Another great article from Chris Sorensen and Charlie Gillis of Maclean’s Magazine (Sat, 19 Jan, 2013) that speaks the truth of the career hardships facing today’s young professionals (and those who are still searching for a profession).
Have a read.
3 Mistakes You Can’t Afford While Paying Off Debt – Smart Cookies.
Some great financial advice from the ladies at Smartcookies.com
Hard work and sacrifice beget real results.
Today was pay day and fortunately I get three of them this month. Great timing with Christmas coming up next month.
(Holy eff?!? Summer just ended!)
I’ve been a super good girl since I started my budget in September. I track all of my spending… which has seriously curbed most of my incidental and impulse (read: “I deserve a new pair of shoes”) purchases.
I did the math (that’s pretty impressive in itself) and I’ve paid almost $5,500.00 of my debt down since the end of August!
Yay me!
There is still a ways to go (like to Japan and back a couple times) before it’s all gone but I am pretty darn stoked about my success.
Speaking of success…
So I told you all about my revelation a few weeks ago that I would appearing scantily clad on stage in the Dartmouth Players production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and had seriously dropped the ball on working out and eating right.
Well I’ve been seeing (and feeling) some pretty impressive results from my attitude and routine shift in that regard as well.
I’m looking more ‘curvy’ than ‘muffintop-y’ in my jeans these days.
I’ve increased my running speed on the treadmill and not getting winded as easily.
I’m back on the salads and loving it.
I’m even allowing myself to be photographed head to foot (this is hugely significant).
Like my debt-load, my fitness and body-size have got more work ahead of them, but short term goals (like feeling like a rockstar in my lingerie/whorehouse costumes) are making the process go a heck of a lot more smoothly.
We’ll see if I feel up to posting photos of me in costume all over the internet.
I might never be ready for that.
Another addition to my focus on student debt, unemployment, and financial difficulties resulting from the recession facing graduates and young adults. Check out this article from The Globe and Mail.
Debt-ridden and unemployed: We are the Class of 2012
More on the Globe and Mail conversation of youth unemployment… Check out the graphs and stats laid-out in this article. Scary.
Also, here is a nice excerpt from a related article.
Charlotte Bumstead, a 24-year-old writer from Newmarket, Ont., said the chance of finding a decent job with a livable salary was comparable to winning the lottery.
“On behalf of my generation, we don’t want your pity,” Ms. Bumstead wrote. “Go ahead and call us ‘lazy and entitled,’ we’re happy to prove you wrong.”
For those of you who haven’t heard of the Smart Cookies, this will be a real treat. I was reading an article today in the Globe and Mail again about how life as a twenty-something is financially challenging (ya think!?!). It made an interesting point. Instead of trying to maintain or achieve a luxury-item-based lifestyle in the wake of growing debt and dwindling career prospects and paycheques… why don’t we learn to embrace frugality?
Today I wore a $10 dress I found on the clearance rack at Walmart. I’ve gotten a number of compliments already and it’s only 11:30. My new sunglasses are cute and fashionable, and they were only $14.99… sure they might not last more than 1 season but I’d rather not be tied to wearing trendy sunglasses longer than socially acceptable because I spent a large portion of my paycheque on them.
Two Christmases ago Sandra Claus gave me the book The Smart Cookies’ Guide to Making More Dough. It took me 6 months before I would even open it. My finances as a grad student were in such dire straights, I didn’t even KNOW what my balances were on my lines of credit and credit cards were.
This is dangerous territory indeed.
Once I started working my internship last summer I was bringing in a decent paycheque every two weeks and finally cracked open the book… I even brought it with me to Ottawa knowing it would eventually get read. It was great! Written by 5 Canadian ladies, I loved how I could relate to the little things they spoke about… (e.g. Instead of Tim Hortons, bring coffee in a travel mug from home instead).
I devoured this book.
While I may still be in a precarious financially position as a recent grad with plenty of student debt and meager current earning, my attitude has definitely shifted. I know my financial position… knowledge is power. I pay my bills early. I make more than the minimum payments (sometimes even double). I know my interest rates, I know when money is coming in and when it is going out.
The one area I need to improve upon the most is savings. I know I could be doing better. And that is what I am aiming to do. I know the right people to ask. So it’s just a matter of doing it.
