Yes. I come from a long line of teachers, so education has always been a priority. There was no doubt that me and my brothers would get a degree. My parents started contributing to an RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan) when I was a kid, so I had about $20,000 set aside for school. Along with scholarships and bursaries, this money covered my tuition for the first two years of my undergraduate degree, including living on campus. My grandmother also helped by covering part of my rent for three years and I relied on loans and full-time summer jobs to cover the rest.
Growing up, what kind of money conversations did you have? Did your parents/guardians educate you about finances?
As a child and teenager, I was more familiar with arguments about money than constructive conversations. My mother grew up quite wealthy, while my father grew up incredibly poor, and they didn’t get along as well as they could have in the early years of their marriage. My parents were pretty tight financially when I was growing up, so saving was always an emphasis and I got my own bank account to do so when I was 14. I was mostly left to my own devices when it came to my money, but I saved as much as I could and trained for financial independence as I got older.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
My first job was working in a bakery when I was 15, because my parents were adamant about me keeping myself busy during the summer. Once that job ended, I was wary of no longer having an income, so I took a part-time job at a retail chain and worked there all through high school and some of college.
Were you worried about money growing up?
As a kid, I thought we were doing well financially because we had a nice house, played a lot of sports, and always had food on the table. However, I was always confused because we never took a long vacation and buying designer clothes was discouraged. I felt like I had much less than my friends’ families. Now, I can recognize that my family relied on a single income for most of my childhood. My mother became a stay-at-home parent when my sister was diagnosed with diabetes, and the residual effects of that decision led to some financial strain. Although I didn’t worry about it as a kid, I started to feel the sting during high school and college when my parents couldn’t help me as much as they would have liked.
Are you worried about money now?
Very much. I agree with my parents’ situation, but their arguments about money have led to the internalization of some pretty severe financial stress that I continue to deal with in therapy. I try to stay realistic about my goals and save as much as I can while still enjoying my current stage of life, but I check my bank account religiously, watch my spending down to the last cent, and always think of ways I can increase my income I know I’m doing well for my age, especially since I’m only a few months out of school, but there’s always the feeling that I could be doing better.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and have a financial safety net?
Financial independence came gradually. When I moved away for university at 17, I became responsible for my day-to-day expenses, but I still benefited from the RESP my parents had set up for me. Once it was over, I became responsible for my tuition and living expenses, but with some help from relatives. I would say I became largely financially independent at 19, when I paid for everything myself, but was still on my parents’ health coverage until recently. Now, at 23, I am on my own, apart from my father who pays my mobile bill. If needed, my parents could help me, and I could probably ask my grandmother for help, but that would be the absolute last resort.
Do you have or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If so, please explain.
Yes. The aforementioned RESP set up by my parents. And, in addition to helping with the rent, my grandmother gave me $1,000 when I graduated from graduate school as a graduation gift. Now that my parents have less financial pressure, they funnel money to me for shopping or travel here and there, and my siblings and I will eventually inherit the family farm.
