Debt: Suze Orman understands, even if your parents don’t!

Early in your career and stressed about money? I feel you! Back in grad school, I was working for several different agencies trying to piece together the training hours I needed while also making enough money for tuition and rent. I was living in a tiny apartment with no parking in a congested area of Los Angeles -- which meant dragging my suitcase of toys and props from the pay lot four blocks away -- when I couldn’t charm one of the lot’s valets into giving me a ride. When I told my dad I was considering (more) loans to make ends meet,  he was appalled. His advice was to quit being a “professional student,” and just hang up a shingle already!  He, like most people outside our field, didn’t understand the legal intricacies of licensure and the years of school and peanut-paying, on-the-job-training required to get established in a career.  

But around that time, I found what became one of my favorite books on the topic of finances: The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke by Suze Orman. The book is specifically aimed at those in their 20s and 30s who are mired in credit card debt and student loans while financing their dreams -- in other words, it was specifically aimed at 25 year old me! Orman’s book offers techniques to help turn your financial situation around, advice concerning student loan debt, and tips for increasing your FICO score even if you’re living in the red.  

Most encouraging for me, Orman tailored some of her advice to the specific needs of individuals who were building a career for the long haul. She acknowledges that there are times you have to beg, borrow and max out a credit card to get yourself on a professional track, and that it can be okay to invest in yourself and your career. For me, Orman’s book tipped the scales in favor of taking out another loan without beating myself up, understanding that my situation was mine, and that more traditional financial advice that worked for other people wasn’t necessarily right for me. 

When we were writing GetReal, GetGOING: The Definitive Roadmap to Starting the Private Practice of your Dreams, it turned out that my co-author also loved this book and we decided to recommend it in our chapter about finances. 

Although at the time, it was hard, that period of being “young, fabulous and broke” was temporary. I made it through, and however you choose to juggle the financial burdens, I know you will too!  

(If you’re looking for more inspirational stories, as well as some home-grown for staying on track and reaching your therapy career dreams, you’ll find them in my book, GetReal, GetGOING! Coming soon to an Amazon near you!)