Charla Smith & Company Ltd.

12/05/2025

Financial Literacy Month is over, and we thank you for checking out our series of new blogs during November.

It's time to announce the latest organization that Charla Smith & Company is supporting:

THE CALGARY FOOD BANK

The Calgary Food Bank is the first line of emergency food support for people facing crisis. They receive almost no government funding and instead rely mainly on donations.

If you are able, please consider supporting the food bank. If you are struggling to afford food, there are many organizations that can organize a referral to the food bank for you. Reach out to us if you need more information on this.

Together, we fight hunger and its root causes because no one should go hungry.

11/29/2025

Financial Literacy Month is coming to a close.

Our contest to find another deserving local organization to support is still open, so please submit your nominations!

We already donate to these three wonderful organizations that help people in financial distress:

Momentum
Women's Centre of Calgary
Carya

Please suggest an Alberta organization that you know about that helps support people with financial struggles. If we pick your suggestion, we will send you a thank you gift!

Our final blog for Financial Literacy Month is now live.

If you’ve had any troubles with debt, such as missed payments, maxed out cards, or default notices, you may wonder how it will impact your credit… and for how long. You may also wonder what you can do about it.

Read our blog to find out:

https://csmithco.ca/pages/how-long-negative-information-stays-on-your-credit-report-in-canada

11/22/2025

Recognizing the warning signs that you have too much debt early can help you get control before things spiral. But debt can creep up, and you may not realize how deep you're in when you're keeping up with minimum payments.

This article includes some red flags that suggest your debt may be more than you can reasonably handle, as well as some actions you can take.

https://csmithco.ca/pages/the-warning-signs-you-may-have-too-much-debt

11/15/2025

New blog and reminder about our Financial Literacy Month contest!!!

Here is our latest blog about money matters - Why Payday Loans Are Risky

The cost of a payday loan for two weeks doesn't seem too bad. But in reality, many people can't pay it back in two weeks and end up in a Payday Loan Cycle. By the end of one year, this can mean they pay more than double or triple the original loan amount in fees.

Read our blog to find out more:
https://csmithco.ca/pages/why-payday-loans-are-risky

Also, don't forget about our contest to identify a new deserving organization we can support to help people in financial distress. We already support Momentum, the Women's Centre of Calgary, and Carya, but we ask that you suggest another Alberta organization that helps support people with financial struggles. If we pick your suggestion, we will send you a thank you gift!

11/08/2025

When you open your credit card bill, the first thing you probably look for is the amount you have to pay. If you pay the minimum payment amount on time, you will stay in good standing.

But keeping up with the minimum payments does not mean that you are in control of your debt.

Read our newest blog to find out why paying the minimum is a trap.
https://csmithco.ca/pages/why-paying-the-minimum-on-credit-cards-is-a-trap

11/02/2025

Happy Financial Literacy Month! See contest information below:

This month we're celebrating with five new blogs about money matters, with a link to the first one here.

We're also donating once again to three wonderful local organizations that help people in financial distress:

Momentum
Women's Centre of Calgary
Carya

And we're launching a contest to identify a fourth deserving organization. This month, we ask that you suggest an Alberta organization that you know about that helps support people with financial struggles. If we pick your suggestion, we will send you a thank you gift!

This week's blog:

Budgeting is the root of all financial planning, but many people avoid it because they envision spreadsheets, strict rules, and cutting out joy.

Read our blog to see why the best way to start a budget isn't sitting down with a spreadsheet or cutting back, it's tracking your spending.

https://csmithco.ca/pages/the-power-of-tracking-your-spending

09/20/2025

The possibility of having their wages garnished is something people in debt tend to lose sleep over. Knowing what to expect and how to handle it if garnishment does happen can help ease some of the anxiety.

In Canada, the rules for wage garnishment are set provincially. In Alberta, the rules are governed by the Civil Enforcement Act.

If you or someone you care about are at risk of having their wages garnished, here are some things you should know.

https://csmithco.ca/pages/worried-about-being-garnished-what-you-need-to-know-in-alberta

08/30/2025

If you’ve been getting collection calls, no doubt you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. That’s by design – one of the best ways to get you to pay your bills is to motivate you to voluntarily pay some or all of the debt just to make the calls stop.

In Alberta, debt collectors must follow strict rules outlined in the Consumer Protection Act and related regulations. There are several things that collectors can or cannot do based on what you say to them, so knowing these rules will help you figure out what to say when they call.

This blog post provides some details on the rules to give you knowledge to help you protect your rights and reduce unnecessary stress while you decide your next steps.

https://csmithco.ca/pages/dealing-with-debt-collectors-in-alberta

08/02/2025

According to ChatGPT, this is the most common question Albertans ask about debt help, so I wrote a little article to answer it.

TL;DR: you really need to call a Licensed Insolvency Trustee to truly find out which option is better for you. Bonus: they may be able to steer you toward other viable options.

https://csmithco.ca/pages/is-a-consumer-proposal-better-than-bankruptcy

06/06/2025

This is a great article from Money Mentors about consolidation loans.
Definitely recommend checking it out if you or someone you care about is considering consolidation.

In addition to their advice, a Licensed Insolvency Trustee is also a good option for advice on options before moving forward with a consolidation loan.

Debt consolidation can help you simplify payments and reduce interest, but it can also backfire if done wrong. Learn the top mistakes people make and how to consolidate debt the smart way.

05/31/2025

When you owe money to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and you've received a Notice of Collection, the problem isn't going to go away. The CRA has unique and powerful ways to collect, such as wage garnishments or bank account freezes that can be undertaken without first taking you to court, and since their debt rarely becomes statute-barred they won’t typically stop until they have exhausted all options to collect, unless you make an insolvency filing that provides a stay of proceedings. The good news is that if you can afford to pay the debt over time, the CRA does offer payment arrangement options if you act early and responsibly.

Here are some things to know and consider before you negotiate a payment arrangement with the CRA.

https://csmithco.ca/pages/negotiating-a-payment-arrangement-with-the-cra

05/17/2025

After settling your debt through a Consumer Proposal, you are always free to pay out the proposal earlier than specified. One way to do this is to take out a new loan and use the loaned funds to pay out the proposal. But just because you can, it doesn’t mean you always should…

In a previous blog post, we discussed the pros and cons of paying off your Consumer Proposal early. For those who decide to pay it off early, some consider using a loan to do so. In this case, here are some additional factors to consider before deciding to pre-pay the proposal using a loan.

https://csmithco.ca/pages/should-i-take-out-a-loan-to-pay-my-consumer-proposal