Freda Case Study

Freda's Story

Real People, Real Debt, Real Solutions

Managing Excessive Debt on a Fixed Income

Freda (not her real name) never imagined that at 68, she would need the services of a Licensed Insolvency Trustee. Having spent her entire life in the Greater Toronto Area, she had built what she thought was a good life with her husband, complete with a lovely home and amazing kids. She had worked in retail for over 30 years and had been eagerly looking forward to retirement.

However, when Freda turned 62, her husband ended their marriage. In the ensuing divorce, Freda learned he had been mismanaging their finances for years. Since Freda had relied on him to handle all the money matters, she had yet to learn how bad things were.

Freda-Insolvency Case Study

Poor investments in risky stocks, uncollectable loans to ‘friends,’ and mortgage refinancing that had eaten up the equity in their home were just the beginning of the financial nightmare that Freda discovered she was in. At the end of divorce proceedings, Freda was left with a car and $50,000 of debt ($20,000 in credit cards and $30,000 in an unsecured bank loan).

Living in a modest rental and keeping her expenses to a minimum enabled Freda to pay down the hefty $50,000 debt load debt to $25,000. Taking on a part-time retail job after retirement at 65 also allowed her to continue to work on cutting down the debt, but at 67, she was forced to give up that job due to poor health.

Now living on a fixed net pension of $1,650/month, Freda struggled to keep up with the $650 per month she was paying on the outstanding debt. Eventually, she had no choice but to use her credit cards to buy food and medication. By age 68, Freda’s debt had crept back up to $28,000, and she had fallen behind in her credit card payments.

In need of financial relief, she approached her bank to see if she could get a consolidation loan to reduce her monthly payments. Despite her impeccable history of paying her bank loan, and a solid relationship with the bank that went back decades, Freda was not eligible for a consolidation loan because she was a pensioner on a fixed income. Her bank was unwilling to take the risk of loaning money to her.

Freda contacted her credit card companies hoping to strike an agreement to reduce her debts. However, they responded only with denials and demanded that she make lump sum payments.

Defeated, stressed, and feeling she had no choice, Freda came to the offices of David Sklar & Associates to see about filing for Bankruptcy. And that’s when things began to turn around.

How David Sklar & Associates were able to help Freda escape crippling debt payments

During her initial consultation Licensed Insolvency Trustee, Richard Sklar did an in-depth review of her financial situation. Freda was responsible for the following debts:

Credit Cards$12,500
Bank Loan$15,500
Total Unsecured Debts$28,000

Her only asset was a seven-year-old car, which she owned outright.

After reassuring her that it was possible to fix her current debt problems, Richard explained all the possible solutions. One of these was filing a consumer proposal.

Freda had not heard of a consumer proposal before the meeting. But she wanted the opportunity to repay at least a portion of her debt, keep her car, and avoid bankruptcy. Pursuing a consumer proposal would allow her to do all three.

Richard Sklar - Licensed Insolvency Trustee

Richard Sklar, 

Licensed Insolvency Trustee

Here's how much Freda was able to save by filing a consumer proposal

With guidance from Richard, Freda established a reasonable monthly budget.

She determined she could repay $10,500 of her original $28,000 outstanding debt obligations.

Even before presenting the proposal to her creditors, Freda instantly felt a sense of empowerment and self-confidence, both of which had been missing in her life for many years. With Richard’s help, she realized she had options to deal with her debt.

She presented her proposal to her creditors, offering to make payments of $175 per month over 60 months.

Her creditors gladly accepted the offer after learning they would likely receive nothing if Freda filed for bankruptcy. As a result, the consumer proposal was a win-win for everyone involved.

In total, Freda was able to reduce her existing debt by over 62%, leaving her with monthly payments she could easily cover.

As part of her Consumer Proposal, Freda attended two financial consulting sessions, where she learned valuable money management skills. After years of relying on her husband to take care of the finances, followed by years of hanging on by sheer willpower, Freda was glad to finally come to the point where she had the knowledge and independence to take control of her own life.

To protect our client’s privacy, aspects of this case study have been altered.

debt calculator

Find out how much you can save with our Consumer Proposal Debt Calculator

Use the slider below to tell us how much you owe and we will show you how much you can save!

*This calculator simply provides an estimate of the total savings you could receive filing a consumer proposal. Actual results may vary as each financial situation is unique. Your actual payments will be based on your income, assets, and debts.

Do Not Include Mortgage or Car Loan Debt.

$10,000 $250,000

With a consumer proposal at 0% interest, you will only have to pay back:

$3,480/$58 per month

*This calculator is for demonstration purposes only. Your results may vary based on your unique financial situation.

David Sklar & Associates is here to support your financial recovery

Learn how we can help you find debt relief with a consumer proposal or personal bankruptcy. Our passionate and experienced team at David Sklar and Associates has helped thousands of individuals break free from crippling debt payments. Our experts can answer any questions about your debts and recommend a solution based on your unique needs and goals. 

Let us help you pave the way for a brighter financial future, starting with a free, no-obligation consultation

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Kelly Silke
Kelly Silke
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Trina Powell is an excellent listener and completely non judgmental. She truly cares for her clients and goes out of her way to be available and to help even when that means she has to accommodate last minute life changes. She is incredibly smart and kind and takes the time needed to explain everything from start to finish. She is an incredible human being and only wants the absolute best for everyone she helps. The work she does is life changing and improving. I highly recommend her services and support to anyone else who is struggling with their debt loads to seek out her help. Trina will absolutely be there for you too and help you just as excellently as she did for me. I cannot say enough good things about her or the amazing work she does. Her patience, empathy, understanding, and dedication make her the absolute best. You should absolutely trust her with your life on the road to moving forward. Don’t be afraid you’re not alone and Trina will help you too.
Sheri Stevens
Sheri Stevens
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I am so grateful to Jackie Stanley with David Sklar & Associates. She has listened and worked with me to come to a reasonable solution. Jackie has provided so much information, walking me through everything. I couldn’t ask for a more patient, kind and understanding person to help me. I look forward to working with her through my time with David Sklar & Associates.
Bob Irvine
Bob Irvine
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Jackie Stanley is an extremely personable, friendly and professional representative with David Sklar & Associates. Her customer service skills are exemplary and her knowledge with regards to my situation and helping me with getting my life back on track was just amazing. She was very understanding of my issues, and took her time to make sure that I understood everything. At the end of my meeting with her I left feeling emotional but relieved to know now that my life can finally move forward. Jackie, you have been a great asset in my life and I will never forget your kindness. Mr. Sklar I would just like to say that you have a 5 Star representative in your associate Jackie Stanley. Respectfully, Bob
David
David
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After seeing your commercial play on CP24, I realized that it addressed all the questions and concerns I had about my financial situation. It all started with my one phone call to your office. I had the extreme pleasure of working with Cori Naron at your St. Clair West office in September 2022. She took the time to explain what my options were knowing that it was a very stressful situation with my debt load. She made me feel at ease with my decision to file a consumer proposal and outlined the benefits to me. She is thorough and her attention to detail is outstanding. While it takes a little while to reap the benefits of making this hard decision, she took the time to reassure me that it was in my best financial interest. Well done David Sklar & Associates for having such an amazing representative at your company and for allowing me to "get a fresh start"!
Christopher Rakobowchuk
Christopher Rakobowchuk
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Jerry Janiec is very knowledgeable and very helpful everything he explained to me was straightforward and very easy to understand. I'm very pleased to be working with Jerry to become debt free. I will definitely be recommending to any friends or colleagues your services. Thank you again for helping me get on the road to be debt free. 5 Stars is well deserved.
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Getting into debt is easy. Getting out is a different story.

But it's still possible!

Did you know there is a Canadian debt relief program federally regulated by the Canadian Government, designed to help citizens avoid claiming bankruptcy? This amazing program can only be administered by a Licensed Insolvency Trustee (LIT).

If you’re struggling to make your payments every month and creditors won’t stop calling, we can help.

What our clients are saying.

Based on 788 reviews
Kris
Christine Sylver was very helpful to my situation. No question asked, she went above and beyond just to give me the options that I need to solve my problems. She explained and made me understand my options. Thank you Christine! Everything was done in a week. Regards, to Richard Sklar for explaining everything further to me. 😊
15:25 05/27/23
Mary M
I was blown away by how kind and empathetic Christine and David were. I came into the process expecting to feel embarrassed, but they were so helpful and unquestionably supportive, they made the whole experience a positive thing. On top of that, Christine found a solution for me that was better than I ever could have imagined. I highly recommend Christine, David, and colleagues to anyone.
22:29 05/15/23
Rob Hultgren
Christine Sylver has been very efficient in working with me in all aspects toward developing a very favourable consumer proposal which meets my financial budgeting very nicely. She also exhibited a very positive pro client attitude and was every pleasant to communicate with. Richard Sklar also demonstrated a very positive pro client attitude in explaining in detail all aspects. All great!!
19:31 05/12/23
John Horan
Dealing with Christine was a real pleasure.She was very understanding professional and knowledgeable she answered all my questions.I left feeling relieved a big burden was lifted from my shoulders
18:39 05/11/23
Jacquelyn Ireland
They are great to work with!
20:08 05/10/23
Hailey Cascagnette
Very happy I got in touch with Jackie! She has been a great help and a pleasure to work with! I highly recommend Jackie if you need help getting out of financial debt.
15:48 05/09/23
Cassandra Arevalo
I had the pleasure of working with Jackie and she made the experience very easy and was very honest which I appreciated as I was extremely nervous to go through with the process. Any questions or concerns I've had after our meetings were answered no problems and although it's been a few weeks I can honestly say I've never felt so stress-free. Very thankful for Jackie.
14:59 05/09/23
Kevin Chase
Very considerate of how people can sometimes make mistakes and need help to get things back on track. Great team of people. Thanks to Jacqueline for all her help.
22:20 05/07/23
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