Project "BYE DEBT" Begins NOW! - #throwbackthursday

I've had a belief for most of my life, that I am no good with numbers or money.
I've also always loved clothes, "things" and when grocery shopping, the fanciest package please!
Growing up my mother always told me not to get a credit card.

When I started my salary position as a host on MTV, I figured it was the right time to get a credit card.
I would need it for travels, purchasing items online, as well as starting an iTunes account, etc.
My paycheque every 2 weeks was around 2,500, so was the rent for my bachelor suite.
I purchased a monthly streetcar pass and had a large phone bill every month.
I felt like a star, so I would go in the expensive health food stores and would get EVERYTHING.
I would buy whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.
I always had more stuff than I needed and when I would bother to look at my banking details, I would feel sick, disappointed to see that this star only had $1,000 in her account.
How was this possible?

Ratings were dropping and employees were being let go.
I was getting paid to sit around and do nothing.
I was bored and not motivated or grounded enough to create a project of my own.
Hippie life was calling, I was out of there.
Unlike the people who were let go, I quit, so no severance pay, no unemployment insurance.

I made money for the next few month, through advertising for brands over my social media channels.
But as I continued to dive deeper into the "natural" lifestyle, with use of psychedelics on the regular, I didn't want to be on social media and I didn't want to work.
It would be an embarrassment to get a job in a cafe, I was a star after-all.
I was trying to engrave a belief that money would just come to me, I would manifest it. 

I kept shopping without looking at prices.
One night, in a hammock, on top of a sacred mountain, on Salt Spring Island, on mushrooms, I proclaimed to my best friend, "I have a credit card, so fuck it, I'm going to Southeast Asia for 4 months with you!"
Yes, I had my credit card, but I had 0 money left.
I moved out of my cabin as it was costing me money.
Off to Asia I went.

RaineSkye Photography: www.facebook.com/raineskyephotography/

SARCASM!

​It was a move made with zero logic, but I don't regret, it's part of my story and hey, now I'm in debt and being forced to look at numbers!

When I returned "home", I didn't have a home anymore, I was out of money, spun from the travels and still refuse to work.

I was fucked.

Long long story, I convinced my parents to help me out, to buy me a van (a van with issue after issue, that was $8,000!) to live in. Eventually "moving" out and into my red Honda Civic, which was cheaper on gas. I eventually discovered a workshop in Peru that I thought could help me get out of my funk, so I got myself some underground work to make money quick. My flights to Peru were going to be $1,200 each way as this was happening last minute and the workshop was $2,290USD = $3,012 CAD - This trip was going to cost me at least $6,000 but I needed REAL help.

The workshop saved me from continuing down an endless path of confusion.
Against what I wanted, but knew I needed, I moved into the cabin on my parent's land on the island of Haida Gwaii and against everything I thought I would ever do... this former star got that job as a barista in the local coffee shop! With a mission to start being responsible and begin to pay back my debts.

My parent's have cleared the record of any money I should owe them.
When I started the job, my credit card was maxed $9,000.
I worked for a year @ $12.50 an hr plus surprisingly good tips, thank you Masset, BC and managed to pay back about $5,000 of my debt. For me, this was all accomplishments!

I got invited as a guest to the advanced workshop with my teacher in Peru, I had received life changing skills at my first one and deserved a vacation from this island, so I said YES, using tip money to pay for my flights.

I am now back in the cabin on my parent's land, with a mission to not only pay the rest of this credit card off, but to GET SMART about money! Not fear it. Not be all mystical and imaginary about it. FACE IT!

IT'S TIME!
WHO'S WITH ME?

Starting today and checking in at the end of each month, I will be sharing openly, my journey, tips and calculating how far I've come and how far I have to go!

I had a friend once get super defensive when I asked her about her paycheque, she snapped, "You know it's really bad to talk about how much money you make."

So, let's get started... *opens online banking app*

February, 28, 2019:

Savings account: $28.35
Checking account: $440.62
Cash: $33.95
Pre-Paid Visa (a gift to me): $100.00
= $602.92

Owing on Credit Card: $5,798.18

I currently have a monthly car insurance payment of: $152.81
A cellphone payment (I got a new Iphone recently so am paying for it still): $156.80

My parent's have offered me to live here for free, to help me get me back on track, so I have no other bills!!! JAAAA BLESS!

I eat dinner with my parent's but will still have grocery bills for what I purchase for my cabin.

I will be having a meeting with my bosses in a few days when they return from the coffee shop to decided how many days a week I will be working and at what pay rate. Stay tuned. Tips are slower at this time of year but tourist season will be kicking off in the next couple months and tips will be booming again.

As suggested by my older sister, I have downloaded the app "Monefy" and will be using it to keep track of where every Canadian nickel (we no longer use the penny) goes. I'm going to make this a fun game!

I've already began purchasing only what I need at the grocery store, and what I do need, I now look for a deal! For the first time, I put the bananas on the scale and pulled my calculator out to see how much each banana could cost!

I've taken on a cleaning job at my neighbour's Bed and Breakfast and have returned beer cans to the bottle depot!!

I'd love to hear tips you have for being super smart about money, please comment below!

​Project, #BYEDEBT begins.... NOW! MYTHIC!