Young Newlyweds $0 Cash,No Food…Our Most Humbling Story

Photo: Our Very First Condo Town-home

We All Have To Start From Somewhere: Our Most Humbling Story….

My husband Johnny and I (Zayba) were only 24 years old when we got married in Mississauga,Ontario.  In both of our cultures, it is customary for the newly married couple to live with the husband’s family. My husband’s family is Macedonian and Trinidadian and mine are from East India. Moving in with the parents, well that didn’t work out so well as we only lasted a few weeks before my husband said he wanted to move out.  We looked for a house within our budget but he miscalculated the closing costs in our budget and we were short $750.

We didn’t feel comfortable asking my parents for the money so we took a small loan out to cover the cost which we eventually paid back. We ended up purchasing a 1100sq ft condo town-house  in a not so desirable area but it was all we could afford.

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As you are all aware the first trip to the grocery store can get quite expensive, so I opted for a discount grocery store.  I spent two hours shopping, the cashier rang it all in and told me the total.  I handed her my credit card (as we had zero cash) only for her to respond, “Sorry we don’t take credit!”  I called my husband and told him the situation…..his response….”Walk away…we have no cash!”  Keep in mind that there was a line of people behind me.  All I could do after two hours of shopping was to say, “sorry, I can’t pay cash!”  I ended up going to a more expensive grocery store and got what we needed.

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That was the most humbling experience in my life.  Since then we have learned to appreciate the value of a dollar even more than we did before.  We both learned very quickly that our furnishings could not be brand new yet second-hand, that our dinners out needed to be cut back, anywhere we could save we did.

When I speak to new couples that feel that everything in their first home has to be brand new, I have to say, it bothers me.  Everyone has to start from somewhere.  The only new items in our first home was our bedroom set that was a gift from my parents and our kitchen table that was a gift from my brother. My dining table, coffee table, side tables, guest bed, couches were all either second-hand or from the curb!  With a little TLC they looked designer!!!!!

Ten years and three houses later, I am proud to say that we are happy with what we have accomplished. We now live in a 2400sq ft detached home in an area we just love. We managed to purchase new furnishings and items for our home, go on vacations and outings and still manage to save!

We were able to put stamped concrete in the front of our home, a new deck and hot tub paying cash or paying the debt with-in 6 months time.

Other Ways We Like To Save Money

We’ve been blessed with my husband’s success with his career as a VP of a major telecommunications dealership, but that doesn’t stop us from wanting to save a dollar if we can! We have also been blessed with 2 beautiful little girls Serena Age 8 & Rayanna Age 4.  When the time comes we plan to teach our children about money so they understand the value of a dollar.

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Now when I give a housewarming present, it’s usually a grocery store gift card!   They look at me a little weird, but I usually get a call after they have used it thanking me!

So always remember we all have to start from somewhere!

If you have a Success Story you would like to submit and share please email it along with any of your own pictures to canadianbudgetbinder@yahoo.ca

You can also find me on Facebook HERE always chatting up a storm or Tweeting on Twitter HERE… Come check us out! Cheers Mr.CBB

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