AMIK in Partnership with the Credit Counselling Society, is excited to bring you the first of many articles on money matters!
AMIK in Partnership with the Credit Counselling Society, is excited to bring you the first of many articles on money matters!
Amik – Money Chat
Money is a funny thing isn’t it? We all need it to buy things and services however it can create a lot of stress in our lives if we aren’t in control of it. To me money is like an iceberg – what we see is the tip. This is really about how we spend our money. But all of that interesting, juicy stuff is underneath the surface. And this is about how we were raised with money, our values and beliefs around money, and our goals.
The problem is that in Canada, we don’t talk about money very much and yet it can affect our families, our relationships, our health, and our overall wellbeing. Most of us weren’t born knowing how to manage money, our families didn’t necessarily talk or teach us, and we didn’t learn in school because it wasn’t part of the curriculum. And yet, when we turn 18 and get our first credit card we assume that upon first swipe, magical fairy dust is going to swirl around us and make us good with our money. I wish – I bet we all wish that!
The problem is because we don’t talk about money, when problems arrive, we think we’re the only one in the room, family or community that doesn’t know what to do. And because we don’t want to look or feel dumb, we stay quiet and the problem grows. And by the time it gets really big, it’s too late and we’re left with very few options. Well, here we’re going to talk about money. We’re going to open up the curtains and let the light in. We’re going to ask the good questions and even the ones that feel dumb, like we should know the answer. Because there’s no dumb question when it comes to money.
My name is Stacy Yanchuk Oleksy. I was born and raised in a small village in Alberta, east of Edmonton. I moved to British Columbia when I married my husband and lived in various communities throughout BC for nearly 18 years. And recently, I moved to Ontario as my husband got a job here. I’ve worked at the Credit Counselling Society for over 9 years in the Counselling and Education departments. I have a background in the employment industry and so money was never my expertise. I had to learn a lot of things the hard way and asking a lot of questions. The way I see it, if I can learn some things and pass them along, then it’s a good day! And the same goes for you, when you learn something and pay it forward to someone else, we all grow. So in this Money Chat series, we’re going to ask questions, give understandable answers and talk about the stuff below the surface.
If you’re interested in sharing your story about money or have a question or two that you’d like answered, email me at stacy@nomoredebts.org and we’ll incorporate it into the next newsletter article.
Until then, happy money!
Stacy