Money & Career

My credit card got rejected over the weekend - not because I was over the limit or behind on payments, but because the magnetic strip on the back had stopped working. The salesperson had swiped it about ten times before finally admitting defeat and asking me for another card.

The sales guy was clearly preying on my fear. It was August, and I was back at our local appliance dealer replacing our second major appliance in the space of two months.

Over three hundred bucks. That’s how much being overbooked, overscheduled and just plain forgetful cost us this week. The first charge was a $120 interest payment on my Visa bill because I was really busy with work and ended up paying the bill four days late (it’s not like we didn’t have the money).

A message to all you readers who are between 25 and 34 - you’re getting paid less than ever! That’s right: MoneySense magazine crunched some numbers from Statistics Canada data and found incomes for Canadians aged 25 to 34 haven’t increased a cent in 30 years.

Having resolved to put our recent bout of stress spending behind, my S.O. and I are back on track with our mission to cut spending. While our own brand of austerity measures are hardly going to get folks rioting in the streets (hello, Paris!) we are struggling a bit with the whole notion of meal planning.