Getting the kids ready for Back to School

Remember that awful feeling when you were young, as summer came to an end? It usually kicks in when the Exhibition starts downtown and brings with it that dread of going back to school. Everywhere you look there are school bags being sold, school supplies have taken over department stores, and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and crisp paper greets you as you enter the drugstore.

For some parents back to school means back to normal; a welcomed change from their kids’ unpredictable summer schedules. But this predictability comes at a price which leaves some parents pushing the limits on their credit cards. Yes, it’s that time of year that not only students dread but parents as well because money is short and there are a lot of items that you wish you did not have to purchase. Well, you may not have to.

Now let’s turn the clock back to September 2007 when you bought all the school supplies that your child insisted on. Now, you remember what happened to those supplies, don’t you? Let’s not lie to one another. Remember the array of different coloured construction paper and opened packages scattered around the house because they were opened and used once, only to be left alone and

forgotten less than a month later. What can you do to make sure this doesn't happen again? The answer is simple: stick to the basics.

We know it can be very tempting as you walk down the aisles looking for essential items such as pens, pencils, notebooks, and highlighters. All of a sudden, you are being told by your young one(s) that she/he absolutely needs to buy that ten-subject five inch binder, complete with post-its, file-folders, and the last two hundred years worth of Algebra and Geometry scribbled on the back of subject-separators. Not only do you need to buy them pens, but you must purchase one in every colour, with lights (you know how children love to write in the dark), and can solve your child’s math problems for them. This may sound a bit exaggerated but being confronted with hundreds of different options to just buy a couple of pens and crayons can lead you to make some unwise purchases that seem perfectly sane at the moment. Hey, we’ve been there!

To avoid this from happening again you need to have a plan. Stop, think, and write a list of school supplies. Before going to the store, look in your home to see if you have any items left over from the last school year. You’d be surprised to discover that most of the items your child needs are already in your home.

Before the school year begins, only purchase what you know (not your child) a student needs.This includes lined paper, regular pencils, a simple eraser, pens (blue, red, and black), and a medium-sized binder…without the bells and whistles. To help you stick to the plan, it's a good idea to do the shopping on your own without the kids. Once the school year begins you can purchase all the remaining items that your child’s teacher notifies they need. In some primary schools notebooks are provided but you should ensure that your child has all of the essentials like pens, pencils, a ruler, and a simple set of crayons. If your child’s schoolbag, pencil case, calculator, or lunch bag are still in good condition from last year they can be used again this year. Sure, you’ll most likely get the usual, “But everyone else is getting a new…” fill in the blank. Instead of seeing this as a potential problem see it as an opportunity to give your child two lessons that most adults have difficulty learning:

#1 Yes, everyone is probably going to have a new schoolbag that rivals some designer handbags, pens with lights that can do their homework for them, and binders that are more intricate than most CEO’s brief cases, but within a couple of days when everyone has gotten over the hype of all these gadgets, no one will notice any of them. If you must have people’s attention, gain it by going against the herd and not along with it. #2 Sometimes less is more. Remember to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

And who can blame kids when adults act in the exact same way. Take for example the Blackberry phenomenon. Honestly, only about 20% of the people who have Blackberries actually need them, yet we all seemed to have jumped on the band wagon of, “But everyone else is getting a new Blackberry.”

It’s the same deal with iPods. Adults today are buying ridiculously expensive products and gadgets that are really unnecessary, so when children begin to do the same we should remember that we’re continually facing their same trials in our ever day lives, so we should approach our children’s concerns with respect, tolerance, and understanding…followed by a full helping of reality. The lessons we don’t learn as children come back to haunt us in our later years, so you’ll be doing your kids an enormous favour by teaching them that they are not what they own. A pair of sneakers or designer pumps, an

iPod, cell phone, Blackberry, golf clubs, schoolbag, or handbag can never make you into a confident and attractive person…and if they do than there is something seriously wrong with the people you surround yourself with. You can only already be confident and attractive, and if you are no thing can ever give or take that away from you.

Getting parents ready for Back to School

Planning and organizing your monthly expenses will help you lead a stress free school year. Even if you’re not experiencing money troubles, budgets are a great tool to get you excited about your future. A budget empowers and allows you to dream and figure out what you really want for yourself and family, and then shows you exactly how and when you will achieve those dreams.

If you don’t already have a budget now is a great time to get yourself on track because creating a budget and sticking to it will make your transition from summer, to back-to-school, to preparing for Christmas simple and seamless…well, maybe not completely seamless – you may hit a few snags along the way but that’s all part of budgeting. Plus, having a budget reduces financial stress which unfortunately affects all facets of your life, including your health.

If you are uncomfortable about creating a budget, we at Credit Canada can help. Our counsellors work in a variety of languages, and are available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday – Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays. You can contact us at 416 228 DEBT (3328) or 1 800 267 2272 from outside Toronto. Also remember to check out our website at www.creditcanada.com for more information and tips on budgeting and financial literacy.

Green is the 'in' colour for Back to School

Today the world (and your pocket) is asking you to save, so we recycle everything from newspapers, plastic bags, containers, packages, and even toilet paper roles. But why stop there? The old rules of reduce, reuse, recycle can also be applied to your closet. I know, I know, the closet is like the Holy Grail for some people, you just don’t mess around with it, but let’s put it to you this way: the money you save

from your wardrobe this season can be put towards a few extra items for next season. So rather than seeing recycling and reusing as something that limits your style, in fact what you’re doing is extending it. How you ask? Well, by giving second-hand fashion a second chance.

Did you know that if you were to purchase most of your fashion needs from a consignment or thrift store not only would you be doing your part in saving the environment but you would also be saving loads of dollars? Some people wouldn’t think that shopping at second-hand stores is one of the many ways a person can be environmentally friendly, but when you consider that the products you’re purchasing could have ended up in a landfill and have no manufacturing costs or waste associated with them (because they have been donated) you can begin to understand that second-hand shopping is a way to minimize the production of waste through recycling and reusing old merchandise. Raw material and energy consumption is reduced, waste is reduced, and you help conserve natural resources all while saving some serious cash. That’s what I call good karma.

I know some of us have been conditioned to think that we need new clothes for back to school, but all that does is increase huge retailers’ bottom line and make you look like everyone else. One option you have is to throw a swap party with five or ten of your closest friends and swap away clothing and accessories. In doing so, everyone benefits; you would have helped yourself and your buddies save money and get their fashion threads. Whatever you and your friends have opted not to keep can then be donated to a charity or thrift store of your choice.

Now, if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t want to share your fashionista secrets then you should consider shopping in consignment, thrift, and/or vintage stores. We thought we’d save you some time so we did a little research and found local consignment, thrift, and vintage stores you can visit in and around Toronto, just click here

Salvation Army/Goodwill – You already know that shopping at thrift and vintage stores helps you save money in the short-term but did you know that the money you spend here may help you in the long-term? You can save a few dollars by purchasing items at a fraction of what they’re worth, but the money you spend in thrift stores such as the Salvation Army and Goodwill gets invested back into government agencies and programs that serve the community. So the good you do by shopping

has exponential positive effects on your entire community. It’s a great way for you to give back to the community.

Value Village – Last year Value Village prevented 280 million pounds of merchandise from going to landfills and instead resold them so that they could benefit people in need.

The following is a list of some useful websites that can help you keep a little extra green if you’re looking for those big ticket back-to-school items such as laptops, furniture, and other scholarly gadgets. The last few websites listed are useful if you are looking for deals, coupons, and general freebies. They can help you finish buying those last items on you ‘back to school’ shopping list without throwing your budget out the window.

Kijiji http://www.kijiji.ca – Kijiji is a free service where you can post items that you are selling according to where you live. It’s also a great tool to look for goods and services at a low price.

Craigslist http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html - Again, this website works a lot like Kijiji or Ebay. It features local classifieds and forums for more than 500 cities in over 50 countries worldwide. Its community moderated, largely free and you can find anything from jobs, housing, goods, and services to romance, local activities, and advice.

Favorville http://www.favorville.com – This website is a community of people, segmented into different areas, who offer and request different services and goods. When you join this site, you can specify the area where you live so that you are dealing with local people only. Merchandise and/or services are free or are offered at a very minimal cost.

Free Cycle http://www.freecycle.org – The Freecycle Network™ is made up of many individual groups across the globe. It's a nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by clicking on your respective region, then go directly to your local group by clicking on "Go To" or you may immediately joining by clicking on "Join." It will generate an automatic e-mail which, when sent, will sign you up for the local group and send you a response with instructions on how it works.

RedFlagDeals.com http://www.redflagdeals.com/– RedFlagDeals.com is Canada's largest bargain shopping community. This site searches online stores and store flyers for the best prices, free stuff, and Canadian coupons. It doesn’t matter where you are shopping in Canada, you will find the best prices and coupons when shopping for everything from laptop deals and cell phone deals to apparel deals and restaurant coupons.

Save.ca http://www.save.ca – This website offers Canadians many different coupons for consumer packaged goods according to the province you live in.

Canadafreebies.ca http://www.canadafreebies.ca – By visiting this website you will be given a list of numerous other sites that are offering freebies, holding contests, or giving away merchandise in exchange for your information. Merchandise you could receive varies from books, to jewelry, to flowers, toys, baby products, and much more.

Great Canadian Rebate.CA http://www.greatcanadianrebates.ca – This website allows you to earn significant rebates if you shop online as a registered member of this organization. Registering is free, quick, and easy and all you need is an email address. This organization earns commission for every purchase made via Great Canadian Rebates, which allows it to pass the savings back to you in the form of a Cash Back Rebate. The rebates are paid every two months by cheque or can be directly deposited into a PayPal account.

Credit Education Week Canada 2008 (CEWC 2008)

Credit Education Week is back for its sophomore year and its theme is 'Youth and Financial Literacy.' It will be taking place from November 17th – November 20th 2008 across a number of different venues in and around Toronto. There will be a trade show, games, a dinner gala, and bunch of free goodies to be given away at all of the events, not to mention the invaluable information available to you on how to acquire financial freedom, independence, and stability.

Below is an itinerary of all the week’s events. We will be having two high school presentations that will be open to all attending students from W A Porter Secondary and members of the JCA. We will also be hosting a trade show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre that is open to the public (no admission fee), as well as a gala dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel. Anyone interested in attending the gala dinner must purchase tickets for $160 by contacting Elena Jara

at 416-228-2535 or by email at ejara@creditcanada.com.

Visit www.crediteducationweekcanada.com for all of the details.

November 17th 2008
Youth and literacy presentation at the W A Porter Collegiate Institute (Secondary)

10:00 a.m. – Media Launch 11:00 a.m. – James Cunningham Funny Money

November 18th 2008
Youth and literacy presentation at the JCA Hall at the Jamaican Canadian Association

November 19th 2008
Gala Dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel, co-hosted by the Credit Association of Greater Toronto.
**Tickets are $150 and can be purchased by contacting Elena Jara at
416-228-2535 or ejara@creditcanada.com **

5:30 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. Cocktails

6:15 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. Scholarship presentations & acknowledgements

6:45 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Dinner

7:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Keynote Speakers: Alison Griffith from the

                                                                               television show Maxed Out

                                                                               Pat Foran from CTV

November 20th 2008
Trade show and speaker series at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (North Building)
**FREE and open to the public**

10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Trade show featuring 30 exhibitors in

                                              Constitutional  Hall in Room 105

10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Speaker series                                               featuring 6 speakers                                               in Meeting Room                                                202 B & D

CEWC 2008 Essay Contest

Given that this year’s theme for Credit Education Week Canada is based on youth and financial literacy, it makes sense that we would lend a helping hand to those students who are planning on going to university or college. For this reason we have decided to produce a booklet that directly addresses all of the financial woes students will surely face once they decide to pursue their education. NOT!!!

We scrapped that idea and instead decided to give them money...A LOT of money.

Click here for all of the details.

New Community Partnerships

We are proud to announce that the Brampton Multicultural Community Centre and JVS Toronto are new community partners.

The Brampton Multicultural Community Centre is a nonprofit organization that works with people who have recently immigrated to Canada to integrate and settle into their new community. They offer a number of different services and learning opportunities that help newcomers secure a stable future in Canada. For more information please visit their website at http://www.bmccentre.org.