to retire.

View full suite of news release and infographics from this survey, by province.

NPW 2018 Employee Research Survey

Working Canadians seem to be making some minor progress towards improving their financial health. But, while 66% report being in a better financial position than a year ago, their debt levels remain high, they chronically undersave for retirement, and put themselves at severe risk in the event of economic changes.

According to the Canadian Payroll Association’s tenth annual survey, 44% of working Canadians report it would be difficult to meet their financial obligations if their pay cheque was delayed by even a single week (down from the three-year average of 48%).

View full suite of news release and infographics from this survey, by province.

Indebtedness and Wealth Among Canadian Households

Understanding the health of the balance sheets of Canadian households is a complex issue that continues to generate considerable discussion. A new Statistics Canada study contributes to these discussions by highlighting the extent to which national measures of indebtedness and wealth mask significant variation across the country. The study is largely based on results from the 2016 Survey of Financial Security (SFS), which allow for a detailed profile by census metropolitan area (CMA) and by income groups.

Spotlight on Canadians and Debt: Who’s Vulnerable

Debt-to-income ratios in Canada have continue to rise since the 2008-2009 recession, especially in urban centres where housing prices have increased over the last few years.

This infographic from Statistics Canada shows where debt-to-income ratios are highest across Canada.

Tout Bien Calcule

Pour souligner leurs 50 ans d’histoire, les Associations de consommateurs du Québec s’unissent pour offrir à la population québécoise un portail qui rassemble toute une gamme d’informations et d’outils développés au fil des années grâce à leur expertise en finances personnelles.

Cette porte d’entrée donne accès à des services spécialisés en finances personnelles offerts par les associations, propose des outils adaptés, et à travers les différentes sections, offre une information claire, objective et critique afin de vous guider vers de meilleurs choix de consommation et une meilleure santé financière.

Debt and Consumer Rights: Credit repair

This educational brief from CLEO explains what a credit report is, and what to do if you want to fix your credit report or work with a credit repair agency.

Your Money, Your Goals: Focus on People with Disabilities

This is a companion guide to the 'Your Money, Your Goals' curriculum by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the United States. This guide- Your Money, Your Goals: Focus on People with Disabilities—contains information, tips, and tools based on the insights from people with disabilities and from organizations that serve the disability community. It is based on the core philosophy that everyone has the right to control their money and make their own financial decisions.

Its specialized information and tools equip staff and volunteers to adapt training on and use of the toolkit and other resources to meet the needs of people with disabilities. It also includes information and tools to enable staff and volunteers to choose accessible locations, develop appropriate and considerate training activities, and plan to provide accommodations for diverse learning styles and other needs.

Financial Coaching Toolkit

English

Financial coaching tools - Exploring client needs and priorities

Tools for exploring client priorities
Urgent vs. important – fillable PDF
Dreams for the future
Financial wheel of life
First coaching meeting checklist
My money priorities
Values worksheet
My ‘money personality’ – fillable PDF

Key coaching skills
Coaching skills: Active listening
Coaching skills: The art of acknowledgement
COACH-ing moments

Program support tools

These are some example tools to support the coach in assessing client readiness for coaching, guiding clients towards potential actions to meet their goals, and in discovering referral support in their community.

Milestones, actions, and tools
Client readiness assessment – PDF
Client readiness assessment – fillable PDF
Financial health pre-assessment – PDF
Financial health pre-assessment – fillable PDF
Developing a referrals network
Virtual tools for participant engagement

Resources:

Inclusive facilitation of social change, FSG

Virtual service delivery tools

We are grateful to Family Services Greater Vancouver in British Columbia, Thunder Bay Counselling in Ontario, and SEED Winnipeg Inc. in Manitoba for their content consultation support and resource sharing.

Supporting client intake, triage, and referral in virtual financial help services
Virtual tools for participant engagement
Implementing a practice of self-care for practitioners – PDF
Implementing a practice of self-care for practitioners – fillable PDF

Participant tools:
Action plan – PDF
Action plan – fillable PDF
Contact list – PDF
Contact list – fillable PDF
Information to remember – PDF
Information to remember – fillable PDF
Action items – PDF
Action items – fillable PDF

Please note that some of the resources below were developed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and serve as samples only. Current materials used by community agencies may have been revised to reflect updates to services and to meet public health guidelines.

Intake and assessment tools:
Intake Form – Family Services Greater Vancouver
First Financial Coaching Session Survey – Family Services Greater Vancouver
Financial Health Assessment – Thunder Bay Counselling
Financial Assessment Spreadsheet – Thunder Bay Counselling

Consent forms:
Consent to Service – Thunder Bay Counselling
Consent to Release and Obtain Information – Thunder Bay Counselling

Promotional materials:
Welcome and introduction to services brochure – Thunder Bay Counselling
Community Financial Helpline social media material (image 1, image 2, image 3) – SEED Winnipeg Inc.

Goal setting and action planning

Action plan template
Financial goals worksheet
Mind mapping
Setting a savings goal – PDF
Setting a savings goal – fillable PDF
‘Plan, do, review’ action plan template

Case studies and common questions

Use these case studies and common questions to practice or develop your coaching skills. Try them on your own or with your fellow staff.

Case study: Linda
Case study: Jacob
Case study: Nina
Common questions 1: “Just tell me what to do!”
Common questions 2: “There’s no point.”

Budgeting tools

Coaching conversation tips: Budgeting
Cash flow budget template – PDF
Cash flow budget template – fillable PDF
Simplified monthly budget template – PDF
Simplified monthly budget template – fillable PDF
Finding money – PDF
Finding money – fillable PDF

Saving tools

Coaching conversation tips: Saving
Finding money – PDF
Finding money – fillable PDF
Tool: My savings goal – PDF
Tool: My savings goal – fillable PDF
Ways to save at the grocery store
Seven habits of savvy spending and saving
Your spending habits

External resources
Cutting expenses tool – CFPB

Debt tools

Coaching conversation tips – Debt
Guide for talking to creditors
Determining debt payoff order (FC toolkit)
Debt list tool (FC toolkit) – PDF
Debt list tool (FC toolkit) – fillable PDF
Net worth tool (FC toolkit) – PDF
Net worth tool (FC toolkit) – fillable PDF
Payment arrangements worksheet (FC toolkit) – PDF
Payment arrangements worksheet (FC toolkit) – fillable PDF
Who do you owe? (FC toolkit) – PDF
Who do you owe? (FC toolkit) – fillable PDF

Banking and credit

Banking fees info sheet (FC toolkit)
Choosing a credit card tip sheet (FC toolkit)

Tax filing tools

Coaching conversation tips – Tax filing
Getting ready to file your taxes checklist
Planning for your refund worksheet – PDF
Planning for your refund worksheet – fillable PDF

French

Outils de coaching financier

Urgent c. important (FC toolkit)
Rêves d’avenir (FC toolkit)
La roue de la vie (FC toolkit)
Aide memoire: la première séance (FC toolkit)
Mes priorités financières (FC toolkit)
Exemples de valeurs (FC toolkit)
L’écoute active (FC toolkit)
L’art de la reconnaissance (FC toolkit)

Fixation d‘objectifs et planification d’actions

Outil: Le plan d’action (FC toolkit)
Financial goals worksheet (FC toolkit)
Outil: La cartographie (FC toolkit)
Fixer un objectif d’épargne (FC toolkit)
Outil : Planifier, agir et revoir – Plan d’action

Études de cas et questions courantes

Études de cas : Linda
Études de cas : Jacob
Études de cas : Nina
Des questions courantes 1 : C’est inutile, cela ne changera rien!
Des questions courantes 2 : Dites-moi simplement quoi faire!

Outils de budgétisation

Budget de caisse (PDF)
Budget de caisse (PDF à remplir)
Budget mensuel simplifié

Vos dépenses reflètent vos habitudes

Outils de la dette

Détermination de l’ordre de remboursement de la dette (FC toolkit)
Guide pour parler aux créanciers (FC toolkit)
List des dettes (FC toolkit)
Outil: La valeur nette (FC toolkit)
Outil: les modalités de paiement (FC toolkit)
Outil: Une dette envers qui? (FC toolkit)

Banque et crédit

Fiche d’information sur les frais bancaires (FC toolkit)
Choisir une carte de crédit (FC toolkit)

Outils de déclaration de revenue

Se préparer a produire sa déclaration de revenus (FC toolkit)
Planifier le remboursement d’impôt (FC toolkit)

Cross Canada Check-up: Provincial/territorial findings from Canada’s Neighbourhood Financial Health Index

Canada ranks consistently as one of the best places to live in the world and one of the wealthiest. When it comes to looking at the financial health of Canadian households, however, we are often forced to rely on incomplete measures, like income alone, or aggregate national statistics that tell us little about the distribution of financial health and vulnerability in our neighbourhoods, communities or provinces/territories.

The purpose of this report is to examine the financial heath and vulnerability of Canadian households in different provinces and territories using a new composite index of household financial health, the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index or NFHI. The NFHI has been designed to shine a light on the dynamics underlying these national trends, taking a closer look at what is happening at the provincial/territorial, community and neighbourhood levels.

Update July 22, 2022: Please note that the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index is no longer available

Do we have the data we need to tackle household financial instability?

In this presentation Catherine Van Rompaey of Statistics Canada examines the data we have available to measure financial instability in Canada - household debt, savings, and credit.

This presentation was given at the Prosper Canada Policy Research Symposium on March 9, 2018.

Read the slide deck that accompanies this presentation.

Pour lire les diapositives de la présentation, cliquez ici.

View the full video playlist of all presentations from this symposium.

Neighbourhood Financial Health Index: Making the Invisible Visible

In this video presentation Katherine Scott from the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) shares the new Neighbourhood Financial Health Index, a mapping tool which uses composite data about income, assets, debt, and poverty to show levels of financial health at the neighbourhood scale.

This presentation was given at the Prosper Canada Policy Research Symposium on March 9, 2018.

Read the slide deck that accompanies this presentation.

Pour lire les diapositives de la présentation, cliquez ici.

View the full video playlist of all presentations from this symposium.

Update July 22, 2022: Please note that the Neighbourhood Financial Health Index is no longer available

Canada’s household balance sheets

In this video presentation Andrew Heisz from Statistics Canada explains the changing household assets, debt, and income levels of Canadians of different age generations.

This presentation was given at the Prosper Canada Policy Research Symposium on March 9, 2018.

Read the slide deck that accompanies this presentation.

View the full video playlist of all presentations from this symposium.

Debt and High Interest Resource Portal

This is ACORN Canada's debt and high-interest lending resource portal. It contains links and resources on debt, credit, banking, and other topics.

The Impact of Credit Counseling on Consumer Outcomes: Evidence from a National Demonstration Program

Financial well-being in America

There is wide variation in how people in the U.S. feel about their financial well-being. This report presents findings from a survey by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on the distribution of financial well-being scores for the U.S. adult population overall and for selected subgroups defined by these additional measures. These descriptive findings provide insight into which subgroups are faring relatively well and which ones are facing greater financial challenges.

Handout 8-10: Debt glossary

This handout is from Module 8 of the Financial Literacy Facilitator Resources. Glossary of terms about debt.