Always Learning

Oh my what a week… busy but fun. I am at a point in my life where I am not ashamed to admit that there is always room to learn. I am on this path where I am encouraging women to proactively plan for their futures and I consider myself one of those women that need to step it up and start thinking about what my future life will be like and what I am willing to do to get it to the vision I see. I am one who easily speaks about my student loan. I stupidly got myself into major student loan debt with my doctorate degree.  This is the norm right, everyone has student loan debt and its no big deal…. this is what most would like to have you believe and this is so far from the ideal.  I am now a proponent of encouraging people to go through school without debt because the debt is so not worth it. What you end up paying in interest alone is so no worth it and it just feels like it is a burden you will never be able to get rid of.

I am here to share that there is actually hope, there are people out there that have taken on the fight against student loan and they have been able to beat it. I am now a big fan of a pod cast that features a lot of guests that have been able to pay of their debt and are now living a life of peace and abundance without the burden of debt. The good news is that this is all possible. It requires a plan and commitment, as well as some sacrifices here and there but it can be done. We just have to live within our means, as a society we are god at spending money we don’t really have. We have become so plastic focused , swiping away and buying things with money we don’t even have. This is not the way it should be and its so hard to know this especially if this is all you have ever known. Unfortunately schools don’t really teach you about finances and budgeting , and depending on your background you might not even get to learn about these important topics from your family and friends. Thus it is then left to you to do the necessary work to educate yourself and get yourself out of the financial mess that you might have unknowingly gotten yourself in. This requires a lot of work and commitment as well as the time commitment into educating yourself. This is where the podcasts I have been listening to have become very handy.

I have been able to listen to others that have been in a similar situation as mine and  they have been able to get themselves out of debt. The joy and peace you hear in their voices has been so encouraging that I now also believe that I can become debt free. Sacrifice, commitment and hard work will be required but I am willing and eager to put in the work. This journey  has started with me attending a financial planning class at my church this past weekend. It was both interesting and empowering in that I found out that there are a lot of people going through similar situations and as such it is nothing to be ashamed of. Life is about learning from past mistakes and growing through them. Based on my past mistakes I have made it a point to educate my kids on the dangers of taking on too much student loan debt. If they can I would rather they work hard towards getting scholarships and benefit from free education that way. It is too late for me but not so for my kids. I am actually excited about tackling this challenge, how creative can I get with figuring out multiple income streams to help me chip at this student loans. Join me on this journey and see where I end up. I hope you are all learning every day and are receptive to the fact that learning never ends.

With Love  and Gratitude

Dr Fatsani Dogani