I have to admit, I’m terrible when it comes to finances. I’m very big on instant gratification, which means collecting pretty things has always won out over building up a savings account or putting away my credit card. I consistently overspend on everything from weekly groceries to photo shoot props, and there have been a few times when I honestly got in super over my head with debt.
As fun as mindless spending can be every once and awhile, it definitely adds up over time, and when this new year started I decided enough was enough: it’s time to be a responsible adult, at least when it comes to my bank account! The first step I took was changing my Visa over to an Avion card so that when I do have to spend I also gain travel points- a decision that helped make my recent trip to Mexico a whole lot more affordable. I also set up a tax-free savings account that I vowed never to touch (not even for a pair of glittery Miu Miu shoes!), and started to make bigger payments on my visa debt every paycheque.
But even with those steps in place, I found I was still struggling with debt. The interest rates on my account were pretty out of control from building up over the years, and no matter how much money I put toward the balance it always seemed to catch right back up with me. Overwhelmed and frustrated with my lack of progress, I turned to Mogo.
Mogo is a new Canadian financial services company that aims to help people like me “Uncredit Card” their lives. First, I signed up for one of their “liquid loans”, an instant loan system with interest rates significantly lower than my actual credit card, and a really manageable payment plan to pay it back. I used Mogo liquid to pay off my Visa in full so that I could put a stop to their sneaky monthly interest charges once and for all, and now every paycheque I make payments on my Mogo loan instead, which meansI pay significantly less interest and I will be debt free sooner! Better yet, if I have the loan balance after 12 months, Mogo will lower the interest rate even further as a reward for good payment history (for example, 9.99 could drop to 6.9). Pretty cool right? Mogo also helped me set up my Visa to pre-pay bills and improve my credit score, but I’ll save that bit for my follow up post when the loan is all paid for.
But wait- there’s more!
I also signed up for a Mogo pre-paid Visa card to use as a Visa replacement during the month. Basically this card acts just like a Visa, but without the fees and high interest. You pre-load it with your allocated spending money, and it even comes in crazy cute prints (I went for macarons- duh!). I’ll report back in a few weeks on this feature!
Last but not least, I started making contributions to my savings pot every paycheque. Now that I have a stable full-time job, putting money aside suddenly feels more important than ever, and it’s nice to watch the money I’m investing in my future slowly grow.
Want to learn more? Stay tuned for my update post when the debt has been totally paid!
This post was sponsored, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please send me an email at alyssa@randomactsofpastel.com