r/povertyfinancecanada

I’m a Software Developer that started as a bootcamp graduate instead of University. I had been doing okay, getting jobs until now. I was laid off Feb 1st, and have been looking and sending a lot of applications to no avail. Not a lot of people are willing to hire a female developer (I look much younger than I am). I live in Ontario.

My question is, what happens if I can’t get a job?
I’m on antidepressants and trying to get my health card appointment Sept 15. After that I will visit the doctor, I’m suspecting bipolar and bpd.

I’m really truly concerned about the job situation. Very scared. It’s so frustrating to have actual skills and yet feel so powerless. I’m thinking after I get to visit the doctor, I’m gonna need to tell them to help me get disability. I’m so scared of my ei running out of- I have no more savings left. Will I end up in the street? I’m also European by citizenship although never lived there, and am considering leaving and going there since they should have help for me. But I don’t want to lose my apartment, it’s my place. I love Canada and all my friends are here.

Is there a good place to apply after 5+ yrs of software experience where I can work? Are there any people around with connections in tech?

I have a credit that was written of as a ‘bad debt write off’ over 2 years ago now.
As of this month that balance has now been placed on my credit as a derogatory mark and sent to collections? How is that possible?
Also the company has never reached out to me, no phone calls, no written acknowledgement, I had to go back in history to try and figure out what the heck it even was.
The best part? When it was written off it was under 4k, now they claim I owe almost 8….
My credit is terrible, i need to buy a car and can’t, I can’t even afford rent I live at home. Idk what to do 🙃

Curious if anyone knows of any grants or funding to help replace a furnace for a very low income, single parent? Specifically in Ontario. It’s a very specific kind of HVAC unit (for a condo) and is electric and doesn’t qualify for any of the energy grants. Because of condo rules and how it’s built I can’t do a heat pump or any other options. Replacing is over $10 000 and unfortunately it can’t be fixed. I’ve tried united way and March of Dimes and neither help individuals unfortunately. 😩 Any ideas?!

I am in Ontario. I just learned that when my hydro company sends a disconnection notice they charge 46.50 for "delivery of the notice" which is sent via email. The company forgot to read our meter for 8 months, leaving me struggling to catch up. I was approved for assistance but it did not cover the full amount.

Last week I got a disconnection notice with a payment due of 75$, plus the 46.50 fee. I paid it that day, called and confirmed.

Today I got a call stating I'd be disconnected two days from now. They said I didn't pay enough to stop disconnection, even though I had paid what they asked. They also charged another 46.50 fee. The employee said they charge that fee every week going forward until the entire balance is paid in full. That won't be for a few weeks, when I get paid.

Is it legal for electric companies to charge a fee for sending a disconnection notice? The collections part of the company is not located in Canada and I've asked repeatedly to speak to someone higher who can explain the fees to me, and every time they hang up on me.

Looking to buy a refurbished iPhone (thinking iPhone 14/15) and want something reliable — good warranty, actually unlocked, no sketchy IMEI/blacklist issues. Based in Ontario. Has anyone had good (or bad) experiences with Orchard, Mobile Klinik, SecondCell, or Best Buy/Amazon Renewed? Budget is around $XXX. Any places to avoid?

Hi everyone, my mom currently receives CCB and alberta works and I play hockey. I am trying to help her out as i’m not sure we have the funds to pay for my registration so does anyone know any resources for support with payment? I know about kids sport and jumpstart and whatnot but not totally sure how they work. If anyone could provide some insight i’d really appreciate it. Thank you

I work part time at a grocery store in Ontario and last month my manager bumped my hours up and gave me a small raise, about eighty cents more an hour. I was happy about it until my dental coverage renewal letter showed up this week.

Turns out the extra income pushed my family just over the line for the low income dental benefit my daughter has been using. She needed a filling last year and it was fully covered. Now with the new numbers, we're maybe three hundred dollars over the yearly threshold and the letter says we no longer qualify for the coming year.

I did the math and the raise adds up to about nine hundred dollars a year before tax. The dental benefit was covering appointments that would easily cost more than that if we paid out of pocket, especially since her adult teeth are still coming in and she'll probably need more work.

I called the benefit office to ask if there was any kind of buffer or appeal since we're barely over, and the person on the phone was polite but said the cutoff is the cutoff, no exceptions written into the program.

I'm not asking my manager to take back the raise, that feels backwards and also I need the hours for other bills. I'm trying to figure out if there's some other provincial or federal program that could pick up the dental gap now, or if anyone has been through this same kind of threshold problem with a different benefit and found a way to soften the landing.

Has anyone dealt with a program cutoff like this where a small raise ended up shrinking your actual support more than the raise was worth. What did you do, and did you find any other coverage to fill the gap.

Hi, this is a new account because I don't want this tied to my primary account. I am on income assistance for people with disabilities in BC. I am lucky enough to have family support, and I currently live in subsidized housing.

I've been told by my family and doctor and social worker that I should be going to food banks or similar when my physical ability allows, and I finally did the other day, but I got home and one of the pieces of produce I got was beyond what I could manage to eat and now I'm worried I'm too picky still to actually "need" this kind of assistance. I'm not starving; I skip meals occasionally, but I eat most days and usually well-balanced meals. And I don't want to be taking food from someone who needs it more than I do.

And all the food assistance stuff is private charity, and theoretically, my income assistance is supposed to cover food. So I guess, am I taking something that could be used by someone who doesn't have the advantage of subsidized housing or a PWD designation?

I’m on a biweekly payment plan for my consumer proposal, and unfortunately, I can’t make this payment up right away. I understand that you can miss two payments and that the proposal can be annulled on the third. My question is: does this refer to two biweekly payments, or is it based on the monthly payment amount?

I'll start this off by saying I have held credit cards for 18 years now and NEVER even missed a payment. I have had ZERO delinquent accounts or closures my whole life. Everything I did with my credit has been perfect EXCEPT that I am now at 100% utilization so my score has plummeted to about 638 I believe.

I have been self employed for the last 15 years or so. The pandemic basically crushed my industry. So that's when I went to University...

A few years ago I was pre-approved for a $10,000 loan (I think it was during the pandemic and I needed it because I was in school - so I took it). I was also then pre-approved for a $10,000 line of credit. I also took student loans to go to school. At no point did anyone at the national bank I'm with tell me there were student lines of credit. So while in school with no income other than student loans, I got severely into credit card debt.

I now owe:

$10,000 on a personal line of credit at around 10.45 variable%. Payments are about $200 a month right now.

$4200 or so remaining on a personal loan that has an auto payment that comes out at about $210 a month.

$59,000 on a 13% CAD credit card (payments around $700 a month usually)

$5,000 on a 22% USD credit card (So let's say about $7,000 CAD once converted. Payments around $140 CAD a month once I convert)

I owe a friend about $1200 (he is not charging me interest but I feel like I should pay it back with something extra added on because it's been about 2 years)

I owe another friend $500 (no interest)

About $55,000 in student loans that payments will kick in next June - no idea how much they will be.

So even before the student loan payments kick in, I am right now paying about $1500 a month in debt payments.

My rent and utilities come about to about $1600 a month.

Cell phone $60.00 a month.

Gas probably $300 a month.

And then groceries maybe $400 a month.

So necessities alone are about $2900 a month.

My income is $3600 a month. - Anything extra is usually going to buying extra food, or buying car insurance, or CAA, or tenant insurance, or just extra living expenses like driving to the city for a doctors appointment, parking, attending a friends wedding, car repairs, etc.

I'm just surviving now and the student loan payments haven't even kicked in yet.

I have ZERO assets - my car is over 20 years old - bought it cash - probably valued a $1000 at this point.

I have no home, no savings, nothing. I have no kids. I have no expensive antiques or personal items of value.

When I was still in school a LIT said I could do a bankruptcy for $200 a month for 8 months ($1800) and be free of everything except the student loan debt.

That's about $80,000 of debt removed by paying $1800 or 9 months.

That seems like a pretty good deal. That was when I didn't have a job or income yet though. I don't know if my making $3600 a month now would change that any. But it's not like I'm getting ahead at all on $3600 a month.

Everytime I mention possibly filing for bankruptcy though, people tell me not to do it. I don't have a family support system and I live alone. Am I putting myself in danger by filing a bankruptcy possibly by not having extra options for lending support maybe for 7 years? I have never had a credit check to get an apartment, and I've been renting for almost 30 years now.

I've been trying to get a better job, but even if I was making $5,000 or $6,000 a month, the length of time it would take to pay down $80,000 seems very daunting. Plus the $55,000 in student loans coming up.

I don't even know where to go to get advice on this. My credit score is low based PURELY on my 100% utilization. I spoke with a financial advisor who did't even believe me - but told me to check my credit repot and I did - all of my markers are PERFECT because I've never missed a payment in 18 years. I only got my job 3 or 4 weeks ago. Will my credit score go up once i registers I have a job maybe? I was self employed for 15 years so i didn't even have pay stubs or anything and managed to get all that credit because I was so good with my money. The pandemic crushing my industry and causing me to change careers, and then school debt - really changed everything for me though.

The financial advisor from the bank thought it was unlikely I'd get approved for a further loan to do some kind of consolidation loan. I've tried speaking to 3 of them now with this Canadian bank and they always basically tell me there's nothing they can do to help which seems insane. I ask them why wouldn't they rather have some of the $80,000 back rather than just $1800 if I file for bankruptcy and they agree, but yet then offer me ZERO options. I get the impression the "financial advisors" really don't actually know much, and are just processing applications and waiting for a computer to either reject or approve them. How do you talk to a REAL PERSON about trying to fix something like this even?

But what are the benefits of trying to find a way to get it paid off if a bankruptcy can relieve me outright and be over and done with in 9 months? And then 7 years where I can't borrow... ok... but at least I'll be keeping an extra $1500 a month... and maybe more if i can move into a better job eventually.

Can anyone give me some perspective on this? The bankruptcy seems like the better deal, but am I missing what the benefit would be of doing it a different way?

I would save around 10 dollars each say by skipping the bus and walking to subway around 6km at 4am and 7pm but mentally get scared. Even though things as tough how do you push yourself to doing small things to save money

Hello, I just finished helping my dad with his CRA account and found something concerning.

His COVID benefit balance was fully paid off as of May 25, 2026, yet CRA is still deducting money from his benefits, including the Ontario Trillium Benefit, as of August 2026.

Looking through the mail section of his CRA account, each benefit notice says it was processed on May 24, 2026 under 'Explanation'. His COVID benefit account showed a $0 balance as of May 25.

From what I can tell, it looks like CRA determined how much to deduct from each of his benefits for the year the day before his COVID debt was fully paid off.

The most concerning part is that his COVID benefit account does not have any other enteries since May 25, so the money being deducted from his benefits since then is not being reflected there. The only way we noticed was by going through each benefit notice in the 'Mail' section and adding up the amounts listed as “COVID repayment.”

I’ll be calling CRA when they're open next week to find out how and when he'll be getting this money back.

I wanted to share this in case anyone else who paid off their COVID benefit debt is still having money deducted from their CRA benefits.

EDIT: someone i knew recognized, i made a comment that gave more insight about my situation and someone recognized it. me hence the edit.

thanks for all the advice guys. 🫶 I know what i’m going to do.

I’ve been focusing on minimizing expenses from all sources and found a few effective ways. I’m sharing in hopes that it helps someone out there.

1. No paid streaming services. I use CBC Gem which has tons of good content and no ads. The local library also gives access to other streaming services for free. Gem and your library should be plenty.

2. I got rid of Roger’s internet and signed up for Oxio. The initial switch took my internet cost from $140 to $90. I then used the oxio referral code to get months of free internet. I signed up everyone that I know and even strangers that I met. You get one free month per person.

3. Food delivery only when deals compound. I use skipthedishes with a CIBC card to eliminate delivery fee. Then stick to buy one get one deals and stack other coupons on top . Right now there is a coupon for 50% off. Pizza is often the best option because I can get a ton of it for $20. I have a week’s worth of really good pizza that I paid $23 for in my fridge/freezer right now.

4. Ethnic grocery stores save a lot of money especially on produce and meat. My favourite is Basha Foods in Calgary but you’ll have options in any major city. This has cut my grocery bill to $40 a week.

5. Using an AI chat to find free events and entertainment. There are a lot of free events that are really fun and you get to meet new people without spending money.

6. If you don’t drive a lot, use a pay per mile insurance. I pay $1400 a year to insure a vehicle in Alberta (the most expensive province).

7. Using Fee Assistance programs. Calgary has a program where you get extremely discounted passes to rec centers, discounted concert and theatre tickets, subsidized transit, and more. Once you are accepted into this, you can get extremely discounted vet care as well. Other cities have programs as well so check yours.

I hope this helps!

So.. I got myself in a pretty bad bind. I left my job in a bad head space last February when dealing with some serious shit in and was severely depressed while bed ridden from physical issues. I didn’t have a lot of accessible money money in reserves given I had been struggling to work for months prior

I currently have 60 cents in my account and my credit card is in over its limit. (2500 bucks)

My rent is accounted for and I have food stocked up.

My car insurance goes up in September due to a car accident

I owe 136 for my internet.

Credit is 750 but is obviously going to drop more than it already has.

Mainly I desperately need to do laundry. And refill my medication Which means I have to go into town, which costs money. I am out of clean everything. And it’s a hygiene issue.

And I can’t afford any gas anymore and have enough in the tank to get in and out of town more than like 3 more times.

***
The good news is I’m on track to get it and my seniority back (tho the physical issues are still preventing me from doing the specific job) and previously owed wages from prior issues with my employer via my union.

Applied for Ei, welfare, to talk about disability and have filled out the termination selection statement for the mpp and have about 6 grand being mailed to me.

Problem is. I procrastinated on all of this til like last week because I was bedridden and severely mentally Ill. I’ve gotten out of the psych ward a little while back and am trying to unfuck my situation now that I’m back on medication and mentally stable again.

So I have nothing til the end of the month.

I have a couple instruments, a dac, and a pair of some nice headphones I’m gonna try to pawn off.

I have a spare wii and some n64 cartridges worth money but given they’re sentimental value I’d like to try and sell those somewhere I’ll actually get alright money for them. If needed.

But other than that don’t have alot of value.

Not sure how much the local pawn shop (which is closer to me than town) will offer though.

Depending on how much is offered I’m is there anything that’s not a scam that offers cash advances or something of that sort? so I can get enough money to put gas in the tank. Engine oil, toilet paper, (I’ve been stealing it) and clean my laundry and and be able to properly clean myself and the rest of my house. Given I have money coming. So I’ll be able to pay it off (hoping to take out 100 bucks max.)

edit: pawn shop paid 80 bucks for the guitar and sauntering gun! I have other stuff I’m gonna pawn off but I have enough gas to go into town and buy toilet paper, and wash heavier things like my bedding :D, thanks for the advice will look into it more :3

I’ve been looking at ways to cut down on small monthly expenses, and bank fees are one thing that seems easy to overlook.

Some chequing accounts charge a monthly fee unless you keep a certain balance or meet other requirements. If you’re trying to keep expenses low, even $10–15 a month adds up over a year.

I’ve been comparing no-fee options and looking at things like e-Transfer limits, ATM fees, minimum balance requirements, and whether there are any hidden conditions.

For people here who are trying to keep banking costs as low as possible, what account are you using? Have you found a genuinely no-fee option that works well for everyday banking?

The insane rain in my area has increased my portion of the utility bill by $60 this month due to waste water. $60 doesn’t seem like much, but when it wasn’t in my budget, I lost my only source of income, my ex boss still hasn’t issued an ROE after two months (preventing my ei application from going through), & I was already in a tight spot from being laid off in June, $60 feels like the tipping point.

How are we supposed to live when we’re one bad week away from being completely screwed? I live with roommates, and we have a payment plan set up for utilities, but that doesn’t change the amount I have to pay.

I’ve been on the phone with EI all morning, and with a temp ROE, I can hopefully get payments starting Friday, but even then, I’ll only get some of what I need by the end of the month. I have no idea where the rest of it is supposed to come from. I have nothing to sell, no job prospects, and seemingly no way to come up with the missing $500 within two weeks. If I had more time, maybe, but even if I found a job (and I’m applying), the chances of getting interviewed, hired, then enough hours in the pay period seems so impossible.

I dunno. It’s just frustrating. I’m tired, like I’m sure we all are. We’ll be getting creative in the pantry the next couple weeks, I’m sure.