4.7 Action plan

From: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada

In this module, you've learned a lot about credit and debt. Now you can put your learning into practice. Use this action plan to track your progress as you take the next steps to manage your use of credit, now and in the future.

Part one: Debt danger signals

Use this checklist to see if you are in trouble with debt. Check any of the danger signals that apply to you.

You use your credit cards as a necessity instead of a convenience.

You borrow to pay for your daily living expenses.

You miss payments or due dates.

You’re near the credit limit on most of your cards.

You borrow from one card to pay another.

You transfer balances every few months just before the introductory offer expires.

You borrow when you know you can’t afford the payments.

Your debt grows month after month.

For more information, see the section on Managing debt.

Part two: Taking control of your debt

1. List all of your debts.

List all of your debts
Debt	Total amount borrowed	Interest rate	Amount still owing
Debt #1	Total amount borrowed #1	Interest Rate #1	Amount still owing #1
Debt #2	Total amount borrowed #2	Interest Rate #2	Amount still owing #2
Debt #3	Total amount borrowed #3	Interest Rate #3	Amount still owing #3
Debt #4	Total amount borrowed #4	Interest Rate #4	Amount still owing #4
Debt #5	Total amount borrowed #5	Interest Rate #5	Amount still owing #5
Debt #6	Total amount borrowed #6	Interest Rate #6	Amount still owing #6

2. List the steps you can take to manage your debt repayments. Some options include:

Do a monthly budget and determine how much debt you can pay off each month.
Cut back on your expenses.
Pay off your highest interest rate debts first.
Switch to less expensive credit cards.
Contact your creditors to negotiate better repayment terms.
Seek credit counseling.
Get a consolidation loan.
Use savings to pay off debt.

Steps I can take:

3. Number the steps in order of priority

Steps in order of priority
Priority	Steps you can take to manage your debt repayments
Priority #1	Step #1
Priority #2	Step #2
Priority #3	Step #3
Priority #4	Step #4
Priority #5	Step #5

Download the interactive PDF and add it to your Financial Toolkit [PDF - 241 KB]

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Date modified:: 2023-02-20

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4.7 Action plan

Part one: Debt danger signals

Part two: Taking control of your debt

Thank you for your help!