This is a First Person column by Simone Abrahamsohn, who lives in Toronto. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, see the FAQ . Since the pandemic, I've acquired a new skill: juggling.
After declaring personal bankruptcy a few years ago (prompted by poor budgeting, late bills, overspending online and UberEats orders), I wasn't allowed to have a credit card and came to rely on money lenders when I found myself short of cash. At first I would use these lenders randomly, but I soon became dependent on them. The process seemed straightforward enough: like a loan from a bank but with higher interest, and due back in two weeks.
Feeling less than flush in the fall of 2023, after shifting to part-time work — having become a full-time caregiver for my brother — I started the holiday season wanting to feel "abundant" and not stress about coming up short for gifts (this goes for birthdays, too). I quickly spiralled into a schedule of hopping from one money lender to another, spending more time at those outlets than with friends and family. I found myself making excuses for declining invites with co-workers and friends, because I was preoccupied with sneaking around to pay off or renew from my neighbourhood lenders.
Like the raincoat-clad porn addict furtively slinking into an old-school theatre in Times Square, I'd tell myself, "Just one more time" while entering these alternative banks. I got to be on a first-name basis with clerks at Money Mart, Cash Money and thei.