A quick reminder that the “Super Trader” book giveaway ends tomorrow (Sat) at 5pm EST.  Note that we’re giving away 3 copies, so the odds are pretty good!

As well, the exclusive discount variable mortgage rate offered to MDJ Readers ends on Nov 1, 2009 (Sunday). So if you are in the market for a mortgage, P-0.25% is as good as it gets these days! See here for details.

Great Bull or Bulls–t @ Canadian Money Forum

5 Reasons To Dump Your Strict Budget @ Frugal Dad

How effective are dividend stocks in downturns? @ Thicken My Wallet

Money Management Software For The Desktop: YNAB 3 Review @ The Digerati Life

One More Reason to Avoid Labour-Sponsored Funds @ Canadian Capitalist

Wokai: Support Chinese Small Businesses through Microfinancing @ Sun’s Financial Diary

Socially Responsible Investing @ Four Pillars

What if You were Required to Share your Finances? @ Lazy Man and Money

Take it Like a Man or Invest Like A Woman? @ The Financial Blogger

how to keep a customer happy @ Brip Blap

My Bad Money Habits @ Canadian Dream

Finding the Value in Money @ My Dollar Plan

Commodity Trading Advisors @ Where Does All My Money Go

Bond Fund Investing @ Money Smart Life

Pension Reform Promised Soon @ Michael James on Money

How to Save Money for Christmas in a Short Amount of Time @ Generation X Finance

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Nobody wants pick up the phone and hear a bill collector on the other side, but it happens. We overextend ourselves, buy things we can not afford, fall ill, lose jobs or some other emergencies arises and we start missing payments which eventually reaches a collection agency. Dealing with collection agencies is not always the first choice or a pleasant encounter; collection agents have a reputation of being rude, vulgar and harassing.

For a short while after graduating from University I worked at a collection agency. It was not a lot of fun when I was told by supervisors and trainers to be harsher on customers and threaten them as needed. Not surprisingly I left the agency fairly quickly, but I learned a lot from the inside. I learned the laws as well as how agents manipulate these laws.

Should a situation arise where you have to deal with a collection agency I hope the following tips can help you through this awful experience.

Educate Yourself

The first thing you need to do is educate yourself. What can a collection agent say or do? When can they call? What are your obligations? Understand your rights as well as your responsibilities.

In Canada collection agencies are regulated by provinces, although most have similar laws, some details will vary. Here is the collection agency act for Ontario. In the US they have the Fair Debt Collections And Practices Act.

Do Not Ignore

If the unfortunate happens and you do end up having an account in collections, do not ignore the calls and letters. Ignoring the issue will not get you anywhere, talk with the agent and try to find an appropriate solution for your financial problems. If it’s in 3^rd party collection, the agent will have some discretion over the account.

Keep Record

Keep a record of everything you do and every conversation you have with the collection agency. If you mail a letter ensure it is registered and always ask them to send you everything in writing. Have phone conversations recorded, although you may need permission for this, it can go a long way when needed. Always ask for the persons full name and ID number, write down the time and date of the call.

What Collection Agencies CANNOT Do

Here are a few things the collection agency cannot do:

• A collection agency may NOT contact you until six days after they have sent you a written notice. The notice should include all the following information: The name of the ORIGINAL creditor, the balance owing and the name of the collection agency.

• They cannot contact you before 8am and after 9pm during the week and before 1pm and after 5pm on Sundays.

• They cannot contact you more than 3 times in a seven-day period regarding the same debt.

• Disclose any information to anyone else but you, they cannot say it is a collection agency calling or in anyway reveal that you owe money. This also applies to voicemails; they cannot reveal any details on a voicemail.

• If you feel that the agency has violated any of the above rules or in anyway has harassed you record the date, time and details of the event and contact your consumer protection agency.

When speaking with a collections agent be professional and try to solve the issue rather than trying to avoid it or get in a fight.  Remember they are just doing a job.

Once an account is with a collection agency you can no longer solve the matter with the original creditor so do not try to contact them. You will only give yourself more headache and create confusion.

This is a guest article by Ray, the owner and primary author of Financial Highway, where he discusses investing, saving and practical money management concepts. You can check subscribe to his RSS feed or follow him on Twitter.

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Welcome to the Million Dollar Journey Oct 2009 Net Worth Update – The Halloween Edition

Halloween is here once again, it’s hard to imagine where time goes.  It seems that the more we age, the faster time passes.  

This year, we expect a lot of trick or treaters ringing our doorbell as our street is now fully developed (with street lights and everything!).  I’ve heard rumour that there are over 200 kids in our immediate area, so I guess it would be a good idea to be over stocked with treats than under prepared.  In terms of treats, we typically do the chips and bar thing, like Kathryn, we purchase our Halloween treats from Costco. 

Nothing too scary to report in Octobers net worth summary.  Most of the growth is due to steady savings and some portfolio growth.  I did see a fairly signifant correction in my non-registered account as a speculative stock I own took a dive. 

With regards to liabilities, if you take a look at the mortgage balance, you’ll see that it’s within striking distance of being completely paid off.  I’m actually in a bit of turmoil with regards to what I’m going to do with the large HELOC space available.  Should I continue to use the HELOC to invest with?  Or should I use the increased cash from the previous mortgage payment to fund my investments?  Or perhaps a combination? 

Assets: $ 470,500 (+0.99%)

• Cash: $4,500 (+0.00%)
• Savings: $16,500.00 (+22.22%)
• Registered/Retirement Investment Account: $73,800.00 (+2.22%)
• Pension: $27,700.00 (+0.73%)
• Non-Registered Investment Account: $16,500.00 (-4.07%)
• Smith Manoeuvre Investment Account: $51,500.00 (+3.00%)
• Principal Residence: $275,000 (+0.00%) (purchase price)
• Vehicles: $5,000 (2 vehicles) (-16.67%)

Liabilities: $85,500.00 (-1.61%)

• Tax Liability: $3,000 (-0.00%)
• Principal Residence Mortgage (readvanceable): $29,200.00 (-4.89%)
• HELOC balance: $53,300 (+0.19%)

Total Net Worth: ~$385,000.00(+1.58%)

• Started 2009 with Net Worth: $309,950.00
• Year to Date Gain/Loss: +24.12%

Some quick notes and explanations to net worth questions I get often:

The Cash

The $4,500 cash are held in chequing accounts to meet the minimum balance so that we pay no fees (accounting for regular bill payments). Yes, we do hold no fee accounts also, but I find value in having an account with a full service bank as the relationship with a banker can prove useful.

Savings

Our savings accounts are held with PC Financial and ING Direct. We usually hold a fair bit of cash in case “something” comes up. The “something” can be anything that requires cash such as an investment opportunity that requires quick cash or maybe an emergency car/home repair.  We also need cash to cover any future tax liabilities.

Real Estate

Our real estate holdings consist of a primary residence plus a rental property. The value of the principal residence remains valued at the purchase price despite significant appreciation in the real estate market that we’re in.  I will most likely be adjusting the value of the home come the new year.

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