"Financial Diary of a 20something - My Debt Story"

If you do nothing else with this blog post - do yourself a giant favour and read the full story here.
It's the story of a young woman in her twenties who slid into a dead-heavy lifestyle and battled back to reclaim her finances.  Here's the thing: it can happen to any one of us.  Though her compelling essay relates a lot to what she calls "lifestyle inflation", a part of her story is about easy credit and how it can swallow you up in no time.

If you are a young person just beginning university/college or work life - you will have PLENTY of opportunity to pile on debt. Credit card companies will practically throw themselves at your feet and say "Please! Spend our money!".  There will be credit card vendors giving away "free gifts" - all you have to do is apply for their credit card.

To which you should say: "Cease and desist!"

A credit card does not equal free money.

For too many young people, especially if you're going to university or college, it is assumed that you will incur debt - big debt.  And yet I see these debt-ridden students spending big on nights out, trips abroad, etc... I guess the idea being "what's another thousand dollars when I already owe 30 grand?" .. and maybe, "Everybody's graduating with debt, it's fact of life - why not spend some extra now and have fun while the cash is available to me?".

But another real fact of life is that though some debt might be unavoidable, making smart living lifestyle choices can save you thousands of dollars and not only keep your debt manageable, but to free yourself up to be generous towards others.

Read Elsa's story and see if you need to make any adjustments to your spending. As one commenter wrote, "Great article! Where were you when I went through the SAME experience 12 years ago? If only we knew now what we knew then….."