About John

Hi!

Thanks for reading my blog. I take it that since you’re reading about me that you are absolutely hooked and now you want to know who this mastermind behind the blog is. Well for starters, my name is John; I’m 29 years old and I was nearly $40,000 in debt. I grew up in a farming community outside of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in Canada. Yes, that really is a place; it’s just a couple hours away from Moosejaw.  Growing up we really didn’t have a lot but we were by no means poor. I’m from a lower middleclass family and I’m the 2^nd oldest of 5 kids. When you’re in a family that big you learn that you have to fight for what you want sometimes. I remember that if someone was passing around a bowl of popcorn, you better take a big handful because you might not see the bowl again!

Growing up in a big family was wonderful and my parents taught me some great life lessons about saving. Perhaps I didn’t appreciate my Dad’s ability to fix just about everything or my Mom’s ability to stretch out $300 (a months’ worth) of groceries for a family of seven into 2 packed-full shopping carts as much as I should have because now I’m up to my ears in debt.  The good news is that now that I’m on track to paying off my debt and some of those life lessons are coming back to my memory. I’m saving so much money and getting such good deals that bargain hunting has become fun and I’m proud of my $100 vintage couch, my $25 solid wood coffee table, and repairing my vacuum cleaner instead of buying a new one.

What’s the secret to my new-found debt repayment success? For starters, I have an incredible amount of willpower. I’ve quit casual smoking, biting my nails, and even drinking caffeine and alcohol for the sake of my health, so giving up crazy spending for the sake of my sanity seemed like the next most logical thing to do. I’m back on the caffeine and alcohol on occasion again though, so don’t think I’m a wet blanket/perfect angel! The next big factor to my success is my plan. Without a plan you have nothing to keep you on track. I set goals for myself and celebrate the small victories when I can. I guarantee that I will reward myself when I pay off my credit card! The biggest amount of help comes from the support of my friends and family. It’s great to not have to feel pressured into buying things or having friends that are willing to do things for cheap instead of spend stupid amounts of money on things that are really not worth it.

If you want to know even more about me, read my blog and leave some comments!

Happy reading!

xo

John