Rodney Noriega
Story
Rodney Noriega had a scholarship during his first year studying for his business degree at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. But after that, he needed student loans to continue his education.
"Usually they would give me more than what I needed, so I spent it on lavish things. In my first year, actually, there were a lot of credit card companies trying to get me to sign up for them. Cell phone companies also had these student packages that sounded good at the time. Later on, I would realize those are dangerous because I wouldn't have the money to support myself and pay off whatever money I owed to them."
Rodney says that many people his age have a lot of difficulty making sacrifices and thinking for the long term. They enjoy immediate gratification and don't think about the consequences their spending habits might have on their financial situation. "When I go to the store and see a nice shirt, I want to buy it. It is expensive, but I have money in the bank."
Rodney admits his financial situation is ironic since he was studying accounting. But he thinks real‑life application is a whole other story. "I was not educated in terms of how to spend my money, how to make budgets and how to discipline myself," he admits. "I was worried. I didn't have a job right after graduation and I was concerned as to whether or not I was going to be able to pay off my student loans right away — and interest was adding up."
Then Rodney discovered the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's (FCAC) website. Its tools helped him understand interest rates, service fees, the benefits and risks of credit cards, and ultimately how to beat his debt. "I saw a budgeting worksheet actually that I have used to plan my spending habits, and I thought that was really cool."
This success story is part of a series of testimonials that can be viewed on FCAC's website at fcac.gc.ca.
Transcript
My name is Rodney Noriega and I graduated with a business degree from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. I studied accounting and entrepreneurship and I live in Port Coquitlam. It is a very nice area. We have lots of beautiful parks, mountains. I enjoy sports. I like to play basketball. I like to go biking down the seawall in Stanley Park.
In my early teenage years, money was very important to me. Back then, I had no income and I wasn't able to do things like go out for movies or go out for food. And so, little things like that really motivated me to go to university, so that my objective was to have a high-paying job afterwards. I had a scholarship for my first year of university, and afterwards I needed money to continue funding my education and so I applied for student loans. Usually they would give me more than what I needed and so I spent it on lavish things. In my first year actually there was a lot of credit card companies trying to get me to sign up for them and gym memberships would call me, cell phone companies, they have these student packages that sounded good at the time. Later on, I would realize those are dangerous because I wouldn't have the money to support myself, and pay off whatever money I owed to them.
It is hard, especially for people my age. We enjoy immediate gratification. I go to the store, I see a nice shirt, I want to buy it. It is expensive, but I have money in the bank. Being able to spend on things like a car, but we don't really think about the long term and so I know I need to sacrifice and not really think about buying an item at the moment and really do my research and canvass around for better deals. I was worried. I didn't have a job right after graduation and I was concerned as to whether or not I was going to be able to pay off my student loans right away and interest was adding up. It was ironic because I was studying accounting, but when it comes to actual real-life applications, I was just totally not educated in terms of how to spend my money, how to make budgets and how to discipline myself.
I came across the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada website about two or three years into university. And the tools on how to beat debt really helped me understand interest rates and service fees, the benefits and risks of credit cards. I saw a budgeting worksheet actually that I have used to plan my spending habits, and I thought that was really cool. So if I had to do over at the age of 18 going into university, I would probably educate myself first on things like applying for credit cards, cell phone contracts, student loan applications. And I would discipline myself to not spend that surplus amount that I received from the government and use that to pay off the interest right away. Right now I still owe student loans, but I was able to find a full-time job. I do have a yearly target as to how much money I want saved up in my bank account.
Footer
