In this video, one woman shares how growing up in a low-income household taught her to be resourceful with money throughout her life. For more creative ways to save money, click here:
Making it work is brought to you by wealth simple which gives everyone access to simple affordable investing on cruise control growing up in a low-income household i was always embarrassed by my parents various means to save our family money when i was 10 my mom asked one of my classmates parents her hand-me-down shin guards so that i could play soccer at 13 my
Parents drove a 17 year old car and i loathed my friend seeing it for the six years before i graduated high school the only computer our family owned was a desktop that was given to us through a local low income computer literacy program for so long i was ashamed and even resentful of my parents weird ways to save money however now that i’m 24 and a few years out
Of college i have a much deeper appreciation for how my parents tackled their harsh financial circumstances and i have garnered newfound respect for their innovative ways to save maybe it wasn’t cool to do any of those things but they were smart and unconventional ways to make sure i could still play soccer and play on the computer even though my parents really
Couldn’t afford it although i now make a decent salary to the point where i’m not struggling to pay my bills my upbringing has influenced me to find my own quirky and creative ways to save money and divert those dollars into my savings account and investments number one i have a five year old phone and i don’t have a data plan i frequently been teased about still
Owning an iphone 4s but i’ve learned to brush those comments off after all i’ve spent about two thousand two hundred and fifty canadian 1780 american in total over five years of my unlocked iphone and cell phone bills which comes out to an average of 37 50 canadian 29 65 american per month for all my phone costs who’s laughing now having grown up without a lot of
Money being teased about not owning the latest things i no longer feel pressure to be socially acceptable through superficial means like having the latest shiniest phone if it still works then i’m not gonna spend my hard-earned money just being cool or belonging if you feel the same and your friends think less of you for it get new friends as for my decision not to
Get a data plan please keep in mind that canadian cell phone plans are much more expensive than american ones and since i have an older phone my phone is uncompetitive all with keeper networks like harmony or public mobile and frankly i have no interest in getting data i’ve gone through city life without it and for so many years i don’t feel like i’m missing out at
All need direction somewhere i’ll screenshot the instructions or keep google maps open on my phone after i’ve loaded the directions in a place with wi-fi after all there are so many coffee shops and places with wi-fi that if i get lost i can just stand on the sidewalk outside of starbucks to get internet worst case scenario i’ll ask a stranger or store associates
To help with directions need help in an emergency good thing that $27 phone plan has unlimited texting and calls number two i enter contests on social media no seriously in the two years i’ve had a twitter account dedicated to entering contests i’ve won about $1,000 worth of free stuff ranging from gopros gift cards advanced movie screening tickets and tickets to
Disney on ice it’s all about perseverance and taking the initiative to enter i wouldn’t say i’m a frequent winner i went about one contest per 500 contest entries in fact a big appeal of twitter contest is that they’re hassle free you’re typically asked to follow the account and retweet a contest post in order to enter and you don’t have to disclose your personal
Information or sign up for some annoying mailing list i also take advantage of any contests that you encounter at the mall or an attraction that asks you to take a picture and/or a type a hashtag in order to enter a draw few people take the time to do this so the odds are in your favor through the mindless retweeting i’ve done it while waiting for the train or
At home to pass the time i’ve been able to score several pairs of tickets to movie screenings and concerts on several occasions which double as free nights out with friends number three i trade clothes and knickknacks i frequently use a bartering app called buns it’s a very popular in toronto and it touts its no cash trading philosophy to trade old clothes and
Knickknacks for items i want or need it’s completely free to use helps the environment and has saved me a fair amount of money for instance i once traded a fancy workout top i never wore it because it wasn’t flattering on me but i felt like it was too nice to merely donate for two full canisters of jerry shampoo which saved me $15 bartering apps have transformed
How i conduct spring cleaning and closet reorganizations now when i consider donating things i will always try to trade the atom for a month before i give it away for free overall i’m confident that i’ve presented three undoubtedly uncanny ways to save money and perhaps even compelled you to create a new twitter account or reconsider pre-ordering that new iphone
Whatever your reaction know that you can never be too creative in your approach to save money whatever creative ways you’ve learned to save more money remember to grow those savings over time through investing and with a company like wealth simple you can start easily investing your money in the background wealth simple is online investing that’s as simple and
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Transcribed from video
3 "Growing Up Poor" Money Strategies I Use Every Day By The Financial Diet