November 24, 2021
A woman who is now a personal finance expert tells us the story of how she got into serious amounts of debt and what she did to get herself out of it.
Debt can feel like an insurmountable burden, impacting every aspect of your life and causing constant stress. But with determination, the right strategies, and professional guidance, it’s possible to overcome this challenge.
Debt can happen to anyone, including a woman who is now a money expert. Jordann Kaye found herself in deep financial trouble through a combination of factors but is now debt-free and writes about personal finance. She told us her story and how she turned her situation around.
Jordann Kaye’s journey into debt began shortly after her graduation from university. Fresh out of school and starting her first job, she received a stark wake-up call when her student loan repayment details arrived in the mail. In her own words:
“I got my student loan letter in the mail, which is essentially the letter that you get once you’ve graduated to tell you how much you borrowed through the full four years and then what your monthly payment’s going to look like.”
“I hadn’t really been keeping track of how much I was borrowing. I was just borrowing as much as they would give me. And I had faith that I would be able to pay it off when the time came because that’s what everybody told me to do.”
Jordann says she received this letter at a time when her income was very small, and it worried her quite a bit.
However, the challenges didn’t end there. Shortly after graduation, Jordan faced an unexpected setback: “In the summer after graduation, I was in a car accident. I totaled my car and broke my wrist. I found myself in a position where I needed to buy a new car, and I had absolutely no money.”
Jordann’s story is a great example of how someone can fall into debt through no fault of their own. She was very stressed about having to now get a new car on top of her student loans.
“I just felt very backed into a corner. I wasn’t really sure what to do. It was extremely stressful.”
Jordann began to turn her situation around by doing research online, trying to learn as much as she could about personal finance.
“I got on Google, and I started looking around and realized that there was a whole world of young Canadians who were managing their money and writing about it online.
Jordann found a community of people who were prioritizing financial stability, something we don’t often see in our social media feeds.
“I know that a lot of millennials feel very pressured to live these, you know, glamorous lifestyles because of social media, where there’s a lot of travel and eating out and nice cars. But what they don’t realize is that anybody they know who has that stuff is probably putting them on credit and not making wise financial decisions,” Jordan says.
Jordann’s says she came up with the idea of “live your life, don’t buy your lifestyle” as a result.
“The phrase ‘live your life, don’t buy your lifestyle’ is about making mindful choices for yourself and not worrying so much about that lifestyle that you think you’re supposed to have or that you thought you were going to have.”
Jordann realized early on how debt was holding her back from pursuing her life goals:
“Anything that I wanted to do with my life that required money to do it, my debt was basically dragging me down. I likened it to sort of a ball and chain where, you know, if I wanted to start saving for retirement, I had to focus on my minimum payments first. If I wanted to travel, I had to make sure I had room in my budget to pay off my debt.”
She made the decision to pay off her debts as quickly as possible so she could live the life she envisioned for herself. Jordann says she took aggressive steps to eliminate her debt swiftly. She began by exploring options for reducing her student loan burden through forgiveness programs available in her province:
“The first thing that I did was look into what student loan forgiveness programs there were for myself living in New Brunswick at the time. She says she looked at both federal and provincial programs, including the federal government’s Repayment Assistance Plan.
This plan can reduce how much a person has to pay back for their student loans. It can also reduce your interest payments as well.
“There were a few programs available I did take advantage of, and I was able to shave thousands of dollars off my student loan debt just by putting in some paperwork and doing the legwork that way,” she says.
In addition to using available forgiveness programs, Jordann made significant lifestyle adjustments to accelerate her debt repayment.
“Beyond that, the biggest steps that I took were to minimize my living expenses as much as possible. I lived in a 400-square-foot cottage in a very small town because the rent was so low. And then I also did what I could to maximize my income.”
Jordann says she had a full-time job but decided to take on some gig work as well to help increase her income. She also used any extra money she received from various sources to reduce her debt.
“I also took on some freelancing roles, and all of that extra income, including money from birthdays, income tax returns, and all of the extra money that I got, I put towards my debt.”
It took two years, but, in the end, Jordann was completely debt-free.
After paying off her debt, Jordann Kaye shifted her focus to building her savings.
“Once I had paid down my debt, I set my next sights on accumulating an emergency fund,” she explained. While she had a small fund to cover unexpected expenses like car repairs, she aimed to save three to six months’ worth of living expenses, which is the recommended amount you should have in an emergency fund.
Jordann also allowed herself to have some fun once she was debt-free, allowing herself little rewards for herself after reaching certain savings goals.
“To stick to the savings goal long-term, you need to budget in some fun stuff,” she advised. These rewards were often small and not extravagant spending expenses. Buying a new outfit or going out for a nice meal, were some of them she said.
She also looked into what accounts she could use to save money.
“If you put your money in a high-interest savings account, it’s going to earn interest on interest,” she pointed out.
Jordan is now debt-free and hopes her story will inspire others.
Jordann’s story serves as an inspirational reminder that any debt challenge can be overcome. While Jordann was able to turn her finances around on her own, we know not everyone is able to take the same steps as her. No story of debt is ever the same.
For those struggling with debt and feeling overwhelmed, speaking to a Licensed Insolvency Trustee is a great first step to take.
Licensed Insolvency Trustees are regulated by the federal government and can provide advice and services to help you manage your debt. They can offer personalized solutions such as consumer proposals, which reduce how much you have to pay back, or bankruptcy, which can eliminate most debts.
If you need help with your debt, book a free consultation with us today.
November 24, 2021
A woman who is now a personal finance expert tells us the story of how she got into serious amounts of debt and what she did to get herself out of it.
