Coincidentally, I was listening to a guy talk about the worst use of student loans I’ve ever heard. This dude didn’t just spend a few thousand bucks on his education. He bought his then-girlfriend (now happily married for eight years) an engagement ring with his student loans.
This guy bought a ring with money he didn’t have. The beauty of it was that once they were married his new bride got to help pay that baby off. Wow!
There are lots of creative ways to ruin yourself with student loan debt. I’ve heard a few doozies, but this one is something special. If it’s true love, you’re better off with a ring from a Cracker Jack box than sneakily making her foot the bill.
Here’s the simplest piece of advice:
Do not take out more money than you need, and do NOT use it to buy stuff.
Got it? Good.
I know, I know — you’re smarter than all that. YOU would never do anything that dumb. That’s great. Now then, if you aren’t that dumb, we can move it along and get you moving along the right path.
The path that leads to control over your life. The path that leads to a place where you can negotiate a good salary because you don’t NEED the job, a place where you can take off if your kid gets sick and not worry about getting fired because you don’t NEED the money.
I love being a PA. I love surgery. I doubt I will love it forever. I doubt I will like my boss as much as I do now, forever.
I love being on a path that would let me walk away if a new manager came in that I didn’t like. I love not having to worry about paying my loans and my rent if business ever slowed up and they couldn’t afford to keep me on. It happens even IF you’re doing a great job. My best friend from PA school had that exact thing happen to her. Another friend of mine just had that happen to him.
You’re relying on your doc, office manager, etc. to run the practice well so that you keep getting a paycheck. That’s independent of how good a job you do. My wife (not in the medical field) works for a company who, when things slow up, stops paying her. Yup, they hold her check for 90 days. They hold her pay because they can’t cover payroll until the next cash infusion. Then, once things pick up, she gets paid every 30 days again.
Fortunately, it isn’t even an issue for us. Not because we’re rich, but because of what I’m teaching in the “The Physician Assistant Student’s Guide to Money: From Broke to Debt Free and Beyond.” If I were laid off tomorrow, my kids wouldn’t even know it happened. I’m not saying it wouldn’t hurt, of course it would, but we’d keep right on living while I figured out my next move. Panic wouldn’t even rear its head.
This isn’t bragging. It’s a system.
You can see that system in “The Physician Assistant Student’s Guide to Money: From Broke to Debt Free and Beyond.” It’s available for your consumption until the end of the evening. Best hustle off now and take a look.
The Physician Assistant Student’s Guide to Money: From Broke to Debt Free and Beyond
Brian Wallace