Hey big spender

It sucks to be in debt. Until now, I’ve taken my financial independency for granted. Ever since my first job at the public library a decade ago [I’ve been in the work force for ten years?], I saved what I made and paid for what I bought. No longer did I have to rely on my meagre $1/month allowance from my parents (that’s an entire story on its own)! Now that I have a line of credit in my name and am tens of thousands of dollars in the hole, I look back to the one other big financial commitment I made – my car.

I bought my first car when I was 18. No, I don’t mean that my parents bought it for me. I took my own money out of my account and used it to purchase a car. It was a used Corolla sold by a small car rental company. It had no power locks, no power windows, nor hubcaps – but I can never forget the sense of pride I felt every single time I got into the driver’s seat. I was especially proud of the fact that I was first of my friends to buy my own car. The Corolla was my baby.

Buying a car was a bigger commitment that I realized in the time. It drained almost all my savings. It’s not the best thing I could have done with my money – everyone knows how quickly autos depreciate. But what I got in return was invaluable – personal independence. Who knows how different my life would be now if I bought a set of encyclopaedias instead.

Well, I probably would not have to worry about paying off my next credit card bill, that’s for sure. Luckily, Rotman pays for my interest on my tuition loan as long as I remain in school. So even though I’m so deep in the hole that I’m halfway to China - it’s just a number with absolutely no consequence [for now]. But, it’s still uncomfortable. The feeling of pride has been replaced by survival mode.

I saved what I could in the past two years to pay for 1 year’s worth of tuition. This had better be worth it!