Debt counselling sessions are an important part of getting out of debt and staying out of debt. They provide the information and tools you need to create a personal budget to help you understand and control your finances moving forward. Your debt counsellor will ask you to gather all of your financial records, they will ask you questions about your debt, your income and your assets – in other words, your “net worth”.

This may be enough to help you see where you can cut expenses, so you have more money to pay down your debts.

Counselling during bankruptcy or a consumer proposal

If you file for bankruptcy  or a consumer proposal, your Trustee will arrange for debt counselling. These counselling sessions will help you with budgeting and understanding the causes of your insolvency — which may be non-budgetary — and look at solutions. You will need to attend two counselling sessions, which in the case of remote areas is provided by telephone.