Close Encounters of the GAIL kind

Gail, soon to be hosting "yours truly"

 Welcome back my loyal readers! This weekend I started my first shift at my new second job as a receptionist at the yoga studio. That's right, I'm finally on the payroll! Now if only I could find some time to do yoga... The best thing about having a second job is that now I have some kind of backup plan in case my job goes south. These times are certainly uncertain for so many people, so I want to make sure that I have a plan in place to keep the bills paid around here!

And speaking of bills, I managed to rack up a hefty credit card bill this month (close to $900) so that I could get out and spend during my staycation. Good thing I have another source of income to help me get this debt paid off a little quicker! Sorry, I'm kind of being a bit of a tease now! I know that most of you are tuning in to hear about my fantastic news! 

Today, I almost peed my pants with excitement! Not only did Gail tweet back to me about getting the author of the book I was reading on her radio show this week, I got an email from her office after I wrote a little email to Gail Vaz-Oxlade about my "story" and what I have been doing to get my debt paid off.  It went a little something like this (yes I did a little bit of copy/paste from my blog):

From: John
Date: Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 11:11 PM 
Subject: John's Bio
To: Gail

Hello Gail!

My friend Inez sent you a tweet that I should be on your show and then you asked for me to send you my biography, so here it is!

My name is John; I'm 29 years old and I currently live in Ottawa with my partner Rob. In October, 2010 I began to tackle my debt and have been blogging about it ever since. Your book; Debt Free Forever has been my debt repayment bible and I always sing your praises. I had tried budgeting in the past and had zero results. It got to the point that I had stopped opening my bills, especially my credit card bill. I was receiving letters from Student Loans almost every month to tell me that I missed a payment (it's only $107.99 a month)! I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong. At 28 years of age, I came to the harsh realization that I was almost $40,000 in debt!

How the did I get nearly $40,000 in debt? Here’s how: In 2002, I decided to go back to school and take a course on web design. My choice to go to school came with a hefty price tag of $14,000 for a 1 year course. Out of school a year later, I worked my butt off and got my debt from school paid down from $14,000 to $8,500. I was really on track to becoming debt free. Web design didn't make me any money, so I decided to go to school without any financial assistance. Thanks to my (former) amazing credit history, I had been approved for 3 credit cards, an American Express, and Ikea Credit Card, and a MasterCard. I was always paying off my balances in full for the Amex and the MC, but I forgot about the balance on my Ikea card and got taken to collections over $300! I was so mad since I had never received a bill from Ikea. I quickly cancelled my Amex after that and stuck to one card – my MasterCard. When I first got the card, I started off with a limit of $1,500. In the end, that limit was at $15,700!! The interest rate on this card was a disgusting 19.5%! And to top it off, I fell for their stupid “balance insurance” scheme which made my balance climb higher and higher! I had that idiot insurance for years. Combine that with last minute emergency flights home and using my credit card for crap and restaurants, my current owing on my MasterCard is a disgusting $14,581.45 in credit card debt!!

As with most students, I built up more debt when I went back to school. I was living in an apartment I couldn’t afford on my own; eating at restaurants like I had been debt free forever; and flying home whenever I felt like it without any paid vacation and paid for nothing with my own money. Over my time as a student, I hit $4,991.57 (out of $5000) on my regular line of credit (10.5% interest), took out another $9,174.74 (out of $10,000) on my student line of credit (4.5% interest), and after paying down all the interest on my previous student loan it remained at $8,445.36. Add it all up and we’re talking $37,193.12 of debt!

I really didn't know what to do until I found your shows and your amazing book. I set out to pay everything off in 3 years on an income of less than $50,000 per year, and I have been doing it very successfully. As of today, I have paid a whopping $23,593.84 (or 62.4%). That's all been done in a matter of 19 months! Now I only have $14,216.67 to go!

You truly have been an inspiration for me Gail. Not only have you been helping me get my debt under control, this process is having a domino effect on my friends' lives as well. They too are inadvertently saving money because I have the power to say no to expensive nights out and am able to come up with cheap sources of entertainment with the same or higher level of enjoyment that we had before.

If there is any way that I could be on one of your shows to share my story or even if you wanted me to write a guest post on your blog, I would be beyond excited! I recently found out that you tweeted about me and I was ecstatic (it was the post with the Gail heads).

If you want to know more about me and how I got to where I am, my bio on my website is here:http://fightforfinancialfreedom.blogspot.ca/p/about-john.html

And here are some posts that give you a taste of how I am getting my debt paid off:

My new Roommate, Gail:
http://fightforfinancialfreedom.blogspot.ca/2010/10/my-new-roommate-gail.html
Going Anal over my Analysis:
http://fightforfinancialfreedom.blogspot.ca/2010/10/going-anal-over-my-analysis.html

I hope you like it Gail! Sorry for the long email, I don't know where you find the time!

$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$

To which Gail's assistant Tracy responded today:

Hi John...I am Gail Vaz-Oxlade's Admin Assistant and we would like to book you on her radio show "News1010" to share your story.  Are you available on September 10th at 10:25pm EST for an on air interview?

Tracy
Administrative & Marketing Assistant to Gail Vaz-Oxlade

$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$ 

And obviously I said (with a BCC to Inez):

Hi Tracy!

I would be honored to be on the show. Do you guys need me to be there in person or would I call in? I would be willing to do either. How long is the interview? 

This is such a cool opportunity, I can't wait to chat with Gail. 

Thank you

$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$  

Then Tracy swiftly responded:

Hi John...the interview would be about 30 minutes with commercial breaks in between.  We would call you at a specified number (landline preferred, or cell phone if that is all you have) around 10:20pm EST so please send me your numbers.

What we would like you to do is answer the following 4 questions and send them back to me.  Gail will prep for your interview from these questions:

1.  Where you were:

2.  What you did:

3.  Where you are now:

4.  One tip you have for listeners:

Thanks and we look forward to having you on the show.

$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$-$ 

I haven't responded yet, but holy guacamole! I cannot believe that I will ACTUALLY be talking to Gail. I had my doubts in the beginning that maybe she would find my story a bit "too much of the same thing" but it turns out that I had nothing to worry about. This isn't an actually meeting with Gail, but it's pretty darn sweet at the same time.

Also, how does one get to be Gail's admin assistant?! I want that job! Maybe she needs an Ottawa admin or a fabulous gay sidekick. It seems to be standard for almost every other reality TV show that I see!  Part of me wants to ask Tracy if she's planning to take any maternity leave or something in the future...

Ok, that's enough of me being crazy and sounding like a squealy girl at a Beiber concert!

AH! So Happy!

I'd Love to Stay and Party, but I Gotta go to Work

Feminem?

Looks like the party is over and I need to snap back to reality (oops there goes gravity). Today marks the end of my week of holidays with my sister and her boyfriend and we did so many incredible things while they were in town. We spent a day at the spa, went to Montreal, went zip-lining, went to a water park, and ate some delectable dishes that were fit for a king.  I was on such a high from having them come visit; it was a sensory overload of really fun times. I took this week as an opportunity to treat myself and truly enjoy my holidays here in my home city, but at the same time, I completely neglected my budget for the week (I guess that's what my savings are for). But you know what, sometimes you just need to spoil yourself and the ones that you love with an incredible week! Thank you so much for taking the time off just to see me M&Z!

I wish I would have had this booklet. 

My sister and her boyfriend left only a few hours ago, so now I am at that place where the reality of work is sinking back in and I am reading all the mail that I have been avoiding for the past week. My income tax letter finally arrived and apparently I owe the government another $500 on top of what I already paid, so that comes as a bit of a blow since I was expecting to get back about $500 from the government. I wish they had some sort of tax program that would give me some money back for helping lower the national consumer debt with this handy blog!

Anyway, I am going to review my claim again and see if I truly did make an error because I certainly don't think that I did. Yes, everyone, you can reassess the assessment that was made by the government, and I mean c'mon, how many people do you know out there who are as obsessed with their money and debt as I am? It seems like every year they assess me and every year is the same story, I make too much, and I owe them more money! Well, add that to the list of bills I guess! Wait until I get my TSFA off the ground government! I'll show you who owes taxes!

This seems like the appropriate time to announce some changes and exciting things that have been happening in my life. First of all, I am officially leaving the job that is driving me to the brink of a mental breakdown and into something different. I haven't really figured out what that something different will be yet, but I know that it will be a change. I love change. Those of you who are just joining my blog now might be wondering how I can be so confident that I will get to do something different so easily. I have been acting in a position for the past year, and that year is officially coming to a close which means that I can go back to my old job and continuing to strive in something that I am good at. Between you and I though, I am really desperately seeking to do something where I use my brain a little more and let my creativity run wild! In my current job, I do a lot of administrative work, and while I am good at it, I am not passionate about it. I hear a lot of ramblings and ranting that in this economy, I should just be grateful for the job that I have. But I already know that. The struggle that I face every day (which I am sure most of you can relate to) is that I want to be getting paid to do something that I love. My current job is not something that I love.

My hope is that by going back to where I was, I could have more chances to really shine and prove that I am capable of doing something so much bigger that what I am doing right now. I really don't feel as though I am living up to my potential. This blog is a great outlet for me to scratch my creative bone but I can't help but imagine me doing something much more fabulous with my life.

Which brings me to my other new job! In July, I am starting to work part-time at the yoga studio that I volunteer at in exchange for free yoga and another salary. This money is going all go right into my savings account to prepare me for a great big celebration when all of this debt repayment is finished or maybe just to get my debt paid down even sooner. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter everyday and I know that I will have that financial freedom sooner than I can say "Gail Vaz-Oxlade".

And speaking of my idol, financial guru: Gail Vaz-Oxlade, look who sent a tweet about me on her Twitter page WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back in September:

Best Tweet of my Life!

I only noticed this recently when I saw a spike in readership due to hits from Twitter! Needless to say, I have now officially joined the Twitterverse and following Gail!  She and I have been nonchalantly tagging each other in our tweets. My lovely friend Inez has sent Gail a tweet to tell her about my progress and now Gail is saying that I should send her my story so I could be appearing as a guest on her show! I don't quite know what show exactly (I assume it's her radio show) since she has a bazillion of them! Where does this lovely lady find the time to do so many things? Girlfriend takes moonlighting to a whole new level!

I don't think you need to read my blog to tell that I am incredibly excited at the possibility of interacting with Gail in real life! Her book and shows have really turned my life around and I cannot wait to have the opportunity to finally say thank you! So right now, I need to write to Gail and tell her about me so she can judge whether or not I should be a guest on her show. Check back in soon and I will gush all the juicy details! I'm so freaking excited! Wish me luck!!!

xoxo

John

Click here to follow me on Twitter! 

Finally, Another Post

Lucky for you, it's a rainy day!

While I may not be writing on here as often as I had initially set out to do, I am still able to report a level of progress in my debt repayment. When the seasons take a change for the better, it gets difficult for me to sit down in front of a computer and write something meaningful for my readers when I could be sitting outside in the sun and enjoying the weather. Fortunately for you guys, it's a rainy day so I am much more inclined to write something today!

There is a lot that has been going on in the past few months that I feel like I should be sharing with everyone so I hope you have a bit of time to read another long blog entry. The last time I wrote on here, I had just finished paying of my 2nd source of debt - my line of credit. I'm really starting to notice how good it feels to only have two debtors left to pay. Imagine if all of a sudden you didn't have a rent or mortgage payment, that's what it has been like for me! My debts are going to disappear rapidly since I am no longer spreading all of my payments across 4 different debts. The best part is, I have tackled my highest interest (or most expensive) debt first which is really freeing up more money for me to put toward the principal of my other debts.

Where I am beginning to struggle however, is that I am more inclined to spend money on myself to go out, eat dinners, have drinks, do trips, etc. and I feel that I am becoming less focussed on what it is that I set out to achieve which was to not have to worry about money and whether or not I was paying all my bills on time. Lately, I am making my budget so tight that I don't have a lot of flexibility if something comes up that I need at the last minute, such as contact lens solution, massage therapy, a birthday present, and so on, so now I get down to $8 left in my chequing account and I end up taking money out of my savings to pay for drinks at the bar or something that I used to easily be able to say no to. Now it's fair to say that none of those things I mentioned really are 'needs' because I could simply wear my glasses and lower my spending when it comes to gifts and save the money, but because I have progressed so quickly with my debt repayment, I have found that I am telling myself the story that it's ok to spoil myself with lavish trips to Montreal, or expensive meals out, $80 at the bar, and so on.  Yes, I deserve a break; yes, I am doing incredibly well with my payments; but yet I still feel stuck because of my debt. There is nothing I want more than to be able to say that I am debt free, so I guess that's where I need to check in and remind myself that this is something important for me to do.

Can you picture me and Gail hanging out at the office?
*Dreams*

Speaking of overspending, I had an amazing time in Montreal with my boyfriend, but we definitely spent way too much money for only one weekend! I finally got all the bills in for the car rental, hotel, and all that other stuff and the numbers are nuts! I'm sure that we spent well over $1,000 on 2 days of celebrating. It was worth every penny, but now I have less than $100 in my savings account! I completely understand why Gail talks about the importance of a savings account and I am happy that I didn't have to use credit to pay for everything, but it is certainly disappointing when I look at my horrendous balance in savings.

Even with dismal savings, I will continue to try to put enough away to get my savings back up for a trip to Saskatoon to see my family sometime this year, but it could be a challenge since my sister and her boyfriend are coming for a visit in less than 2 weeks and I will be on another spending binge. This is the problem I have; when something fun is coming up, I really neglect savings in favour of having fun. So we'll see how I fare when they're in town. If I can stay focussed and try to make sure we eat the majority of our meals  here at home, I think we'll be just fine. I'm just really excited to see her again and finally get a chance to show her around town.

Now I have some more news that may affect my savings and debt repayment! My employment status is changing. I am currently acting in a job where I get paid a little more than I used to, but now that is changing in July when the person I am replacing comes back. This means that I am going to go back to my old job (most likely).  It's kind of a good thing in the sense that I will get to go back and work with the people that I enjoy working with, but I will lose some pay and may end up bored out of my mind. But what is more exciting is that I found a second job working at the yoga studio that I volunteer at! I will be a front desk person a couple times a month and I will still get all the free yoga I want while getting put on the payroll! I am super pumped that I will now have another source of money and I will be able to put all that into my savings account. I can now save for vacations and other fun things that I really want to do!

Lots of hearts for Kelly Clarkson! ♥♥

Ok, I just listened to a little Kelly Clarkson to spark a bit of "I'm down on myself but shouldn't be because I am doing pretty darn awesome", so with all that being said, I am still doing incredibly well with my debt repayment. I'm over 60% paid off now and if I can somehow manage to pay $1,500 every month from this point forward, I will be debt free in about 9 months!! Can you believe this? If any of you have been doing the math along the way with my progression, that means that I will have paid almost $40,000 worth of debt off (on my own) in 2 years and 3 months! I cannot believe that I have been able to progress this quickly through this process.

I really want to reemphasise to all my readers that debt keeps you limited. When you can't get out of it, you can get really stressed and frustrated which can leave you feeling helpless. By taking control of your situation, everything from your health to your relationships can be improve by removing the pressure that debt adds. Financial planning can set you up for a life of freedom to do all the things that you want to do in the most optimal way. If you have a good plan, then you don't have to stress about what you are going to do in the future. The whole point of this blog is to tell you about how I am freeing myself from the burden of debt. In the future I may want to move to another apartment or even another city, I might want to buy a home or a car (I'm still trying to figure out the "what next") but as long as I have debt, it makes it difficult to imagine what the next chapter will be.

At this point, I am proud of my accomplishments but I still am dying to meet Gail Vaz-Oxlade and I'm not talking about shaking her hand at a book signing, I'm talking about actually sitting down and having coffee to really and truly thank her for helping me get my life back. One day I hope that I can be that inspiration for someone else in this kind of situation.

Another One Bites the Dust

Suck it Line of Credit! 

I can't help but feel an immense sense of pride when I get to enter the word PAID next to another one of my debts! Despite going on a major spending spree in Montreal for my 4 year maniversary, I have managed to completely eliminate my line of credit and raised my total percent paid off to almost 60%! At this point I was only expecting to have half my debt eliminated, so for me to be 10% ahead of the game makes me feel pretty darn special.

Lately however, I have been feeling the other kind of "special" and doing silly and forgetful things. Maybe it's something to do with the season? After locking myself out of my apartment for an hour and a half yesterday, I finally got around to doing my income taxes and (yay) I am getting a $1,000 refund! That's going to go right to my debt repayment for sure (pay attention people). This year, I was able to do my taxes much faster than most other years because I finally have some stable employment and an employer who actually takes off all the right amounts of deductions. Filled with excitement that I wasn't going to have to pay more income tax like I did last year, I put all of my receipts, T4s and whatever other forms and receipts I had and then I sealed my envelope. Now lucky for me (depending on how you feel about it) I have a tax forms drop box down the street from where I work so I opened the mail slot and dropped my envelope in the box. At that moment, something hit me - I didn't sign the freaking forms. I really hope that they will come back to me soon, although I am not too concerned since the money is all going right to debt repayment anyway. Sure I could netfile or call someone to see if I can fix this error and get my refund quicker, but the reality is that I just don't give a $hit.

This is what has dawned on me; my "aha" moment, if you will. I am finally in a place financially where a delay on a cheque for $1,000 dollars doesn't even make me blink an eye. I am truly getting to the point where I can be comfortable with what I have in my bank account enough so that I don't need to be worried about this. When I was at the beginning of this process, the things I would do with that $1,000 were numerous and I would be so thrilled to get that money to buy a new computer or take a little trip somewhere, but now it's not even important.

My perspective has really been changed over the course of this past year and a half. A couple of weekends ago, I spent a day relaxing at a spa that cost $50 for a day of relaxing in their mineral baths and I thought, "if I were to have done this when I had my first job, I would have had to work 10 hours to afford my entry into the spa". I cannot help but feel incredibly fortunate for everything that I have right here and now. I am constantly learning that I truly can have anything I put my mind to if I keep a positive attitude and include the people I love in my journey.

Happy Maniversary Baby!

There's Been a Murder!

Savings Murdered!

Everyone, it is with a heavy heart that I have share this tragic news here on my blog. There has been a murder, yes, it's true, my savings account has been murdered. It happened Friday night around 8:00 pm and it was a slow and agonizing process, that caught me completely off guard. I sat down at my computer just like any other day and began planning an upcoming trip to Montreal for my 4 year anniversary. I searched for hours for the best deals on car rentals, hotels, and things to do in "the most European city in North America" and the next thing I knew, like water oozing out of a freshly cut watermelon, my savings were depleted and my bank account laid lifeless and cold out there in cyberspace.  I went into my trip planning with the intention to keep things as cheap as I could, but then I remembered that my partner and I have been together for 4 freaking years and this is something to truly celebrate, so I caved and stabbed my savings right in the heart! It looks like Montreal officially brings out my alter ego - Spendy Spenderson.  

NEMESIS!

Without giving away all the details here on my blog (I'm trying to keep things a little bit of a surprise) I really did a pretty good job on keeping the costs down for the car rental and that's about it. I picked a hotel that has a location that cannot be beat, but I am getting what I'm paying for which is what I think should be the point when spoiling someone you love (which is not something I get to do as often as I used to). The good thing about the hotel though is that I have a friend who used to work for that hotel chain (Derek) who pulled a few strings for me and got me the hook-up! In addition to that, I found a show to take my partner to that will knock his socks off and that will guarantee me kisses for weeks! I cannot help but feel a little guilty devastating my savings account, but at the same time I'm kind of proud to say that I am not having to rely on credit to bail me out and pay for everything again like I would have done in the past and then told myself some lie that I would pay it back as soon as I got my next paycheck (bull$hit).  Lately I really have been starting to get a taste of what financial freedom is all about - the freedom to make choices that won't leave you broke and scrambling to pay the bills!

I don't know how often everyone looks at my saving statistics when they read my blog, but  I do try pretty hard to keep putting 10-15% of my income into savings every paycheck. The main thinking behind this is not that I am trying to save for anything in particular at the moment, but I really want to be able to have money to spend on emergency trips home or when I have a burning desire to spend on myself or others, I don't have to pull out the credit card and smack it down on the counter with a 12.9% interest charge every time. Admittedly, this recent dipping into my savings has also made me a little bit annoyed at myself for taking away from my ultimate goal of hitting $5,000 in savings by November. I am not the kind of guy who can completely neglect my goals so when I do things that are counterproductive, the frustration begins to mount (and usually from behind).

Looks like Greece will have to wait!

There are going to be other things that will hinder that in the future as well. I have planned to take 2 more trips to Saskatchewan this year and my sisters are coming to visit me in May and June. Not only that, there is a chance that I may have to come up with an extra $200 per month to cover rent this summer which is essentially how much money I am putting away into my savings account every month. Now I have also been making some wise decisions such as turning down a vacation to Greece and a trip to Halifax, but I still really would love to go and do both of those things. These types of situations motivate me even more to get on track with getting my debt paid off and having a vacation fund as well as a fund for a purchasing a home and increasing my net worth.

Now the big challenge is going to be trying to get that savings number boosted back up for October when I will be planning my next trip back to Saskatchewan! I think it's going to be possible since after May, I will have only 2 debts left to pay! I think I am proving a lot of people wrong and I can get my debt under control while still making sure to enjoy myself and live a full and happy life!

Shopping Shocker!

I didn't buy a single thing I am wearing!

It sure is nice to get four days in a row off work - paid no less! Now before you all leap across your computer screens and strangle me for being one of those fortunate people who gets this Monday off, stop and reflect about how you all benefit from my time off by getting to read this wonderful blog post! The past 4 days have been relatively spend-free which is largely in part of the generous sharing of delicious food (and booze) by friends and family. Thank you Derek for the delicious chicken and veggies that you made on Friday, and thank you Kim and Tim for the decadent feast yesterday (and leftover chocolate pie today) - it sure is a treat for a man on a budget!

It has been a long time since I was back here writing something for you all to read about so I think that I should start you off with a bit of a recap on what has been going on with me in the past couple weeks. Right after preaching to everyone about how I have weaknesses for buying certain things such as clothes, I went to Montreal to help my friend Andy find some new outfits to wear for work with the caveat that I would not be shopping for me. Well it had been a long time since I had been to Montreal so as soon as I got there, I was reminded of how much I love being in that city and how many good deals on clothes that they have so I broke down and spent! Needless to say that I was a little bit silly with my spending and I purchased more than a couple items. The good news is that I got some amazing deals and still managed to spend less than Andy did!

For $306.41, I managed to pick up quite the collection of clothes, including: 1 pair of sunglasses, a blazer, 3 pairs of pants, a t-shirt, a bow-tie, 3 dress shirts, and a sassy new hat! Not too shabby for that kind of coin. The key part is that I managed to buy what I actually really needed, which was some dress clothes for work and only one (beautiful) t-shirt. I was starting to get in desperate need of some new pants for work and play because I have somehow been able to slowly wear out the crotch in a couple pairs of my pants (feel free to draw your own conclusions here). Not only did I avoid buying a bunch of t-shirts that I didn't need, I left a lot of things behind that I liked, but didn't love.

Shockingly I didn't buy anything here either!

If you want to be a successful clothing shopper such as myself, here are some handy dandy tips. Start off in the stores that you know are usually more expensive and grab anything and everything that you love and try it on. When I was in the stores, I put on so many different outfits and you can ask Andy, sometimes it seemed a little ridiculous. Next, make a mental note of the items that make you feel fantastic, not just the ones that look good on you, but the ones that you really really really love on you. After that, look at the price tag. If the article is something you love and the price is incredible (like my $35 blazer), then buy all means (see what I did there) buy it! If it is out of your potential price range or budget for the day, then set it to the side and spend the rest of your day shopping in the cheaper stores looking for comparable items. If you really like the item and spend the rest of the day thinking about it, then you should probably go for it and buy it when you get back to that store. In the meantime, if you see something like a sassy hat for $75 and think, hmm, I love this hat, it looks really good on me, I love it, then spend the rest of the day trying on similar hats, you will probably find one that looks just as sassy and you will spend a fraction of the cost (in my case, $12.95 = huge savings).  

Now you might be asking, "what if you really love a bunch of things that you try on and then you're way out of budget." First of all, don't even think about your credit card! Step away for the money muncher and think about being debt free. Next, think about all the clothes you already have at home. Will the new item that you selected really fit into your current wardrobe? Will the pink grapefruit colour shirt really match your earthy toned outfits? If you need to buy more articles of clothing just to wear one article of clothing, it's probably not a good idea. Next start checking in to see if this article of clothing is too similar to something you already own. How many shades of blue t-shirts does one person need? Are you only buying this shirt because it's yellow or has a bird on it? Maybe it's time to put down the shirt and start actually looking at birds in nature instead of on shirts...

If you can stick to some of these basic principles, you can really save a lot of money and still look pretty darn fabulous. Remember that there is no shame in going to the sale rack either. Some of the stuff in the sale racks is total garbage, but sometimes there are incredible items that you'll find for delightful deals (like my half price classic black trench coat). Phew, ok, so that's how to shop like John, well, new and reformed John.

After my trip to Montreal, I have been diligent in paying down my debt. My regular line of credit is on track to be completely paid off by May which means that after that is gone, I will have nothing but "student debt". I think it's funny though that we call only the debt that has "student" in the title our student debt. I accumulated all of my debt while I was in school, so it's hard not to think of it all as student debt. I would like to believe that if I were never in school that I would have managed to get out of debt years ago. Mind you I might not be able to have the kind of job that I do without a degree, but my debt would be a lot less.

Sassy new hat!

One thing that I have really noticed is that after paying off my MasterCard, the rest of the debt seems to disappear much quicker. It's also really nice to not have to remember to pay 4 different creditors and be able to focus on only one 3 of them now. As soon as I get this line of credit paid off, I am going to close the account for good. I don't want any more temptation and I want to help out my credit by not having so much accessible potential debt as I do now.

Other than that, everything else is going well. I'm going to spend the rest of my day enjoying some time off and maybe reading my book club book. I might even head on down to a consignment shop and see about selling some of my old vintage clothes. I'm also overdue for a spring cleaning and getting rid of some of the crap that I have acquired over the years so maybe I'll get a start on that. Oh yeah, and then there's those freaking income taxes to do! Maybe my melancholy Monday could be pretty busy after all...

Thanks for continuing to read everyone!

xo

John 

Off Track

Off Track!

Following last week, I have gotten lots of texts and calls from friends and family reconnecting with me which I must admit, has felt pretty good! I feel like I am more connected than ever to those who I love and clearly, this means that lots of people are reading my blog and they love me. I already knew that they loved me, but this just goes to show the power of the internet to bring people together.

I am always surprised by how many people are actually reading all my financial rants! Not only that, their friends and family (especially the moms - hello all of my friends' moms) are reading my blog. What a wonderful thing to know that others are just as interested in getting their debt back on track and that I am not alone in this crazy pursuit. When I started this process, I never imagined that I would get my debt paid off as rapidly as I am today. I was just gunning through all this debt at the beginning  but this year I really have not been as good as I wanted to. The truth behind me not posting as much is that I have kind of been effing up my finances these past couple weeks and I have been a little embarrassed to admit that I have been dipping into my savings account to go out for beers with friends. I guess it's better than taking out money from my line of credit, or even worse, my evil MasterCard!

I ♥ your mom. 

But these are the sorts of things that happen, right? It's tough to always put your social life on hold because you have debt to pay off and the general attitude out there is "everyone is in debt anyway, so why worry?" which I totally get, but I also know what the stress feels like when you have $40,000 of consumer debt and you don't even have a permanent job so I sometimes feel the need to shake some sense into these people. What it really takes is a culture and attitude change to start convincing others to stop spending and finding other ways to find joy in things that require no spending. In one of the exercises that we did at my yoga "off the mat" challenge, we talked about the ability to give up buying "stuff". I have several kryptonites such as music (the latest thing is records), clothing, home decor, and all sorts of other "stuff". What makes my need to shop so stupid is the fact that I don't even need any of this stuff. If one of the things that I mentioned is resonating with you, let me break it down for you:

Music

LOVE THE BALCONIES!

As a firm supporter of artists/musicians I have a hard time just downloading something I love for free and never sending a penny to the artists themselves, but I also was buying 2-3 albums per week, which translates to about $60 which is more than $3,000 each year on music. That doesn't even include the concerts that I go to! What makes this so stupid is that I have albums where I only listen to one or two tracks that I love and never get through the whole thing. To add to it all, I have a record player, but it's not portable so I only get to listen to one of the 100+ albums I have per week  on average. So it's clear to me that this is a habit that I need to get under control. So what I have decided to do is dedicate at least a week to listening to the whole album online before deciding to purchase it. If I really feel that the album is something that is mindblowingly amazing, then I will buy it, but otherwise, I will move on and listen to something else. Don't worry the Balconies, I will ALWAYS buy your music! Oh and you even have an amazing new EP on iTunes? Well I better put a link to that then!

Clothing

This is an underwear ad, a very sexy underwear ad. 

By far one of the most unnecessary things that I buy. I have dozens of t-shirts, dress shirts, pants, shoes, jackets, underwear, and the list goes on. I have zero need for more clothes but yet I still see things that I like and purchase them anyway. I found the best way to kick this habit was to avoid malls and my favourite stores altogether. If I do wander into a store, I look at the item on the rack and then I think about how many other articles of clothing just like it that I have and that usually convinces me to not buy it. If I still feel the urge to buy it, I leave the store and come back in 2 weeks if I am still thinking about buying it. That way if I forget about it, it's clearly not something that I wanted all that bad in the first place. This rule usually applies to everything that I want and it has proven to be pretty darn effective!

Home Decor

Are you cluttering your home with too much stuff?

Now I know that we all like to  have the coolest and most comfortable place on the block, but how comfortable is a place that is filled to the rafters with stuff? There comes a point when all the home decor stuff we buy creates discomfort because it is all just so overwhelming. When you want to create a space that is homey, stick to the principle that less truly is more. When you're more concerned with whether someone is going to break that new knick-knack that you bought than whether they feel safe enough to fart without getting thrown out the window, you may need to evaluate your need obsession with stuff.

Phew, that feels good to get out. It's much easier to get back to practicing what I preach when I have it all down on paper. Now I'm not saying you shouldn't shop at all, but I'm say that you should focus on smarter shopping. Buy things that you need first and then get one of the things that you want afterward. If you don't know what a need is, ask yourself if you will die if you don't have it. I think I can survive without the latest record or spandex yoga shorts. One more thing, as I have said a bazillion times before, leave your credit behind and pay with YOUR money, not someone else's!

All in all though, my spending has not been in check and I am feeling the effects! Last week I had to do some major dipping into my savings more than once for things like eating out, birthday presents, medicine (don't panic, I had a cold), and other things that I feel that I should be a little more prepared for. It's not like it's a big deal or anything, but there really is no excuse since most of the things that I had show up were things that I could have planned for so I guess it gets on my nerves a little bit that I am not as aggressive with my debt as I want to be. Not to say that all this socializing is negative, I'm spending money on things that I enjoy such as hanging out with friends for their birthdays or farewell parties which I feel are important things to do because you can't really put a price tag on friendships (unless they're an escort). But I am really going to try to get it together again and set a goal to get my line of credit completely paid off by the 15th of May!

Lots of love!

John

Get Connected

Get connected

It's been almost a month since I sat down and wrote something on my blog, which seems completely out of character for me. I really enjoy writing my blog because it serves as a positive way for me to get my thoughts on paper and reconnect with people. I realize that this is simply a financial blog and not supposed to be all about my day to day life, but there are times when the themes that I choose seem to link up rather directly with what is going on with me. In this entry, I really want to focus on the message of connectedness.

The other day I received a text from my brother that said he felt the rest of our family wasn't staying as connected as we should be and although at first I was a little hurt, but I have to admit, I agree with him. I haven't really talked much in my blog about how I live thousands of miles away from my family, so I certainly struggle with being away from all the simple things in life such as a dinner with them, or even just sitting down for coffee with a family member and chatting away the afternoon.  So this random text I received also brought me back to what I tell myself every year when I get back from holidays with my family: "I will make more of an effort to contact my family". It's something I think about a lot. My family and I were always very close growing up, and whenever I am back in town, my family makes the time for me to see them as much as possible.

My computer finally killed itself. 

All that has been going on seems to link up to other things that have been happening in this past month since I last wrote on here. A few weeks ago, my computer died. As in, it's processed its last blog entry, which is ok because I always back up all o f my information.  But that hit me with a new financial challenge that I need to get myself prepared for. It's funny how much I rely on my computer to keep me connected to everyone when all I really need to do is just pick up the phone and talk to them. It really can be that simple. I know that my family supports me, but what am I doing lately to support them?

A few weeks ago, my partner and I started doing a workshop to help us take our yoga off the mat and into the world. What that really means is that we need to find ways to bring that sense of kindness and compassion and share it with the people around us. A big part of what we have been focussed on is finding our true potential and figuring out our life purpose which will in the end, bring us closer to our community and truly help benefit the world. This doesn't have to be something on a grand scale like building homes for poor people in other countries, but it can be as micro as being there for your friends and family in helping them be the best people that they can be.

What keeps resonating in my mind is the word, connected. My days are brighter when I feel connections with others and when I'm living on purpose. I really want to start rebuilding my support network and helping others at the same time. I know that this blog can really be a tool to do just that. While going through this workshop, I got reminded of what I studied psychology for, and that was to help people in some capacity. Now I feel that my talents could help people with achieving goals and paying down debt. I seem to have developed a knack for getting my debt paid off in rapidly, so I am toying with the idea that maybe I should become a personal financial planner. But you see, these are the types of conversations I need to have with my family members and friends to really hear what they think to help me develop the best strategy possible for achieving my true potential.

The big question is: HOW do I reconnect with everyone? There are numerous ways to get connected, and build up a support network, and in this day and age, we have no excuse for not connecting with one another. Start with something as simple as a phone call. If your friend or family member is busy, then call them again when it works for you both. Send an email, letter, or text, no matter how silly you may think it is. Even if they don't respond, you're still making an effort and they will start to think more about you all the time. Remember that support works two ways. Don't always make everything about you, and remember to listen to your friends and family as well.

In some of my past entries, I really emphasized how important a support network can be to help you achieve your goals, and I know that I have let it slide a little, I am promising to get more connected with my friends and family and less connected with my computer and television. I think that now that spring is around the corner, it can inspire a new sense of optimism which I plan on taking full advantage of!

10,000 Hits! Amazing!

In other news, I now have over 10,000 views of my blog! How crazy is that? I'm not even using any advertising other than word of mouth so I need to thank you all for sharing my rantings with your friends. If you have anything that you want me to talk about that you think I may be missing here on this blog, don't hesitate to let me know. I am here to faithfully serve my loyal readers!

See you next week! 

John