In A Dorm Room, Far Far Away…

 

    Prior to beginning my professional doctorate in TCM, I had a money-averse attitude that was borne out of a mindset centered upon not having enough and being fearful of running out of the little resources I had. When I entered graduate school, I had to take out student loans to cover the cost of school as well as the cost of living in a high cost of living area. These loans were the most money I had seen at any one time and I gladly created a simple budget so that I could stuff away as much of the loans into my savings as I could. I was unaware of the growing debt I was quickly accumulating as I had adopted the attitude towards student loans that had been modeled for me, ‘just take them and they’ll get paid back eventually.’ At first, I thought this was the only way to acquire a graduate degree. However, throughout the program I met several classmates who worked full-time and only took classes as they could afford them, thereby avoiding student loan debt. This realization immediately threw me into a retrospective panic but, instead of finding a job that could cover the costs of school and living, I pushed ahead hoping that the bill would not be too outrageous by the end. Along the way I have delved into reading about several pillars of the financial world to prepare myself for when I re-enter the working world.

Baby Steps into the Stock Market

I had always been curious about investing in the stock market but never had any capital to invest. During my first year of grad school, I opened a Robinhood account and began trading some small potatoes to start learning how it all worked. When the GameStop squeeze occurred, I had been watching the price of GameStop stock slowly climbing but never investigated the causes until it was on the news. I foolishly rushed in at the top and was left holding a few overpriced stocks. Eventually I was able to sell but, more importantly, I became determined to never repeat such a foolish mistake. I set about learning about the stock market and how to pick stocks. I started off with the Khan Academy video series on stocks to learn what all the numbers associated with stocks mean. However, I was still in school and did not want to dedicate hours to combing through stocks to find “the next big thing” so I refocused my financial education on to the big hits of financial literature. I read A Random Walk Down Wallstreet and recognized the brilliance of setting up my portfolio to follow the S&P 500 via index funds so that I could step away from constantly checking my portfolio every day and instead trust that consistent investing over a long period of time will deliver me better results than a day trading mentality.

Real Estate Dreams

               I then read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, a classic first introduction to the world of personal finance. This book launched me into an obsession with real estate investing. Ultimately, I completed the three classes and passed the exam required to become a real estate agent in California. I am still not sure if I will use that license but I am satisfied that I climbed that hill. Between the real estate classes as well as The Millionaire Real Estate Investor I learned all that I needed to be satisfied until I can dedicate time to building my real estate empire. The other side of finance that RDPD sparked in me was the realization that I know nothing about budgeting or paying down debt. When I realized this, I had a bit of a freak out considering I would finish my graduate degree with $220,000 in debt. With my impending entrance into the workforce, I began reading and learning more about personal finance to find the right pathway out from debt.

 

Re-Writing My Narrative

               Ultimately, I recognized that my previous mindset around money, which I label my “hippy mindset” of believing that money should not be worried about as it created more stress and problems in the world, was irrational. Alas, the exact opposite happens when we are uninformed about such an essential part of our modern lives. In retrospect, I wish I had learned much sooner of the many pathways to education that did not require an enormous price tag, however, I try not to focus on the past and I see this student-loan burden as the opportunity to become educated in the ways of money so that I may unshackle myself from debt and move forward with my life. To this end I have taken to reading all that I can on personal finance as well as following and indulging in a handful of personal finance podcasts. I find that when I am especially anxious about my financial future, turning on the latest Farnoosh Torabi ‘So Money’ episode and going for a walk has a way of answering questions I did not know how to ask.

Moving Forward

It is my intention to share my journey so that others may glean inspiration or provide recommendations from their own journeys so that we may all raise each other up and out of our financial quagmires. As I am an avid reader and enjoy sharing the tidbits I scavenge from the books I divulge, I hope to build up a quiver of posts that revolve around digestible information bytes to pass along to any who may find them helpful. I also welcome all constructive feedback and reading recommendations, lets help each other out!