Doug Hoyes, Cambridge Bankruptcy Trustee
I had an interesting meeting with a man this week in my Cambridge office. As with everyone I meet, we talked about his options for dealing with his debts, including a consumer proposal or a personal bankruptcy. In his case, due to his reduced income and some health factors, he decided that filing personal bankruptcy was his best option. At end of our conversation, I asked him why he chose today to make an appointment to meet me; why not last week, or last month?
He said that he had been struggling to pay his debts for a long time, and he finally got to the point where he couldn’t take it any more, and he wanted a fresh start. I told him that I’m not surprised; most people I meet with are "at the end of their rope", and want a fresh start.
But then he said something even more interesting: he said that he had decided he wanted a fresh start, not just dealing with his debts, but in many other aspects of his life as well. He gave me two examples: he wants to quit smoking, and lose some weight.
Earlier in our conversation we had reviewed his budget, and it was obvious that his two-pack-a-day smoking habit was costing him a lot of money. He new it was bad for his health, and his wife had been after him to quite for quite a while, and know that he added up what smoking was costing him every month, he knew that now was the time to quit. He was spending about $400 per month on smokes, so quitting will help his health, and significantly improve his monthly cash flow.
He also said he wanted to lose some weight and start eating better. Less trips to the fast food store will help his budget, and going for a walk every night will help his overall health.
I told him I was proud of him. It’s a difficult decision to decide to make changes, but as he said, "in for a penny, in for a pound." He decided that dealing with his debt while not dealing with smoking or unhealthy eating didn’t make sense. He wants a fresh start, and that’s what he will get.
Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying: I don’t give advice on healthy lifestyles; I’m no expert in that. My job is to help you deal with financial problems. But, I agreed with his approach: if I’m going to fix it, let’s fix everything.
Are you looking for a fresh start? Start by making a budget to see where you are spending money, and you may decide to quit smoking or cut other expenses as well. Either way, once your budget is done, give my office a call in Cambridge at 519-622-3773 or 310-PLAN (no area code required), or e-mail me to set up a no charge initial consultation, and let’s get started.
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