"If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not like where you’ll end up" 😅

I love this quote because it’s basically been the unofficial title track of my life — especially when it comes to money 💸. I get it though: it’s hard to focus on the future if that future is 30 years away, or even five. It’s even harder to hold off on purchases when the world feels like it’s collapsing anyway, so what’s the point? 🤷‍♀️🌍

"Useless" Psychology Degree😿

When I first graduated from the University of Toronto with what most people would politely call my “useless” psychology degree 🧠🎓, I walked out with about $25,000 in student debt. I know that’s not a lot compared to some engineering grads or students today 👀, and I totally get that I had it easier financially, but that degree was still a struggle to turn into a real job. So in a weird way, it kinda balances out. The ROI on my education wasn’t quite “sexy startup founder” level, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world because it got me to exactly where I am today.

Back to the debt: dudeeee, I freaked out 🙀. As someone who grew up hearing “debt = bad,” I felt like I was bad and that I was some kind of adult failure. And on top of that, I couldn’t even find a job in the field I studied, so I was a full‑on anxiety‑ridden mess. In my last semester, I stress‑spiraled so hard I ended up at the wellness centre like, “Hi, I’m here again, do you remember me?” 😅 The nurses literally recognized me. I’m still not sure if that’s a flex or a red flag.

With that debt staring me in the face and interest piling up — what they don’t tell you is that provincial interest starts as soon as you’re no longer a full‑time student 💸❗ — the second you step off the university campus and finish your courses, the interest starts, and that’s more than enough to drive me bonkers. I felt like I had zero control, and the only way to “avoid” the debt was to keep taking more courses, so I added an extra year… just to pile on more debt. Jokes on me.

The Grind 💪

Thankfully, I had a bit of a plan? I say “a bit” because my knowledge was so limited back then that I could’ve done way more and probably invested earlier. It would’ve saved me months of grinding. But hey, we live, we learn, and we grow 🌱. I had enough sense to start stacking summer jobs, work‑study positions, and part‑time gigs.

One summer, I had three jobs at once — I worked as a camp counselor at the university, then clocked into my second job as a wedding‑event planner at the university event venue (thankfully, they were night weddings, so I’d finish at 2 a.m. and it worked with my other schedule), and in every spare minute, I was a social‑media coordinator, creating posts during the weekend and between shifts.🏃‍♀️💻.

From all that grind, I think I saved up at least $7,000, which helped me wipe out a solid chunk of that student debt. Later on, of course, that wasn’t enough — I still had commuting costs, food, and all that adult “I‑have‑to‑survive” stuff. So the second I got my first real job after graduation, I put every dollar I could toward that debt. My parents made it a big point that paying it off immediately was the best move. Every paycheque, about $2,000 went straight to the debt 🚀, and before I knew it, I was debt‑free. And that feeling? Pure, unfiltered freedom.

With the knowledge I have now, paying it off immediately might not have been the most “finance‑nerd”‑perfect decision, but with the scarcity mindset I was carrying, it was the right move for me at the time.

The Lesson 🏫

All in all, what I’m trying to say is this: if I had just randomly saved whatever was left over and thrown it at the debt only when I felt like it, I probably wouldn’t have made much of a dent. If I hadn’t planned anything and refused to have a clear goal in mind, I’d still be dragging that debt around today. It was my ultimate goal, and every paycheque had a mission.

Ideally, you want to know what you’re working toward before things go sideways. You don’t need to obsess over it 24/7, but you do want to build a lifestyle that lines up with that goal 🎯. Otherwise, a few years down the road, you’ll be staring at your bank account, side‑eyed, and thinking, “Why am I still stressed about money?” 🤯💼