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Posted April 10, 2012 in Ask an Expert by Helena Cao

What’s the best way to approach a friend who owes a large amount of money?

Lending and borrowing money is always a tough situation, especially between friends. Consider what would happen if you never get the money back. Always have written records when lending or borrowing money because that keeps both parties accountable.

If your friend brushes you off or delays the payments, you need to have a face to face conversation with your friend about the loan. This is better than over the phone and certainly by email.  Set up a time to sit down and discuss.  Share your feelings and be sensitive to his or her space. If he feels backed into a corner, it is hard to create positive action.  Propose a repayment schedule that you think is fair and and a back-up strategy if it doesn’t work (i.e. talking to his parents, going to the small claims court).

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Posted November 8, 2011 in Ask an Expert by Helena Cao

Which factors affect credit scores?

Here is a website that presents the info relatively easy and not too boring:
http://www.alberta-mortgages.com/articles/credit-bureau.html

Also, you can get a free credit report at http://www.consumer.equifax.ca/home/en_ca.

From alberta-mortgages.com:

Here are the factors considered when calculating your credit score and an estimate of how heavily each factor might be weighted.

Credit Score Criteria

» Past payment history (35 percent): bankruptcies, late payments, past due accounts and wage attachments
» Amount of credit owing (30 percent): amount owed on accounts, proportion of balances to total credit limits
» Length of time credit established (15 percent): time since accounts opened, time since account activity
» Search for and acquisition of new credit (10 percent): number of recent credit inquiries, number of recently opened accounts
» Types of credit established (10 percent): number of various types of accounts (credit cards, retail accounts, mortgage).

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  • ~ What’s the best way to approach a friend who owes a large amount of money?

    "Lending and borrowing money is always a tough situation, especially between friends. Consider what would happen if you never get the money back. Always have written records when lending or borrowing money because that keeps both parties accountable. If your friend brushes you off or delays the payments, you need to have a face to face conversation with your friend about the loan. This is better than over the phone and certainly by email.  Set up a time to sit down and discuss.  Share your feelings and be sensitive to his or her space. If he feels backed into a corner, it is hard to create positive action.  Propose a repayment schedule that you think is fair and and a back-up strategy if it doesn't work (i.e. talking to his parents, going to the small claims"

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