Coincidentally, today I was listening to a guy today 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. Wonder if she ever realized it.
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 your better off with a Cracker Jack ring then the ring your sneakily making your her foot the bill for.
Here’s the simplest of answers.
Do not take out more money then 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 negation 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 doesn’t pay her 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 April issue of the Physician Assistant Exam Scholars newsletter. 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.
Someone just emailed me and asked if they could cancel right after getting the April issue. I said, “Of course you can, but if you DO anything that’s in that newsletter it will pay for the next three years of your subscription, so it’s kind of a non-issue.”
Anyway. It goes to the printer tonight. So if your interested in getting a leg up in this world and not bottom feeding with the fiddler crabs, then better get on it.
Physician Assistant Exam Scholars
Brian
P.S. I just got something in the mailbox today I want to share with you. With the April issue heading to the printer in just a few short hours, the timing was perfect.
Ivan has been a Scholars subscriber since day one. He has every single issue, and I asked him if he’d mind writing a small blurb on the newsletter for me.
His reply, “Of course. It’s the least I could do.”
Here’s what he had to say to anyone who might be on the fence.
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Brian’s podcast and newsletter helped me as a pre-PA student up until now finishing my 2nd semester of PA school. I have all the newsletters thus far, and each one covers various topics to help pre-PAs and practicing PAs with techniques to improve ourselves. I tried different methods suggested and found what works for me to improve my study efficiency to maximize my exam performance and family time. The material covers all bases from passing didactic, clinical rotations, passing PANCE/PANRE, getting your first job and handling student loan debt. I also look forward to the monthly newsletter to have something to read related to PA topics but is not lecture material. Do yourself a favor and subscribe, it’s worth every penny.
Ivan
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Well, thank you, Ivan. Now put a little hop in your step and get the April issue before it’s gone for good. Buried in Ivan’s Archives.