In Debt? How Canadian of you!

In this segment of CBC North’s The Trailbreaker, which aired Feb, 2013, you’ll find out from me:

• how you stack up to other Canadians
• why the headlines are often misleading imo
• the most important thing you should do about handling your debt
• what NOT to do in handling your debt
• and some personal experience of my own re: debt!

If debt has got you down, you should also check out my simple $25 online program. It helped me, and has helped hundreds of people by now and it can help you.

But first – listen to the interview:

CBC Debt-1

Photo Credit: Images of Money

Can you spot the difference between these two?
Same product.
Wildly different price.
What is the difference that justifies the price?

$2.75/kg

$1.25/kg

Kinda makes you wonder who pays the price on the 2nd one, doesn’t it?

Pop quiz!  Right here, right now, what do you know about your own money?

1. What is your take-home pay each  month?
2. On each of your credit cards, what is the interest rate?
3. What is your credit rating (score)?
4. When (which year) will your mortgage be paid off in full (if you have one)?
5. How much disposable income do you have left for this month?

WELL?  How did you do?  These are all questions about the core of our financial lives.  FWIW, I didn’t know the answer to one of these questions myself, which just goes to show, effectively managing money is an ongoing process and even money coaches need to remind themselves of that fact!

It’s financial literacy month, so if most of those questions left you scratching your head, why not book yourself a couple 30-minute dates with your money before the end of November?  If you want to boost your financial literacy (after all, it’s your own money), you know where you can find help.

Photo Credit: Dave Bleasdale

It took an app, of course, to get me to do it. God forbid I use cursive and a book, even if its a moleskine book, to note the pieces of my life for which I am grateful. It took an app and a challenge to mark up to 1000 items for which I am thankful (I’m at 236 FTR) because I didn’t believe in it, not really, that gratitude journals were worth the effort, the minuscule effort, to lift up my eyes, take note and *make* note of the this and thats which make my life, well, make it also wonderful in the midst of less-than-wonderful.

What we focus on grows, it’s said, and I’m not sure that’s true. It defies my logic (or perhaps signifies my lack of imagination?) to believe my thoughts, my shambling thoughts, have much direct influence on my outer world. But what I have become sure is true is this: As I increasingly orient towards the things that are good in my life – that which is true, that which is quality, that which brings life, that which brings contentment, that which brings delight, that which endures – this new app-enabled-praxis is generative of a gentle, permeating easiness with life, even the less than wonderful parts.

What is that worth?

This shouldn’t have to be said, really, what the elderly voice says, at about the 5 minute mark. It shouldn’t have to be said. But it does need to be said to me, and probably to you too. Our little busynesses, our self-absorbed attention devoted to our various hurts and holes in our hearts that we all carry, our blinkeredness –we need reminding. And then, reminded, we rediscover time, we feel a little more whole and our vision expands, if only our peripheral vision, and if only for a day.

BTW, I’m pretty certain the voice is that of Jean Vanier.