Julia Monson for the Globe and Mail
Name: Caroline Mitic, 34
Amount saved: $35,000
How long it took: Three years
Reason: Caroline wanted to save for a down payment on property on the Gulf Islands near Victoria, B.C. Over time, she came to realize that wasn't realistic. "Real estate on the west coast is just ridiculous," she says. Instead, Caroline used the $35,000 she saved to buy a boat. Caroline and her partner plan to fix it up and sail around the world in 2021.
How she saved it: Caroline says she tries really hard to live within her needs, which is around $3,000 a month, but not be a penny pincher. She declared 2017 as the year she will buy only second-hand clothes to save money and do her part to help the environment. She also stopped going out for dinner as often, not an easy task when you live in downtown Victoria, B.C.
What's next: The next step for Caroline is to save another $20,000-30,000 to fix up the boat before they sail on their trip in 2021. She says she'll continue to live based on her needs and anything she does not need to live will be thrown into a savings account that she can't access at a cash register.
Advice: "Set money aside in separate accounts for separate things," she says. "For me, it was a matter of setting enough money aside for all of my living expenses to keep myself in check. Forget the money exists."
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