Living in his car for over a year: one Quebecer’s path out of debt
Posted July 2, 2025 8:13 pm.
Last Updated July 2, 2025 10:54 pm.
For just over a year, Marc-André Gagnon has been living in his car in an effort to tackle a personal debt that once exceeded $90,000. The move, driven by necessity, has helped the Blainville man reduce his financial burden — but the journey has not been without sacrifice.
“My minimum payments were too high. At one time, I was at $2,100 per month,” he said. “Just for minimal payments — it doesn’t count housing or groceries or everything. Just the minimum payments. So that’s the moment I realized I gotta do something just to pay off some debt, not waiting like 10 or 15 or 20 years to pay it back.”
Gagnon, who works as a full-time delivery driver, began living in his vehicle on July 1, 2024. He usually sleeps in a Walmart parking lot in Rosemère but spends most of his time in nearby Blainville, where he works, eats, and showers. He also has an alternative sleeping spot nearby.
Life on a budget
At the start of his journey, Gagnon had $1,000 in savings. Since then, he has repaid $19,000 — a figure that amounts to about $11,000 in reduced debt after accounting for interest.
“I managed to pay off that faster that way,” he said. “But I think after a year, it’s been long enough. That’s the reason why I was looking for an apartment right now.”
He said living without rent made it possible to focus on his credit card bills. “Of course, instead of paying a thousand bucks a month on rent, I’d rather put it towards that.”
Still, financial pressures remain. “The tax payment has been really hard on myself,” he said. “I paid about $18,000 either towards that or for an emergency fund. But once I got the tax payment back for 2024, it was like over $5,000. So it was really hard on myself at first, but I just kept focusing on paying some debt, saving some money, either towards my credit cards or student loans.”
“I look at my budget, really tight budget, try to save on food. And that’s really the only thing I have control of right now.”
Daily life in a vehicle
Gagnon said he relies on food-saving apps like Too Good To Go to stretch his money. “I tried to save food using apps like Too Good To Go so I can maybe buy oatmeal for breakfast. So it helps manage your money. That’s the number one reason that can all fall apart when you live in your vehicle.”
To maintain hygiene, he showers at a local gym, which he says gives him both access and independence. “I use a gym for showers because you can get a membership. And so I pay close to $40 a month. I have access to showers, so that’s where I do most of my showers. I can use the house of my friends, family, but I’d rather use a gym because I’m independent, so I love it more that way.”
Extreme weather is another factor he’s learned to navigate.
“Oh, thank you, restaurants and grocery stores,” he said. “I can go outside and mimic doing shopping for a while. I’d rather go to grocery stores and restaurants just to get fresh air.
“I can tell you doing it during summer is really, really, really not easy. I’d rather do it during winter because some people think, ‘Oh, it’s Quebec winter, so it’s going to be tough.’ Yeah, but you can put on clothes, unlimited compared with during summer. There’s a limit to what you can do. So it’s really, really tough.”
A growing trend?
Gagnon says he’s noticed others spending nights in their vehicles, often in the same commercial lots he uses.
“I’ve seen some people doing it, and they were looking like they’re not able to find a rent. They just don’t have enough money to pay rent,” he said. “But I don’t have discussions with them. We never talk about it. We were really far apart in the parking lot. But yeah, I really seen that, really observed the highest rate of occupation during the night in the parking lot.”
Sharing the experience
Gagnon has been documenting his journey on TikTok and YouTube since his first week of vehicle living.
“I wanted to be transparent with my story,” he said. “I know that some people are in the same situation. They don’t know how to handle their debt, their money. And maybe they can find a way to pay off some debt, living in their car if they don’t have a partner, or they don’t have any more responsibility. So maybe that’s a solution they can use if they don’t have any more solutions in their life.”
Online feedback, he said, has been a steady source of motivation. “The support I’ve gotten all over the months is just incredible,” he said. “So I’m really, really fortunate to have those guys with me. And this is their journey. So I’m really, really grateful for that.”
Not just any apartment
Despite his progress, Gagnon is selective about the next step.
“I’m looking for an apartment, but I’m not ready to take anything,” he said. “So my objective and my main target is less than $1,000. But if it fits the budget, I’m ready for it. But I’m not taking anything other than what I’m looking for right now.”
Until then, he continues working long hours. “I do it like I’m doing 60, 70 hours a week work week,” he said. “So yeah, I don’t do very much other than working, but right now the focus I have and the results I get since I’ve been in my car for a year, I’m really, really, really encouraged, very satisfied, very, very, very happy with the results.”
Words of advice
When asked what he’s most proud of, Gagnon responded without hesitation.
“My resilience, my courage,” he said. “At that particular point, I didn’t know I had that kind of resilience.”
To those who may be overwhelmed by debt, he offers this advice: “Just keep believing and just keep interested in other stories because yes, some people don’t have the chance to pay it back and they don’t believe they’re going to do it someday. But you’ll find a way, whether it’s from a second or a third job, maybe it’s for your environment, maybe you can go back to your parents for a couple of months.”
“No, I didn’t because it was my choice, but I had the opportunity. They offered me to go back with them for a couple of months just to get back on my feet. So use your environment and look for solutions. They always have one.”
Gagnon said the experience has tested him — but also brought new purpose. “Yes and no,” he said when asked if the lifestyle had affected his mental health. “Yes, because obviously I’m a little bit tired after those 12 months inside the car. But at the same time, I’ve never been so close to paying back my debt as of right now.”
“For the last 10 years, I didn’t put a single dollar into my debt. So it didn’t diminish at all. So it’s for the first time since 2014, my debt has gone down.”
Looking ahead, he hopes his story will remind others that recovery is possible — even under difficult circumstances.
“You may underestimate the impact that it has on some people like me who just want to get through all those obstacles. And mostly, if you want to go to university, if you want to go to post-studies, you’ve got to plan that and you have to put money aside for it. So you’ve got to plan it because if you don’t, my studies cost around $48,000 over the years. So it shouldn’t be like that. You’ve got to plan it. You’re going to be intentional about it. And maybe if you have a child right now, put some money aside — you’ll be happy to have that in the next couple of years.”
