My wife sold the engagement ring to pay our tax bill. This led to a doctorate and my career professional life that address the student’s crisis

The only reason that prompted me to college, frankly, is football. I was lucky to secure a gym that covered half of the tuition fees. My family did not talk about the money that arose a lot – unless it was in the context of an argument. Therefore, when I arrived at the college, I decided to specialize in financing, trying to compensate for lost time. I have learned everything that people should do to develop healthy financial habits, but I still face a problem in implementing these practices in my private life. I ended up getting much more loans than you needed. Even with a scholarship, I still graduated in 2008 due to about $ 60,000 in student loans. At that time, especially in the Middle West, this was an important amount.

I started working on insurance sales after graduation. I got a credit card and thought, “Wonderful, I can buy all the great things that I haven’t had before.” I thought it was like free money. I knew it was not, but it was only there. And coming from a more modest background than my colleagues, I have lived by spending things that I should not have, such as expensive clothes and trade in my car for BMW. Ironically, my old colleagues may make fun of me now because I do not care about what I wear anymore, and I am leading Bronco, but I used to do so.

  

The great recession represented a pivotal moment in my financial life. It was not very bad early, but as soon as we were in its sickness, my salary fell dramatically. My agreement, however, did not. This continued for a while until I had what I called “Come to the moment of Jesus.” As an employee 1099, you are responsible for paying payments to the Tax Authority and then the remaining balance on the day of taxes. But I received a major reflection directly before tax taxes, and I did not save enough to compensate for the difference. It was really the worst timer. It was too late, I realized that it was not a bad luck. I brought it to myself.

Looking at the debts of the credit card and the lack of emergency savings, my decision came to this: Are we owed to the Tax Authority in a large amount with penalties and benefits, or do we find money wherever we can? At that time, the only thing that I could sell was the engagement ring for my wife, which knows for those who bought the wedding ring ever to cost you some salaries. She had a beautiful ring, and he already sold him without telling me because she knew that I would be very conceited to allow this. I just did it. This is how we got out of the tax situation.

 

After that, it was destroyed. I realized that I brought it to myself. I knew what people should do, but I still did not. This is when I started monitoring and studying people’s relations with money and how their basic customs affect their financial resources. She was deeply interested in the behavioral aspect of personal finance. My own experience, and my wife’s sacrifice, gave me sympathy for those who suffer from financial conflicts. This prompted me to want to help people. So, I got a *CFP® degree, Master, and ultimately a PhD degree. I focused on how people make decisions and how we can all be directed towards healthier habits.

Often there is a lot of judgment when it comes to money. Frankly, not only the people who judge each other, professionals rule over people as well. I am sure that my doctor rules me, thinking, “O shouted, you need to lay off this borito. It is a matter of time only before this is attached to you.” He is right!

But when people fear judgment, they do not ask important questions. according to New search From Sofi, 44 % of students and parents feel that they are not familiar with student loans, but they may be very afraid to ask questions. I never wanted to be a kind of professionals who judged people. Instead, I wanted to train people and enable them to find solutions.

Today, I work with many young people who face financial challenges. After a period of permission for a period of five years, they have groups on student loans resumeMillions are at risk of failure to pay. In the first quarter of 2025, nearly 6 million people borrowed At least 90 days Or already in the default. More than two million have witnessed a decrease in 100 points in credit degree in that same time period-with more than a million points suffering from decreases more than 150 points. What’s more, our data tells us that 93 % of borrowers say they would have been arrested from college financing differently if they were given another opportunity.

The key to vision for lending the best students is simple: people should only borrow what they can bear reasonably. Our system must be prepared to enhance this. Student debts can be a positive tool. But it requires you to be honest with yourself about your money and the amount of borrowing you consider. For example, the specialties of liberal arts and performance must consider twice to borrow hundreds of thousands in student loans if they are Medium salary Within five years of graduation, about $ 38,000. This advice looks clear. But as my own story appears, it is very easy to ignore good advice.

But it exceeds the borrowers. The government can play a central role by defining clear guidelines about the alignment of the amount of debts that their students take by their means of payment and determine reasonable restrictions on the amount of government loans available. Special lenders also play a role, by providing alternatives that meet the unique needs of different people. In Sophie, we Display Student loan options that allow new graduates to make interest payments only for the first nine months in the “real world”, while building emergency savings and getting their feet.

Finally, educational institutions can match tuition fees and fees with real people’s economies. Currently, they do not have an incentive to control the cost of education if there is an unlimited set of borrowed funds available. Reducing debt levels may encourage colleges to match the cost of tuition fees with the value of the grades they provide.

Collectively, these steps can help create a more intelligent way for young people to avoid excessive pitfalls to overcome themselves – and not making the same mistakes you made when you were younger. This is how we can help the next generation to obtain their money properly.

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In May 2025, SOFI assigned a study that included 3,500 possible and current students, and the parents of students to measure their views on the value of higher education and methods of paying it. All current students and graduates in the sample have funded at least some of their education through students ’loans or other educational financing. The sample was reflecting at the national level among the above -mentioned teachers, including a balanced sample of sex, race, race, geography and income.

Sofi Technologies (NASDAQ: Sofi) is one of the digital financial services on a mission to help people achieve financial independence to achieve their aspirations. More than 11.7 million members of Sofi trust in borrowing, rescuing, spending, investing and protecting their money – all in one application – and obtaining financial planners, exclusive experiences and a prosperous society. FinTecs, financial institutions and brands use the Sofi Technological platform to build and manage innovative financial solutions across 160 million global accounts. For more information, please visit www.sofi.com Or download iOS and Android applications.

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