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Mather Fox: columnist with LCCMedia

Till Debt Separates Us | Mather Fox

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Welcome back to part 2 of Till Debt Separates Us.

It’s been a tough two weeks, and I had no idea when I would be able to write this article. I lost someone I loved dearly back home in Zimbabwe. In the near future, watch out for my TBH upcoming series, Life after losing a loved one. I will share my story of how grief has affected me and my grief coping mechanism.

In part one, I omitted to mention that I worked with two of the largest financial institutions during my first four years in Canada. After working in the banking sector, I transitioned to the health sector for about two years. I then decided to return to the financial industry, and this time I became my own boss, helping people with insurance and investments.

Most of my clients were health and life insurance clients. I am a bubbly person, so constantly talking about sickness and death dampened my spirit. So I quit after two years, but one thing remained constant in my over seven years of switching from one employment to another; I have continued my skincare business and have expanded to gut health coaching.

Coming back to my series, I mentioned that I needed an income of $4000 to cover all my expenses and remain with $300 to put in the savings account, and this would have required me to work seven days a week. I was not ready to add more misery to my already miserable life, so I came up with my big D strategy that led to my financial freedom.

Before I tell you about my D strategy, I want to discuss the definition of financial freedom briefly. Different people have different ideas about financial freedom.

  1. Some people consider debt-free, owning luxury boats, planes, cars, mansions, millions of dollars in the bank, etc., as financial freedom.

  2. While others consider owning a decent car, or house, affording to take care of their family needs, and having enough money in their bank account as financial freedom.

You can decide your definition of financial freedom.

 

Back to my D strategy, I decided to downsize and moved from the two-bedroom townhouse and moved into a whole house with a basement suite. You are probably thinking, “What?”

The house had three bedrooms upstairs, a kitchen, shower, bathroom, and living room. It had a basement suite which consisted of one bedroom, a sitting room, and a toilet and shower.

I chose the basement suite but also had access to the upstairs kitchen. If you remember, I mentioned before that I was paying $2000 a month for all my household bills excluding all the other expenses. Living in the basement cut my household expenses by 75%, and I jumped from paying $2000 to $500, bringing my total new expenditures from $3700 down to $2200. Wow, wow, I was ecstatic with joy.

My second strategy was to find a better-paying job, and I found it. My first mission was to pay off my $11000 line of credit and credit card, and I was tired of throwing money in the drain by paying interest charges. These two strategies put me out of my misery. For the first time, my income exceeded my expenses and made it possible for me to pay lump sums to my credit card and line of credit.

My full-time job, part-time job, and skin health side hussle made this possible, and cutting my household expenses contributed. With my $11000 debt wiped off within 12 months, I sighed in relief. For the first time, after leaving home nine years earlier, I managed to save money and bought a ticket for my six weeks vacation in Zimbabwe.

After paying off my $11k debt, I still owed over $25k worth of car debt, and I was determined to pay off my car in a short time. My $500 a month car payment annoyed me, and I regretted buying an expensive car on credit. All I can say is, be careful of what you wish for. Come back to part 3 and discover how I became free from car payments in a short time.

 

I hope my story will inspire you to create strategies and help you meet your financial goals. If you need help, book your 15-minute FREE consultation so we can brainstorm ideas and work out a plan to help you achieve your financial goal. My email address is matkev2001@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Facebook and Linkedin as Mather Fox.

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