I realize this is not directed at Moustachia, but instead of coming up with ways to avoid collection agencies, why don't you just pay your bills on time?

I had customers at my cash station that could hear the collector using foul language at me.

It should be a condition of employment (and is, in some places) that you keep yourself in fit financial condition. After all, if you have a job you have no excuses.

Originally posted by mbg I realize this is not directed at Moustachia, but instead of coming up with ways to avoid collection agencies, why don't you just pay your bills on time? It should be a condition of employment (and is, in some places) that you keep yourself in fit financial condition. After all, if you have a job you have no excuses.

You know, sh** happens sometimes and not everyone can keep themselves "financially fit". They do the best they can....

Originally posted by snagglepuss You know, sh** happens sometimes and not everyone can keep themselves "financially fit". They do the best they can....

I can't remember where I read it (someone may have mentioned it in the Bowl before?), but I thought it was sort of one of those "unwritten rules" that you were supposed to try and keep yourself 4-6 paycheques ahead - that is, if you lost your job tomorrow, you'd still be able to pay your bills etc for the next half year or so. (And I'm leaving out extreme circumstances, obviously). Just curious.

Believe it or not but statistic say almost 90% of Canadians live
paycheck to paycheck........that's scarry

Originally posted by snagglepuss You know, sh** happens sometimes and not everyone can keep themselves "financially fit". They do the best they can....

1. savings
2. pay off your credit card every month
3. don't "plan ahead" with your credit card
4. don't get yourself fired

...those are a few things you can do to help. If you are doing any of the above things wrong, it's your own fault and you deserve to be harrassed by the people who are owed money by you. And:

5. don't complain about credit card interest. The reason it's so high is because of people like you!

Not "you" specifically, of course...

Originally posted by chdude3 I can't remember where I read it (someone may have mentioned it in the Bowl before?), but I thought it was sort of one of those "unwritten rules" that you were supposed to try and keep yourself 4-6 paycheques ahead - that is, if you lost your job tomorrow, you'd still be able to pay your bills etc for the next half year or so. (And I'm leaving out extreme circumstances, obviously). Just curious.

Agreed. With that rule, severance and EI, it's hard to imagine how it could be a problem if you were following the rules and not overextending yourself.

Families walking a fine line

Financial cushion too thin for job loss. ... what concerns me is the perilous financial condition of working Canadians aged 20 to 59. The average family is too much in debt and has too few financial resources to cope, should one or both breadwinners get laid off. A pillar of personal finance is maintaining an emergency fund holding enough cash to fund three (or better yet six or 12) months worth of living expenses. In a bull market-fuelled boom economy, families might get by with the smaller amount. But in a bear market, and especially for families with just a single paycheque, beefing up emergency funds should be a priority. ... Young workers are in the worst shape. The Vanier research shows 42% of the under-35 crowd does not pay off credit card debt at the end of the month. More than a third of them feel uncomfortable with their debt loads. ... The only way to build emergency savings is to spend less or earn more. Curtail spending on more luxuries and set aside reserves for what could become real needs.

Originally posted by CATCLAW73 NO ONE DESERVES TO BE HARRASSED NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION IS.

You are harassing the company you owe money to by not paying your bills. You are exhausting their resources and making them chase after money that should have been rightfully paid to them a long time ago, and you are making it more expensive for the people who do pay their bills on time!

Originally posted by bylo Families walking a fine line

Thanks for the article post. I used to be surprised by this type of news, but lately I'm not.

Originally posted by mbg Thanks for the article post. I used to be surprised by this type of news, but lately I'm not.

Tell me...do you ever have any empathy for your fellow human beings who are not quite as perfect as you seem to think you are?? People lose their jobs unexpectedly sometimes, are paying huge rent and have food to buy for their families. Hence why they run into tight situations where they may not be able to make every single payment to an outside company. This does not give that company the right to harass you in order to get their monies owing. A few letters maybe, but calling at all hours - I think not. The person may be having a hard enough time without being constantly reminded that they owe money to some money-hungry credit-card company. Credit companies have to understand that they'll get their money - it will just take some time perhaps.

I don't know why you're so surprised by the above article, any enlightened person could have told you this.....provided one reads the paper and keeps themselves apprised of happenings.

Wow. I just want to say that I am a single mom (not an excuse or whatever) who went through college and university (my last year of unit his year!) and you don't even want to KNOW what my debt load will be when I graduate. That's just how it is, and I've accorded our lifestyle to fit that reality. It's been pretty damned tough, too. I imagine that I haven't been getting "bills" or polite letters from a collection agency because my daughter's dental bills are supposed to be paid by her father....her app'ts are made in my name though, so that is who they contacted. I called up the dental office yesterday...surprise surprise!!! Her bio-dad hasn't paid ANYTHING since February. Now not only am I REALLY embarrassed by this, but I feel like an idiot. If ONLY they would HOUND HIM like they are hounding ME to pay, oh, for instance CHILD SUPPORT due for the past 7 years (not a penny) then MAYBE I could begin to justify it. Sigh. Or not. It's a backarsed world we live in. Sigh.
Anyhow, calmness will prevail after I have a cup of tea. I have to now figure out a way to pay an extra $370 (that's what the dental bill is!) out of my very tight budget. Sigh.

Well stated! And I certainly empathize with you.
Not every one can balance on the ball of life as well as some others. (Which BTW Gives them no rights to tell you how to live your life, pay your bills, or get by financially!)

I hope your child's dad pays what he owes and I hope everything gets straightened out for you

While some people may get themselves in a tight situation financially, there are many "professional" debt dodgers out there. Many of them have decent jobs, many have families, and many of them have no intention of paying any bill they can avoid.

Calling in the early morning or evening is one of the opportunities that collection people have to catch a person. In the morning a person may not look at the caller id before answering, sad but this is what has to happen to get some people to pay their bills. It is very rare that this is done frequently unless a bill is seriously in arrears and multiple attempts at other times and means have failed.

Mistakes do happen. The previous occupant of my house had the same first name as me. I received a call at 7 AM, I explained who I was and they never bothered me again.

Collections is a very difficult and stressful job. People in that line of work have to endure a tremendous amount of verbal abuse, and in some cases physical assault (which is why there is some reluctance to divulge full names). You wouldn't believe the security GMAC has for their people.

So don't get upset with collection people, they're just doing their job.

I certainly hope you can get her father to pay some of those bills for you.......it's his responsibility. And since you're already stretched pretty thin - well I feel bad for you being put in this position. I hope you can hunt him down and make him pay what he owes.......

In the meantime...things will get better. Things just take time.

Snag