Metro's Money Makeover

The challenge: Our participants have set their goals, rolled up their sleeves, and committed to tackling their largest financial obstacles. For the next 12 weeks, I’ll be helping Annick and Yolanda to improve their financial fitness and pushing them to reach new money milestones — just like a personal trainer. The end-goal is simple: to help these young women kick some financial ass and to see whose net worth improves the greatest.The verdict: In my experience there’s only one thing that can derail Yolanda and Annick’s progress: repeating financial mistakes. They’ll succeed if they learn to master their finances, which happens to be more of a mind, rather than a money, matter.Next week: When it comes to her TFSA, Yolanda is making a big mistake.Annick, 24, CalgaryIn 2010, Annick arrived in Calgary from Democratic Republic of Congo with dreams of a powerful Canadian education in energy management from University of Calgary. Year-over-year her student debts compounded to a suffocating $58,000.After graduating in 2015, Annick walked into Alberta’s economic lion’s den — slumped energy prices and few jobs. She eventually found an administrative position at a property management company making $18/hour. But, between student loan and credit card payments plus IOUs to friends and family, she couldn’t keep up. So, Annick found a second job at a car dealership in December. The pressure to send money home to her family is high, but at the end of every bi-weekly pay cycle, she literally doesn’t have two nickels to rub together — zilch! Annick’s has what I call “side hustle” — finding creative ways to make more money.Her goal: Her challenge will be applying that skill to annihilating her debts so her long-term dreams of home ownership, bringing her parents to Canada and doing her MBA can become reality.Yolanda, 27, Mississauga, Ont.Yolanda tweeted at me late in 2015 to tell me how she spends not a penny more than $200 on groceries each month. Obviously I thought this was a joke considering my recent $4 tomato purchase at a store in Toronto; the most expensive place in Canada for produce (It’s no joke. I was desperate).Yolanda manages her spending carefully. She works at a charity that supports children in developing countries, and makes a fraction of market salary as a communications web specialist. But, she’s willing to trade off more money (and better groceries) to pursue her passions. Just a year ago, Yolanda and her adorable pooch moved out of her mom’s place and into her first basement apartment costing $750 per month.Her goal: Making $20/hour, forking out money for rent and sponsoring multiple children simply won’t cut it if she’s going to buy a condo in the next three years and travel overseas before becoming burdened with a mortgage.Published by Metro News January 18th, 2016: http://www.metronews.ca/life/money/2016/01/17/metro-money-makeover.html