Applicant #7: Shaun Lang

Shaun is a 22-year-old from Edmonton.

Shaun's video application:

Shaun online:

+ Facebook

Shaun's current situation:

I live in Edmonton, AB and will be 22 as of May 3, 2011. I currently work for Knowledge Construction which, despite the name, is NOT a construction company. Rather it's a video small production house where ideas get "constructed" into new media. I've pretty much been completely in charge of my own finances since I was 17 and want to share my accumulated knowledge with the world!

Shaun's blog post:

If you're reading this, I'm assuming you've already seen my incredibly awesome video! But as fun as that was, it's time to get serious for a minute:

DEBT

Quite an ugly word isn't it? It's the word has come to both consume and define our generation (Generation debt anyone?). There seems to many reasons for this stigma: Wages failing to keep pace with inflation, our inner tendency to buy what we want as opposed to what we need, constant nickel and diming via "service fees". It just seems to go on and on.

I'm pretty sure that many of us feel that debt is either unavoidable, inescapable, or both. We feel that we're going to have trouble really getting our lives off the ground.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Debt is nothing new. Mankind has had to deal with this sort of thing ever since he figured out the concept of currency. As long as someone lives and spends more than they earn, then that person will likely fall into debt.

But it IS possible to get out.

I have learned numerous savings and financial tips over the last few years. In fact, I'll even share one with you now:

PAY YOURSELF FIRST

Huh???? I know. It seems kind of vague now. But It'll make sense in a second.

Now lets say that your average paycheck every two weeks is somewhere in the neighborhood of CDN $400. What's the first thing you do with it?

Go to town and buy all those PS3 games you've always wanted?

Pay your bills? (If any)

Pay back the $$$ you borrowed from your friend that one time?

But before you do any of that. You MUST take 10% of what you just earned (In this case, $40) and SET IT ASIDE FOR THE FUTURE.

Now you could stash it it a drawer or a safe or something. But I'd recommend getting a savings account. Once you do that, continue putting away 10% of each paycheck you get and if each paycheck is $400, then in one year you would have over $1000 saved!

And since you've opened a savings account, the bank/credit union will add interest to your account every month. So basically, they're actually paying you to save! (It's only a few cents at first, but the more you put in, the more interest they're willing to dish out!)

So there you have it! And there's plenty more where that came from!

With all that being said, I really hope you'll consider me for this year's Young and Free Alberta Spokester! I'm just bursting with money-knowledge and I want to share it with the world!

I'm on Facebook and Youtube ("Smareng" channel) constantly so feel free to look me up!

Shaun