Applicant #11: Jordan Kanygin

Jordan is a 21-year-old from Calgary.

Jordan's video application:

Jordan online:

+ Twitter
+ Facebook

Jordan's current situation:

Hey! My name is Jordan, I am 21 years old, and I was born and raised in Calgary.

I probably spend too much time on social media sites, but then again, who doesn't? I would be THRILLED to have the opportunity to connect and educate the youth on personal finance, because I believe it is extremely important.

Jordan's blog post:

On educating our generation about their personal finances.

First, let me start by saying, I am not an expert on personal finances. How could I be? I am 21 years old, I have only had a full-time job for about 3 years, and no one has really educated me on the subject. Now, that is not saying I am terrible at saving, or that I don't know how to budget my money. Just like most my age, I could use the extra guidance. Financial institutions these days seem to put their focus on an older age bracket than the 17-25 year old age group. Of course they do. That's because 17-25 year old's, for the most part, are not the ones with careers, mortgages, and steady bills. The younger generation has not quite had to deal with this reality. The thing is, they will soon. This is why I believe that educating the younger crowd is so important, because we truly are the future.

We live in a society that is heavily influenced by the media. Mainly, social media. This up and coming generation is all about Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, texting, IM'ing, and everything else in between. Having said that, what better way to connect with the youth than through these media outlets? The times have changed, and the average young person spends far more time on the internet reading status updates, and being fed information on social networks then the previous generation.

I recently heard about a program that Servus Credit Union is running called Young & Free. What Young & Free is aiming to do is create a culture where the younger generation is being educated on their personal finances. Servus offers a Young & Free account which is a chequing account that is completely unlimited and free. Let's consider how much an average student, or young person gets charged for having an account somewhere else. I know that my fees, before I switched to a Y&F account myself, were around $12.50 / month, on top of that, I was getting charged for every transfer as well, adding on about $3.00 a month. So, monthly, I was being charged &15.50, just to have an account. Add it up, that's an average of $186 a year that was being taken away from me. To a young person, that is a pretty big deal. Having a Y&F account is definitely something that should be looked at by ALL eligible people. Aside from this account, the program also has a spokesperson who connects through social networks with the youth, giving them valuable information on topics like how to budget as a student, ways to save money, and lots of other things that people our age should know. I really think this is what our generation needs, as I mentioned before. What Servus is doing with Young & Free is, in my opinion, extremely valuable, and I hope that it helps people aged 17-25 understand finances a little bit more.

Jordan