In this edition, because this is a three pay cheque month and I need to give myself some extra encouragement to kick some of that extra money into my student loans as an extra payment... what else could I be doing with that $479.83 I earn but is not mine because post-secondary education is not priced for the poor.
1. I could be putting most of it to my TFSA.
Did you know that $450 a month will get you within $100 of the contribution limit on your TFSA?
Okay likely yes, but whether or not you know wasn't the point of me asking this question. The point of the question was to point out that my minimum payment to pay down my student loans is about the same as I could be putting towards my TFSA to max out the contribution. I also have about $31,000 of space in my TFSA that has been carried over from previous years so technically I could put the full amount every month and not worry about over-contributing for the next many many years!
Actually, now that I think about it, it's kind of nuts that my monthly student loan payments only add up to $5500-6000 dollars paid down a year.
Right now I contribute around $50-100 a month to my TFSA, which is a fraction of what I could be doing otherwise and really doesn't amount to much year over year. But it is better than nothing. Still... it hurts not to max it out.
2. I could afford to finance and pay for gas, parking and insurance for a new vehicle.
Don't recoil and gasp all at once anyone. The point I'm making is that unlike right now in which I can't afford a car because I can't reasonably afford it within my current budget, the money freed from my student loans suddenly mean I can not only afford it, I can pull all the stops and go full luxury option here.
Now I understand the general disapproval of financing a brand new car, and I more or less plan on buying used when I do purchase a car and am trying to save as much as I can so if I do end up or needing to finance, it's something I can get wiped out quickly. Ultimately the point is is that money opens a whole new possibility for me life-wise.
3. I could be saving up for a down-payment to own my own home.
Sure it'd take me six years to save up the $30,000 needed for a half decent down payment on a house in an overly-priced Toronto market but better towards something that can increase my net worth than fatten up the government's coffers amirite?
Realistically, I can't afford the home on my income without a partner paying it with me, so I'm kind of more or less resolved to the idea of renting if needed. But I can't help but dream about owning, renovating and caring for a home sometimes. But then I think about owning, renovating and caring for a home and realize that I must be crazy too.
There are definitely upsides to just renting in the sense that damage is not my responsibility and particularly if I have kids, I can move to better school districts if I wanted to.
But that last point is another story.
4. I could afford to travel twice a year.
Not that I necessarily aspire to travel or have any kind of travel bug inside of me, but it would be nice to have the opportunity to explore new places and experience new things and really just change things up and get out of my own rut. I do have a small list of places I would like to see in my life and all things considered, do hope to be able to experience them at some point in my life.
5. I could buy all the pretty things!!!
Or I could add $500 to my general spending and splurge on the stuff I've always lusted after in an entirely frivolous way. Because I actually do have a list of "Oh I wish I could afford that" stuff in my life that well... I wish I was rich so that I could afford it!
And that's it people. The five things I could be putting my money towards if I didn't have to pay down my student loans. But hey, my student loans did end up getting me a good job and some real happiness in the end so I can't really complain because ultimately, it wasn't a complete waste of money for me.
But it is still hard to see that much money disappear from my bank accounts every month.
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