Back in June, I had the privilege of meeting a fascinating young woman that seemed to have accomplished the near impossible for a woman in her position.

She earned her diploma and then within a year of that saved up enough funds to purchase a home!

She’s a single parent of three children, and she rarely receives any child support. She wanted to personally thank all of those who helped make this process one that she would never forget. However, that wasn’t possible so I asked her to write a quick thank you.

Here is Tracey (not her real name) in her own words:

Homeownership! I had been dreaming of this for years but actively planning and pursuing home ownership for about one year. After graduating from college I gave myself one year to build up employment history and, most importantly, money.

I opened a separate bank account and began depositing funds into it. I refused to let myself withdraw any money whatsoever. When you have high expenses and limited income it can be hard to put anything in to savings so I had to learn how to cut expenses even more than I already had in order to build my savings.

It is difficult to get into the habit of saving but I quickly got the hang of it. The best part was seeing my savings grow. Any time I had a bit of “extra” money it went into that account, whether it was $200 or $20.

With hope and excitement, I started the formal process. The first step was to arrange for financing. After small amount of paperwork I had to sit and await the news. I got the call at work from Jean-Guy who asked, “Can I make your day? You’re Pre-Approved!” I couldn’t have been happier.

Jean-Guy asked if I would allow him to write about my story. I thought it was a great idea. What better way to show other women and men that sometimes the only thing in your way is your own doubt and disbelief. I wanted others to see that anything is possible if you want it bad enough. You can buy a home; I did!

I was not aware that there would be a request following the story asking for donations from the newspaper readers to my family. I was genuinely surprised and equally grateful for the gesture.

I was kept updated as to the status of the donations that were coming in from all of the generous readers. Some people sent in cash, one couple offered to make my children’s Christmas just a little more special and Abbey Master Builder offered me furniture.

I was overwhelmed with the support shown to me. I was flattered that people thought that my situation was worthy of a little extra recognition. I wish I could thank everybody personally, but most of the donations were anonymous.

We love our home and we truly appreciate everything that we received! Words cannot express our sincere gratitude.

If it wasn’t for Tracey’s savings techniques, driven attitude and desire for homeownership none of this would have happened! Congratulations to you and your young family Tracey!

Jean-Guy Turcotte is an accredited mortgage professional with his Partners at Regional Mortgage and can be reached at 403-343-1125, texted to 403-391-2552 or emailed to jturcotte@regonalmortgage.ca