Author: Katerina Williams

I grew up in extreme poverty in my parents’ home and what seemed like extreme luxury but was actually middle class in my grandparents’ home. I learned very young what difference money could make. I learned about a dollar, how far it can go, and that sometimes things are better than money. For example, I started working outside the home at 13, and I was babysitting the neighbourhood kids. One mom was in fairly deep debt to me for quite a bit of unpaid babysitting. She was selling her couch and loveseat, and I traded my unpaid hours for her furniture that we so badly needed.

In addition to poverty, my parents were also neglectful of our needs and would prioritize their wants over our needs, so I continued to supplement our household for a few years until I got work in a real business. I worked in food service for several years. During that time, I would regularly buy food for us, shoes for my four siblings, field trip fees, and even medications.

I learned how to buy a bit at a time and hide things. This enabled me to have Christmas and Easter presents for my siblings, so they didn’t go without holidays. I learned how to make sure I had enough to feed us and have enough that I could occasionally buy a meal at school for myself.

The only thing I didn’t learn well was how to save. I could budget with the best of them, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned how to add savings as a bill to cover emergencies. It took one or two financial disasters to learn that lesson the hard way, but I learned it! If I had financial literacy when I was younger, I would have known how my finances would affect my long-term future, not just living in constant survival mode. I wouldn’t have fallen prey to predatory lenders and higher interest rates.

So while I had a crash course in financials and being an adult and managing finances, I learned the lessons needed and now am able to slowly pay down debts that I let pile up and create a secure financial future for my family. I am focused on giving my children a better start than I had. And I am focused on getting to a place financially where, when my children need help, they will be able to come to me, and I will be able to say yes to them. 

This financial literacy is something I am passing on to my friends who have experienced similar stories, and more importantly, to my children. I use small things like piggy banks for saving for bigger goals. Also, I occasionally give them a small amount of money when we go into a store and teach them that some things are too expensive. Making them think about budgeting and prioritizing what they want, and understanding that when money is gone, it’s gone, and there is no more to it, if you find something else you wanted even more.