Isn’t it funny how times change? When I first moved to Toronto I barely had two cents to rub together. I came here to go to college, but shortly after I moved in with my sister and her husband I found out that the course I wanted to take had filled up and I wouldn’t be able to get into my chosen course until the next semester.

I believe it was about this time of year when I moved to Toronto, March, and since I wouldn’t be starting college as planned in September of that year I’d have to find more than a temporary job. My sister was working in the thriving jewelry trade, and it was through her that I ended up becoming a jeweler and set myself on a new career path.

I lived with my sister and brother in law for about a year and a half and during that time I tried to save money so that I could get an apartment of my own. My sister lived in the suburbs in a new housing development and it took about an hour and a half using public transport to get to my downtown Toronto job from her home. That meant that I was commuting for about three or more hours each day, and working for eight to nine hours. I was nineteen at the time and all that commuting back and forth left me tired and didn’t leave me much time for a social life.

I eventually saved enough to move into an apartment of my own but I didn’t make much money at my job and found that I was living paycheck to paycheck. I remember there was one time when I was so short on cash that I couldn’t wait for my paycheck to come in and I actually went and got a payday advance loan.

It’s amazing how easy it was to get that loan. It was a long time ago so I can’t remember the exact details, but I think I had to provide proof of employment and state what my usual bi-weekly earnings were. I got the money I needed easily. I think I needed it to pay my rent!

I don’t know if you’ve ever lived paycheck to paycheck, but when you do it can be hard to time your pay periods with the times when your rent is due. I think that was the case when I needed to get a cash advance. I think my rent was due mid-week that month, and I wasn’t getting paid until the end of the month. I needed extra money to top up what I had in my own bank account so that I could pay the rent.

I lived pretty lean for the next month and I was able to pay off my cash advance on my next pay period.

I guess that even though I’ve had some hard financial times over the years I’ve never ended up getting into so much trouble that I’d built up late fees and irreparably destroyed my credit rating. I know that some people can’t get out of that cycle of living pay check to pay check and probably need to take out cash advances and loans much more often than I’ve ever had to in my life. It is nice to know that there are companies out there like National Payday where you can get payday loans easily enough when you need a helping hand.

Now, many years later I’m stuck at home with barely any income. Oh I have a job, but I’m too sick to work, and I’ve been off so long that I’m not getting any sick pay from my employer. It’s just pure luck that I’ve found ways to earn a living on the internet otherwise I’d likely be taking out a loan just to live on.