[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/money-doesnt-grow-on-trees\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/money-doesnt-grow-on-trees\/","headline":"Money Doesn\u2019t Grow on Trees","name":"Money Doesn\u2019t Grow on Trees","description":"For more than 20 years, Bill had run a successful Toronto tree care business, doing tree removals, pruning, planting and much more. His finances fell into the rhythm of the growing season. In the spring, the work would flood in and then taper off into the summer and fall. In the winter, during his downtime, […]","datePublished":"2014-06-23","dateModified":"2024-04-19","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/author\/admin\/","identifier":2,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9802e0bea345b33afa85a53646482da09b2d7944429d88b59778b5d3e1c3dd14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9802e0bea345b33afa85a53646482da09b2d7944429d88b59778b5d3e1c3dd14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Richard Killen and Associates","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/landscape-logo-12345-for-web.png","url":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/landscape-logo-12345-for-web.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Money_tree_-_geograph.org_.uk_-_536430.jpg","url":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Money_tree_-_geograph.org_.uk_-_536430.jpg","height":480,"width":640},"url":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/money-doesnt-grow-on-trees\/","about":["Bankruptcy","Credit"],"wordCount":763,"keywords":["credit card debt","personal bankruptcy","toronto bankruptcy","tree care service"],"articleBody":"For more than 20 years, Bill had run a successful Toronto tree care business, doing tree removals, pruning, planting and much more. His finances fell into the rhythm of the growing season. In the spring, the work would flood in and then taper off into the summer and fall.In the winter, during his downtime, Bill would use credit cards to finance advertising, equipment purchases, insurance payments and personal expenses. He would depend on the work coming in the following spring to pay things off and get him ahead in the game.The system \u00a0worked until a few years ago, when a perfect storm of bad luck gave his credit heart rot. First the nature of the business had changed, with the Internet killing off traditional advertising channels and flooding the market with cut-rate competition, often under-insured and without much real experience, but still appealing to the price-conscious consumer.Then there was the economy that had taken a plunge, limiting people\u2019s budgets for yard care. \u201cIf they only have $3,000 and have a choice between getting tree work done or going on a vacation, what do you think they are going to choose?\u201d says Bill.But the leaf that broke the branch was the four trips on credit that he took to Costa Rica, arranging to bring his new wife back to Canada. \u201cI thought that I\u2019d make up the money with the spring boom,\u201d he says, \u201cexcept that that year it didn\u2019t come.\u201dBill found himself with a maxed out line of credit and three credit cards owing about $12,000 apiece. He was finally unable to make payments that were high as $5,000 a month. \u201cI felt real shame,\u201d he recalls. \u201cOnce I had walked around with a thousand bucks in my pocket and now I didn\u2019t have enough money to buy food for my wife and baby. That\u2019s really scary.\u201dA friend suggested he go to Richard Killen & Associates, to get a free consultation so he could understand his options to deal with the crisis. \u201cWhen I went in to see Richard [Killen], I felt horrible,\u201d he says. \u201cBut by the time, I left I felt excellent. It was the best day I had in a long time.\u201dA large part of the Licensed Insolvency Trustee\u2019s job was to give Bill a reality check. Still deep \u201cin denial,\u201d he hoped that he could find someone to give him a loan to buy his way out of the crisis. Killen pointed out that throwing more money into the pit would not solve his financial problem and would in fact make his position worse.When people see a trustee they learn that they have options other than to simply go bankrupt. One of the most important things the trustee should do is carefully explain the consequences of the various options available. In Bill\u2019s case;, after fully digesting what Killen explained to him, he determined that the best course of action was bankruptcy.Bill\u2019s main concern was that he needed to keep his business going, because like everyone else he still had to earn a living for himself and his family. As Richard explained, a bankruptcy would not deprive Bill of that right. Even in complying with the legal requirements of the bankruptcy, Bill was able to keep all his equipment, including his tree truck, and chipper \u2013 the mainstays of his business.It came as a big surprise to Bill to find out that a bankruptcy generally allows a self employed person to retain his ability to make a living. Most people believe or have heard that if they go bankrupt they lose everything. That\u2019s just not the case.Today discharged from his bankruptcy, Bill is more careful about how he uses credit for his business. He tries to pay as he goes with a debit card. He and his wife have a secured credit card with a $2,000 limit, ensuring any credit used is covered by what they have in the bank. \u201cI pay off my balance right way,\u201d he says.As far as his seasonal business, last winter\u2019s ice storm has proven to be a real boon, providing all the tree debris removal business he can handle in the spring. Still, Bill is acutely aware of how quickly his fortunes can change in this line of work, like a healthy maple suddenly brought down by blight.Asked about what he could do to protect himself from such vagaries, he smiles and says, \u201cWe could always move back to Costa Rica. Money goes a lot further there.\u201d"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Money Doesn\u2019t Grow on Trees","item":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/money-doesnt-grow-on-trees\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]