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Are you being weighed down by your student loan and you feel like there is no hope? Do you feel stuck in a toxic and/or unfulfilled job because of your debt? Then you should listen to this episode as Melanie talks with Travis Hornsby.
Travis is the founder of Student Loan Planner, a company that offers custom student loan plans to help borrowers. He is also the host of the Student Loan Planner podcast. To date, Student Loan Planner has consulted on over half a billion in student debt. They helped over 2,600 clients save over $120 million on their student loans.
In this episode, Travis shares the result of the Mental Health Survey that he and Melanie did. They discussed, among other things, why 1 in 15 borrowers have considered suicide because of debt. Why burnout is the main underlying cause of anxiety, depression, and/or suicidal ideation that student loan borrowers experience and how you can avoid it. And, to help student loan borrowers, Travis shares what options you can take so you can pay off your debt and still do the things you love. He even shares some success stories of people who were able to get out of the trap and enjoy a stress-free life just the way they wanted to. Finally, Travis and Melanie gave some advice to people who are experiencing severe mental health issues because of debt.
“The content that we create, my goal is that somebody would read some of it and is gonna say, you know what, I’m not in a bad shape as I thought I was. This is a terrible debt, but at the end of the day like your debt is either debt or a tax.”
– Travis Hornsby
“If your primary stress is your student loans, it’s I think because you don’t know the rules well enough to know that you shouldn’t be so stressed about it.”
– Travis Hornsby
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Timestamps
1:38 – All about the mental health survey on student loan borrowers
2:58 – How Student Loan Planner helps student loan borrowers and how they differ from other student loan institutions
5:15 – Why 1 in 15 borrowers have considered suicide because of their debt
7:29 – The feeling of having a student loan – why 9 in 10 borrowers have severe anxiety
8:34 – Income generated payment and PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness – different options for paying your debt
12:16 – Why certain professions like dentists, veterinarians or doctors, as the survey shows, have a higher rate of suicide or suicidal ideation
16:35 – Why burnout is the main cause of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation and not the loan payment itself
20:45 – Tips on how to prevent or escape from burnout
22:02 – How a dentist was able to get student loan forgiveness, live in a cabin in the woods and get to work in the environment she loves
25:10 – Another success story on how a couple who were able to do travel medicine and maintain their mobile lifestyle while paying off debt
27:38 – Advice on student loan borrowers who are dealing with severe mental health issues or suicidal ideation
Resources:
- Mental Health Survey: 1 in 15 High Student Debt Borrowers Considered Suicide
- Aunt Bertha
- Open Path Collective
- Get your custom student loan plan
Connect with Travis
Connect with Melanie
- mentalhealthandwealth.com
- melanielockert.com
- Contact: mentalhealthandwealthshow@gmail.com
