
The Story Behind Mindful Money
I spent the better part of my teenage years sleepwalking through high school wondering when I would actually use the stuff they were teaching us. University was better, but after becoming an "adult" (pfff is anyone actually an adult?), I quickly realized that there are huge - I mean HUGE - gaps missing. No one teaches students how to save, invest, pay taxes, buy their first home, buy a car, save for retirement, I could go on and on. You have to figure these things out on your own. The problem with leaving people to learn these things on their own is that a lot of people don't. To put a number on it: 53% of Canadians live paycheque to paycheque,
I am one of the lucky few that didn't have to learn about money on my own. Fresh out of university, I fell into the banking world where I was immersed in financial learning every single day. I quite literally fell into it by tripping over the manager who got me my first job in finance. At the time, I was hesitant to get into banking but, looking back, it was the best decision I made. The first thing I learned was how much I didn't know. I had no idea how to budget, or even the importance of having a budget. I had no idea what a credit score is, or what it means for my future. I didn't even know the difference between a chequing and savings account! The second and most important thing I learned is that the earlier you get on top of your finances, the better off you'll be. And that is why Mindful Money was born. It is here to give high schoolers and young adults a much needed head start