This week I’m interviewing FB (fabulously broke) from Fabulously Broke in the City.  She’s a single gal in Canada, who left a secure job in information technology to fly solo as a consultant in 2008.  Most impressive is her transformation from a shopaholic to a frugalite.  Although I have to admit my favorite posts are about fashion with her.  Check out her blog for the lastest reviews in fashion, gadgetry, electronics, and everything else.

1. How did you get your name and what made you start blogging?

I picked “Fabulously Broke in the City” because it made me think of Suze Orman and her book “Young, Fabulous and Broke” and Sex and the City.

I just thought Fabulously Broke in the City described my situation to the T.

I originally started out blogging because I wanted to talk about finances from a sociological perspective, like “How the hell does Carrie Bradshaw afford all of those great shoes, clothes & an apartment to boot!?”. But it ended up evolving into my blogging about my personal finances, namely the $60,000 student debt I was in the process of clearing.

I had just graduated from business school, and got a good job at $65,000 a year. But with $60,000 in debt, it was a bit daunting.

I tried unconventional ways to clear my debt such as living out of a suitcase as a consultant and conventional ways such as learning how to budget, and my blog was a way to chronicle my journey out of debt and to keep me on track.

Now, I write about anything and everything that comes to mind, hoping that it will entice and prompt women to take control of their finances the way I did.

2. What do you do in real life and how’d you get started?

I am an IT consultant.

I got started purely by luck. I went to business school as I mentioned above, and when I graduated, I knew I wanted something in IT with business, but I had no idea what.

I was offered a job by a huge corporation in a whole new area I had no expertise or idea about, and I took the plunge, took the job and am happy to have found the perfect career to suit my IT and business needs.

Now I work for myself as a freelancer, and having complete months without work can be a bit nerve wracking for the first month or so, but I’ve learned to trust my gut and be smart with my money.

3. What is the reason you blog about personal finance?

It was really about getting out of debt in the beginning. But now, I just blog for fun, and mainly to try and educate young women who may be in the very same position I was when I was fresh out of school, or to help those avoid getting into those kinds of financial binds.

I learn a lot by trial and error, but I take a lot of other PF bloggers’ advice to heart and I am always interested in how people see things in life, even if I don’t agree with their ideas or mentalities at all and write what some people might politely call very opinionated posts.

Of course! It’s me, in a blog. It’s my opinion.

4. What were your 3 biggest personal finance mistakes?

Not learning at a younger age (when I got a job) how to manage my money. Although, I suppose it’d be difficult to get a job as a 16-year old and immediately get the urge to save it (yeah right!) and wonder how best to invest that money for short and long-term growth for my 65-year old retirement.

Not being more frugal in University. I wrote a whole post on things that I think are essential to keeping out of debt while in college. I really wish I had been as penny pinching as I was when I finally graduated, and maybe I wouldn’t have been in so much debt in the end.

Being a shopaholic. This ties in with being in University and not being frugal, but I just loved clothes, shoes, shopping… it was toxic and exhilarating, but I am thankful that I didn’t wrack up any credit card debt.

5. What is your biggest 3 personal finance tips?

Track your expenses to understand where your money is going, always helpful for everyone, not just those in debt.

Build a budget and use it as a yardstick, but keep it flexible.

Read. Read as much as possible, learn as much as possible about your money from all sources (your company’s seminars, banks, friends, family, blogs, articles), and take everything with a grain of salt.

6. What is your 3 best posts?

I don’t know about best, but my 3 favourites are:

I met Mr. Jones It’s a post about what it costs to BE Mr. Jones. I’m actually related to him.

Debt sucks but so does not living your life.  I blog a lot about this topic. I also had a lot of Anonymous comments from known PF bloggers who have lambasted me for buying a $60 purse or going on a $500 shopping spree. Those PF bloggers are way too frugal and penny pinching for my blood. They punish themselves for having debt, whereas I don’t.

High Income doesn’t necessarily mean Financial Smarts.  A great comment by a reader who wanted to mention that earning a high income also helped me climb out of debt quicker. I did a short response back.

7. How are you dealing with our current economic situation?

I’m taking it easy. I know a lot of people are concerned right now, and a lot have lost their jobs (*heart*), but I’m taking it into stride. Things just couldn’t continue the way they had been going in the past, so it had to come back to reality some how, and I’d rather it happen now to me when I’m young than when I’m nearing retirement *crosses fingers*.

I am just happy that I got out of debt and built a quick cash fund just before it all hit. I am currently living off the money I made in 2008, and with my low living expenses, I could go for about a year before running out of my liquid cash reserves. At which point, I’d have to tap into my retirement fund, but I am not keen on that.

I am also in the middle of moving to the States (or trying to), but that’s going a bit slow because of the recession and I have a feeling they’re not keen on hiring or sponsoring foreigners (Canadian) right now with the unemployment rates hitting a high.

But it sort of irks me, since they’re really dying for my skills (I get postings every day), but the companies have their hands tied and cannot hire Canadian talent at the moment. *sigh* It would be near impossible to get a sponsorship right now.

8. Has blogging changed you?

Most definitely.

I love that I can ask questions on my blog, generate heated discussions, or get the benefit of many heads giving me advice all at once. It’s like having my own personal think tank with so many different perspectives, ideas and knowledge about issues I am still exploring.

It has also opened up my mind to see other sides of a discussion. I may not always agree with them, but I do acknowledge they all have a point.

I also like that I can post about whatever I want on the blog. It’s so catharthic, and a relief to be as weird as I want (although I may come across as being weirder in real life).

9. Where do you see yourself in 1, 5, and 10 years?

1 year? In the States, working for The Man. But I think in a year I may still be in Canada for a bit longer until they stop the foreigner hiring freeze.

5 years? In the States, still working for The Man, hopefully with a Green Card not too far away. Am probably going to have a kid by then.

10 years? In the States, self-employed and able to pick and choose my projects, or settle down in a no-travel position, with a home that has a cute white picket fence and a couple of kids.

10. Tell me something unusual about yourself.

People find these two things unusual but I don’t and other PF’ers have led me to believe that I am not alone!

1. I don’t own a TV. When I say this, I have had people literally gasp out loud and seriously ask me with wide eyes: “How can you NOT own a TV?”.

2. I don’t like to drink alcohol. I will have a sip of champagne (not even a glass) for someone’s special toast, but I just don’t like the taste of alcohol and I haven’t had any (other than in cooked food) for about 6 years.

I’ve interviewed as well for FB on her blog here.  Like I said, it must be my spending tendencies, but sometimes I look at her posts about cool clothes and just drool.