Today, I want to share two positive things.
Our goal at 4 Pillars is to educate you, showing you the different ways out of debt. It’s a mission we really do believe in.
4 Pillars’ Troy Tisserand was recently recognized by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (which is run by the Government of Canada) for helping Canadians navigate debt.
A few years ago, Troy Tisserand and Heather Morrison began a community-based financial literacy program called EmpowerU.
As explained on the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s website:
“Tisserand, a managing partner with 4 Pillars Consulting Group, and Morrison, a social worker with the City of Edmonton, together with Alberta Asset Building Collaborative, decided to create a new model for funding non-profit organizations in Canada.EmpowerU offers participants’ financial literacy training with the opportunity to save money and have those funds matched 2:1 by the program. Participants attend a number of sessions covering financial topics such as budgeting, credit, goal setting, fraud prevention, debt reduction and investments.
The original focus of EmpowerU was to improve the financial well-being of women and their families, but it expanded in 2014 to include a men’s and a couples’ group, too. Today, Empower U is delivered through 11 non-profit organizations.
The program brings together the financial strength of ATB Financial, United Way, City of Edmonton, The Home Program, EPCOR, Government of Alberta, and 4 Pillars Consulting Group with the research power of Civitas Consulting to better understand how people learn about money and the long-term benefits of financial literacy.
EmpowerU participants’ results:
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20.5 % found employment
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97.8% increased their confidence managing money
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50.8% feel more comfortable self-advocating at a financial institution
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91.1% increased their overall self-confidence.The EmpowerU model resulted in a 105% percent social return on investment in the community.”
Thanks to Troy for his vision and hard work. We’re also happy to see the Government of Canada investing in more of these financial literacy programs.
Helpful tools for managing debt in Canada
In the above article, the FCAC also mentioned a few helpful tools that the Government of Canada has been developing to help Canadians navigate debt.
This online tool will help you understand retirement income information, including the Old Age Security (OAS) pension and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) retirement benefits.
You’ll see how changes in your spending and savings impact your retirement future.
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada has been also working hard on a database of financial resources. If you have a question about finances, this tool will help.
How much can 4 Pillars save you in debt?
It’s good to be skeptical of big claims such as an 80% debt reduction. But the reality is—we’ve helped thousands of Canadians this year.
For example, our Calgary office has 70 reviews on Facebook.
Here is a recent testimonial. You can read the original here.
“Although I believe deep in my heart that Jennifer and John deserve more credit than I can ever express, I have struggled with putting my gratitude to them in words as I cannot find the words that could ever convey the magnitude of how they affected our lives.
In the year 2010 my husband and I both lost our jobs and our family income went from $180,000 to under $45,000. We were not alone in this situation as thousands of individuals were in the same predicament during that year and the following year.
As much as we struggled to find employment and were sending out resumes daily, being in our 50’s was making our hopes of succeeding very dismal. We continued as best we could to make monthly payments on our loan and 3 credit cards; however we were never able to make the minimum required by the financial institutions while still maintaining the basic household expenses.
Phone calls from the bank were coming every hour every day. They were rude, judgmental and threatening, with not any indication of understanding for our situation or desire to work with us until we could find employment.
We met with 3 organizations seeking help and in all 3 instances we were told that we did not qualify for bankruptcy and there was nothing they could do to help us. At this time our spirits were rock bottom and we did not know where to turn.
Early in 2011, I lost my last living grandparent. A month later I lost my sister from a suicide and brought my mother from her seniors lodge to live with us so I could care for her while she grieved. The following month I was rear ended at a red light and spent the next 6 months having physiotherapy 3 times per week.
All of this made the possibility of accepting an offer of employment very difficult. Shortly after this I saw an ad for 4 Pillars online. We booked an appointment with John right away, and from the moment I walked into their office, I was overwhelmed with the positive energy, understanding and emotional support.
Not only did they help us with our financial problems, but their positive demeanour has helped me realize that life will give us setbacks when we least expect it and giving up is not an option.
My mother stayed with us for six months and after she went back to the lodge I was finally able to grieve myself. Two months after my mother moved out, we lost our 30 year old nephew in a car accident.
I have thanked God every day since then, for bringing Jennifer and John into our lives. Just by being who they are, they gave me the strength and optimism to recover from everything that happened in my life during that time.
We continue working with Jennifer and John three years later and I look forward to every meeting. There are no words that can ever express to them how much they have impacted my life since meeting them, so much more than just our financial problems.” —Shirley Kehler
Let us help you
If you are ready to make that first step, we’ll put you in contact with your local 4 Pillars office.
Since 1998, 4 Pillars has supervised the successful restructuring of millions of dollars of debt held by over 8,000 clients across Canada, with settlements averaging 25% of original debts owed.
We are one of the only companies in the industry with this approach to debt elimination and financial restructuring, resulting in services that put debtors back on track with rebuilding credit and effectively managing their finances.
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