On January 28 and 29, 2009, Sulakshan Mohan, a financial advisor from JVS Toronto, came to PTP and did a workshop on how to take control of your personal finances.

Sulakshan talked to us about the pros and cons of having credit cards, how we should deal with paying our bills, and gave us advice on consolidated loans and what we should do if we are in debt. He also gave us information on how to get credit reports with Equifax.

During the workshop Sulakshun handed out a booklet to the students that he gets them to work with. In the booklet there were weekly and monthly expense tracking sheets, along with principles of money management, information on organizing yourself for money management, s.m.a.r.t goals, how to get what you want and barriers to financial freedom.

At the closing of the workshop Shulakshun told us that there are additional five-day financial literacy workshops that he gives to youth who are under 30 every two weeks from Monday to Friday from 9:15 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. When the workshop is finished the youth receive a certificate of achievement and for those who qualify they receive $100. They also supply them with 2 bus tokens every day they attend. This workshop is held at 1911 Finch Ave, Unit 3. If you are interested call Sulakshun at (416) 638-2481 for more information.

Sulakshun also does a workshop for adults but the adults do not receive the tokens or the $100. Instead they’ll receive the certificate of achievement. This workshop is held every 1 to 2 months for 2.5 days on Monday, Tuesday and half of Wednesday at Yorkgate mall. For more information call Shulakshun at (416) 638-2481.

I found that this workshop had a lot of valuable information and I thought that Shulalshun made it interesting in the way he presented his materials. I would recommend this workshop to anyone who feels like they are drowning in debt or on the path to financial ruin.”

By Barbara Mead, a student in the LBS program.