Approximately 3 years ago my husband came home from work looking quite distressed. He told me our financial situation was deteriorating and no matter how many extra hours we added to our work week, the bottom line was, we would hardly be able to keep up with the interest payments on our debt and still keep the house running. She had a form he had picked up explaining what a consumer proposal was and a questionnaire. He wanted us to discuss doing a consumer proposal. I remember becoming very agitated and crying, I believe I uttered the words “ I would rather work myself to death”. He put the form away and we didn’t speak of it again until last year. As he had predicted, all the extra hours and even an intervention by family didn’t solve our money issues.

A few months ago, he had intended to retire from his job and keep his second job which according to his calculations would bring us in more money then if he would not retire. Well, as fate would have it, our lives became quite disrupted when he was laid off with no light in sight.

Someone was however looking after us, maybe a divine intervention, but he found an ad for 4 Pillars in the local paper and he brought it to my attentions. This time I listened as I knew we had to work on fixing the situation. We called the number, I was distraught at the time and when Sonia answered the phone, she immediately relieved my anxiety by saying “don’t worry, I am certain there is something we can do to help you”. Sonia setup an appointment so that she could discuss our options and go over our situation. From the minute we entered the reception area, we were treated with kindness, respect and courtesy. Sonia was absolutely everything we hoped she would be, professional, sympathetic, and most of all non-judgemental. We left her office knowing we would get the help we needed here at 4 Pillars. Sonia assured my husband and I that the creditor calls would soon stop, and to just refer them to her office, and that in itself was a blessing, as the nerve wracking conversations with them over the phone were taking its toll on our mental health. We followed all of the steps set out by Sonia and the time came to meet our trustee. The meeting ( even though nerve wracking for us ) went exceptionally well and we went home hopeful that our creditors would be satisfied with everything that was presented to them by 4 Pillars. Finally, the day came when we received the call that the proposal was accepted by all of the creditors.

My husband and I sat down and together we thanked god for letting us find that article and then meet Sonia. We still have a lot to learn on budgeting and credit rebuilding but we are certain with 4 Pillars help we will meet all of our goals.

To anyone who like us is going through mental, physical anguish over debt overload we offer this: Review your situation, swallow your pride and get help. We fully recommend Sonia at 4 Pillars. There is absolutely no one we ever met before while dealing with our finances that made us feel respected and worthy of this blessed intervention. We look forward to all that we will continue to learn through 4 Pillars.

HOW DO WE HELP YOU GET OUT OF DEBT?

What makes our debt help services different from others is the fact that 97% of our clients successfully complete our program to become debt free. We present solutions that are legal, viable, and acceptable to the creditors while keeping the best interests of our clients our utmost priority.

You have likely come to this website for one or more of the following reasons:

1. You're anxious about your debt, losing sleep and want some debt help.
2. You've gone to the bank for a consolidation loan to deal with your debt and you've been turned down.
3. Maybe you called a credit counseling agency, and discovered the debt relief from them wasn't what you were hoping for - you are curious to know if there are other debt
4. Your creditors have been calling because of missed payments on credit cards or lines of credit.
5. You are borrowing from one source of credit, maybe a line of credit, to stay current with your credit card debt. You feel like you are "robbing Peter to pay Paul." Maybe you've borrowed from family members to keep yourself and your immediate family going.
6. You don't bother budgeting anymore because it doesn't feel as though there is any point to it.
7. You've heard some of the ads from debt settlement companies, but are suspicious about how they work and know they do not provide
8. You are worried you might have to go bankrupt.
9. You either know you have damaged credit, or have discovered that your credit rating is not as good as you thought it was, and you are not sure what to do about it.

4 Pillars offers a wide range of consulting services in the areas of debt help and debt elimination, budgeting, and credit rebuilding. Each service is unique and can be tailored to meet individual circumstances.

• By providing a proven system which will reduce your debts.
• We work for YOU and not your creditors.
• Affordable, and viable repayment plans.
• Listening and respecting our clients.
• Assist in freeing up cash for you to use.
• Confidentiality assured.
• Lifetime financial education.
• Better relationships, better health, and improved quality of life.

A few months ago I was referred to a Kitchener resident who was in a dire predicament. This individual was being harassed by debt collectors looking for payment on his two outstanding debts. He also had a first and second mortgage that were at very high rates due to his poor credit history. The mortgage broker that referred him informed me that if he was not able to have these debts reported as settled on his bureau within a month, that he would have to renew his mortgages at the current rates as opposed to getting a new 1st mortgage at the much lower rates than most individuals were enjoying in today's economy.

I went right to work and was able to coach the client to obtain settlement offers within 2 weeks, saving him in excess of $29,000 allowing him to now obtain the much lower mortgage rate, saving him hundreds of dollars each month in cash flow as well.

Consumer proposals are excellent for paying off debt

Another very effective method of dealing with debt is through a consumer proposal. A proposal is simply an offer to unsecured creditors that we can structure on your behalf and your ability to pay, where you only pay back a portion of the total unsecured debt owed. A Consumer Proposal is filed by a Licensed Insolvency Trustee (who is an officer of the court)

We work with you to structure the deal so that it provides the maximum benefit to you, meaning the payment through the proposal is as low as possible.

The proposal gives you the same legal forgiveness for your debt as filing bankruptcy. A major difference compared to bankruptcy is that the creditors get to vote on whether they will accept the proposal.

This again is where our company's experience is a huge benefit to you - through having structured over 60,000 of these deals over the past 20 years, our track record of success in getting these proposals accepted is outstanding.

The biggest benefit you will notice from a proposal is the dramatic improvement in your monthly cash flow. As an example, it would not be unusual for someone with $50,000 in consumer debt to end up with an accepted proposal where the payments would be as low as $300 a month over 60 months.

Trying to pay this amount of debt off on your own, just through discipline and some good luck, would otherwise require monthly payments of between $1200 and $1500 per month for the same time period.

Debt management & budgeting

Budgeting support is also a service we offer at 4 Pillars. We all know the importance of budgeting and understanding how we spend our money and what our household expenses are. How many people take the time to prepare and follow a formal budget? If you do a budget, that is excellent - keep up the great work! If you don't budget, perhaps it is time to start.

Budgeting is not difficult. It is a little time consuming - at least at the beginning until you get in the habit of tracking and monitoring spending. In very simple terms, a budget is taking into account how much income comes into the home and how much expense the household has each month and containing those expenses to fit within the amount of available income.

We will be happy to help you develop a budget for your household and work with you as you adjust that budget regularly to ensure you are on track. Since budgeting also involves goal setting, we will guide you through setting realistic goals and targets for the future and then building your budget to achieve those outcomes.

So, your debt is stressing you out and you know you need some debt help, but what should you expect when you contact us?

1. When you contact me for the very first time, we will discuss your overall financial situation so that I am able to get a better understanding of what may be causing your financial hardship and to determine how I can help with your financial challenges. Of course, all conversations are kept confidential!! Our discussion will focus on items such as:
1. Your debt load - who are your creditors and how much do you owe each one;
2. Your assets - do you own a house, vehicles, campers, boats, or other "toys";
3. Any other assets - do you have RRSPs, RESPs, or other investments;
4. Your income - how much income do the people in the household earn; and
5. Your personal contact information.

At the end of this call, I will also set up a time for our face-to-face free consultation where I will review all of your options for dealing with your debt.

2. The next step is your free consultation. Normally it will take about an hour, and I will let you know all your options for dealing with your debt. I will also outline the cost of our service. 4 Pillars fees vary depending on the option you choose and are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
3. At the close of the free consultation, or a few days later if you need time to think your options over, you will have the opportunity to sign a contract with us to assist you in getting started with a budgeting, credit rebuilding or debt elimination plan you have selected. Upon signing a contract, your 4 Pillars fees can be paid either as a lump sum, or we will work out a payment plan that suits your income and household budget.
4. If you have chosen one of the debt elimination options, once the contract is signed, I will provide you with a client kit of information. You will have some homework to do in completing a confidential application form that will provide significant details about your personal, income, asset, and debt situation. You will also need to provide us with a series of documents that will support your confidential application.
5. Once the application is complete and the required support documents are gathered, we will meet to review the application form and support materials. In most cases, follow-up questions are necessary to obtain clarification about various aspects of your file to ensure we have a clear understanding of your financial picture.
6. When your file is ready, I will then select the appropriate licensed insolvency trustee who I will approach to administer the proposal or bankruptcy. There will be a formal meeting where you and I meet the trustee who will administer your debt restructuring solution if you have decided to file either a consumer proposal or an assignment into bankruptcy. Remember that during either of these processes, the trustee has a formal obligation to represent the financial interests of the creditors - we are there to represent your interests through the process, as well as help you rebuild your credit after the process.
7. After your debt restructuring solution has been established, I will meet with you to begin the credit rebuilding process.

Established in 2002, 4 Pillars, which is headquartered in Surrey, BC, is one of Canada's oldest and largest leading independent debt restructuring companies. We have helped over 60,000 families resolve over $350 million of unmanageable consumer debt every year.

With over 50 offices across Canada, we are not some faceless organization located two or three provinces away or even in another country - our team of consultants live and work locally to assist Canadians from all walks of life to climb from under the weight and worry of mounting debt.

Whether you are a single person, a couple or family, or a small business person and you need debt help, I can help you with your situation.

My office location is: 675 Queen Street S, 2nd Floor, Suite 244 Kitchener, ON N2M 1A1 (Free Parking).

Call today to book a free one hour consultation in my Kitchener office or in your home.

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