Millennials Guide to Fine Living

I am no stranger to the good old credit card, it can open doors for people, help build good credit, and be an emergency backup for some. I however became way too familiar with the negative side of a credit card – the never ending cycle of debt. It wasn’t until I met my finance savvy husband that I finally learned how to get out of that cycle.

Stats from the Bank of Canada show that 46% of credit card users have carried a balance month to month, over 1.3 million Canadians missed a credit card payment in the 3rd quarter of 2024, and that credit card debt is one of the fastest growing types of overall consumer debt. These stats come from 2 years ago and with the ever increasing overall debt we can safely assume that these numbers have risen – so if you’re in that boat still, remember that its a very large ship you’re on.

I was raised by a frugal mother who, when I was growing up, rarely bought herself anything other than necessities. She told me it was important to save money, along with giving me smart ground rules for when I did get my first credit card. To build good credit I was only going to use it to fill my little car I used to get to school and my part time job, then make usual payments. If I had stuck with that routine it would have been great, though as you can guess I definitely did not.

Being in my 20s as social media came to be the powerhouse it is now, I was and still am, constantly being shown new things I “need to buy”, trends changing faster than I can hit “add to cart”, and endless haul videos that made me think, why cant I have that? Thus my trusty credit card entered the chat. It started with a few purchases that I planned to pay off on my next pay, then it spiralled into having no clear frame of when I could pay off my now massive debt.

I’ll be honest and say I did justify my debts with the fact that almost all my peers were in similar situations financially which lead to more unnecessary purchases – if you’re looking for a former over consumption queen you’ve found one here. It took an embarrassingly long time to understand how to make a plan to pay my credit cards off, but some tips helped me change my viewpoints on it that may help you.

• Keep a spreadsheet, either excel or in a notebook, of every necessary payment you have each month and what day they are due, for example: 1st rent $1356, 8th phone bill $67, 16th streaming service $13.

This will really put what you’re paying for into perspective, you may even see things that just aren’t worth keeping around like an app payment or streaming service if you don’t use them often.

• Keep a list on your phone or again a notebook where you write down what impulsive thing you think you need to buy immediately.

Give it a week or more if possible and if you still need it and can’t live without it then start saving for it.

• Your time is money – literally. how much do you make per hour? The minimum wage in Ontario is currently at $17.60/hour, say you want to buy a candle at b&bw not on sale? $26.95 plus tax comes to $30.45 or 1.7 hours of work.

This put how my money going in can be taken away so easily into perspective, I’m not saying never treat yourself but to ask is it worth my time and money currently?

The short answer on how to pay off your credit card debt is to know what your expenses are and to see how much you will have left to put into a credit card payment, though each persons experience and expenses differ. It might feel daunting and unending but even small progress is still progress at the end of the day.

My husband and I have other tips and tricks up our sleeves for saving money and finding financial independence that we will share later. While we are not experts nor do we claim to know more than the next person, we do hope this can help someone either to start saving and paying down their debts or to just feel less alone in the process.