Divorce. Loss of a loved one. Fraud. Bankruptcy. As Alberta slowly shakes off the worst recession in a generation, the stories of financial hardship – and its devastating impact – are rife.
Calgary’s Business has partnered with Troy Media, Canada’s largest independent editorial content provider, and Calgary-based Bromwich + Smith, licensed insolvency trustees and debt relief specialists, to present a timely five-part series on managing debt. It profiles four Albertans who are digging themselves out of a mountain of debt.
Albertans have the highest non-mortgage household debt in the country and it shows no signs of abating. Recent surveys of Albertans also indicate a high level of angst about their debt burden.
- According to Equifax, a consumer credit reporting agency, the average non-mortgage, personal debt of Albertans living in cities was higher than those living other Canadian cities: Fort McMurray: $38,359; Calgary: $29,478; and Edmonton $27,241. (https://www.consumer.equifax.ca/about-equifax/press-releases/)
- Albertans have a 20.4 per cent debt-to-asset ratio, the highest of any province in Canada, says StatsCan in a January 2018 report. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-debt-to-asset-ratio-2017-highest-canada-1.4448236) For some, job losses resulting from the recession was the tipping point. Yet unexpected events like illness or divorce can trigger financial hardships at any time in people’s lives
The series, titled, Back in Balance – 4 Albertans slaying their debt demons, will include five stories and images. The first in the series will be available on April 23.
Here are the storylines:
April 23: Scene-setter – Just how deep in debt are Albertans and why? What is the emotional and psychological fallout? What can people do to turn around their financial troubles?
April 30: A working, single mother of four carried the burden of debt without telling her family or friends, until a hefty tax bill arrived.
May 7: A physical injury and a divorce caused financial hardship for a mother juggling three part-time jobs with three teenage daughters.
May 14: An unexpected death of a spouse leaves a woman reeling from the fallout of financial insecurity.
May 28: A victim of fraud loses a sizeable portion of life savings heading into the retirement years.
Follow our series by bookmarking Back in Balance.
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