Why I Started This Blog

At 20 years old I have never been in debt and I plan to keep it that way.  I have always had a good work ethic and started working as soon as I was old enough to get a job.  However, I didn't save my money like I should have.  I always new when I was 14 that several years down the road I would think back to all of the disposable income I had and how I should have saved it for when I had real expenses, like rent and school.  But did I save it? Of course not. I was spending my money on junk food and useless crap that I definately don't have any use for now.  The closest I got to saving it was opening a long term investment account with Edward Jones, as that was where my mom had her investments.  Unfortunately that wasn't much of an investment, even at $50 a month.  Then every year when I would get my T4 I would see all of the money that I let slip through my fingers.

It was exactly 2 years ago that I opened my first real savings account.  I was 18, finally done high school, and wanting to travel AND do post secondary.  I opened a Tax-Free Interest Plus Savings account, which has been filled and emptied on a few occaisions, but always worth it.

But saving my money really became a priority when I got accepted to an exclusive fashion design school in Vancouver.  Compared to the part time fashion classes I had been taking, which were about $300 each, the one year tuition was $13,000!  On top of that I had to think about the cost of moving across the country and paying the huge Vancouver rent.  I was already living on my own with my boyfriend, although rent was extremely cheap for the full town house we lived in thanks to my mom being the landlord.  But I needed to save! I did not want to have to take out a bank loan or borrow from my parents to pay for school.  So I started keeping track of bank accounts and cash on a monthly basis to make sure we were putting enough asside each month to meet the $20,000 we needed.

In April of this year, between packing boxes and trying to find a decently affordable Vancouver apartment, we got quite the surprise.  I was pregnant!  Now we REALLY needed to save!  So plans have changed and school has been put off for a year.  I am 31 weeks pregnant and have exactly 2 months to go before our little girl is expected to arrive.  With just a few more paychecks left and a greatly reduced income looming over my head for mat leave, we are on a tight budget.  I have always loved finances and keeping track of things, so I've decided to start this blog as motivation to stay on track and hopefully motivate other young adults to start saving their money.  I would rather be on a tight budget and have all the money to pay for a large expense than have to get a loan and go into debt paying interest.  In the personal finance world, interest is your enemy!