Story

Sophie Miron is a financial educator at Carrefour jeunesse emploi de l'Outaouais in Gatineau, Quebec, where she works on a project called l'École de l'argent. L'École de l'argent aims to inform Canadians aged 16 to 35, and all new Canadians about personal finances and budgeting.

Most clients seek the Carrefour's services because they find themselves in a financial crisis. Sophie reminds clients that “the distinction between wants and needs is not always clear and often refers to the difference between lifestyle and resources.”  She has clients evaluate their lifestyle to see if it is compatible with their resources. “What I have noticed about younger people, and what I find a bit frightening, is consumption,” says Sophie. “They see things on TV and want things they cannot afford. They end up going and buying things on credit, and then they are not able to pay for them. They create stress for themselves and then ‘oops,' they have fallen into the indebtedness trap.”

The Carrefour jeunesse emploi de l'Outaouais creates take-home resources for clients that incorporate Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's tools. Sophie explains that she uses the Agency's tools because they are complete, easily accessible, useful and because clients feel comfortable referring to them as they come from a government agency.

Transcript

My name is Sophie Miron. I have been working at Carrefour jeunesse emploi de l'Outaouais for three years now. I am a financial educator for the l'École de l'argent project that was launched in 2004.

L'École de l'argent is a project to raise awareness among young people 16 to 35 years old and recent immigrants who have been in Canada for less than five years in the field of finance, to provide information, awareness and assistance to them in finding the right resources.

We have many tools that are used as part of l'École de l'argent. The FCAC has helped us collect practical information quickly, in order to build our in-house tools and support us in our work.

Referring to the FCAC in our tools gives us credibility because it is a government agency. It is very important to inform people, because it is quite normal for a 16-year-old to not know how to create a budget, but it is also possible for a 50-year-old to not know how either. It is not a matter of age, but of knowledge.

Recently, I had a young man who was not doing very well financially, but he still had a decent income. For this person, we were able to shed light on his finances by creating his budget and collecting his bills. The trick is always to get people to realize what they are spending: “I thought I was spending $100 at restaurants, but it is maybe more like $200, $250, even $300 that I spend at restaurants per month. Maybe that is why I am not making ends meet.” With this person, we were able to make him aware that he was spending much more than he thought he was.

What I have noticed about younger people, and what I find a bit frightening, is consumption. They see things on TV and want things they cannot afford. They end up going and buying things on credit, and then they are not able to pay for them. They create stress for themselves and then “oops!” they have fallen into the credit trap.

Young people have to be guided to understand that expensive designer clothes are beyond their means. So they must make a choice between their lifestyle and what is possible.

They must be able to understand and make the connection between a healthy life and healthy finances, because there is a connection. I often say that money grows on trees; it is just a matter of knowing which tree to plant.