Graduating optometrists have two main questions:  Where am I going to practice? and How will I pay back my student loan? Although loan amounts can be staggering, there is no need to fear. Many optometrists have paid off their debt and are reaping the rewards of having additional money in the bank by following these three steps.

1. Be intentional – Common sense tells you that if you have $1,000 coming into your pocket for the month than $1,000 going out is your break even point. To be financially successful in life, you must control expenditures so you will have enough money at the end of the month to pay the bills. A budget is a tool to help you do that. Many people fear if they create a budget they will lose their freedom. However, the opposite happens. Once a budget is created–and followed–people find they no longer have to worry if they truly have enough money to purchase x, y, or z. They have the freedom to purchase in confidence. Start today by doing a simple budget using a software like Mint.  It is free and allows you to balance and budget on the go.
2. Be different – Being a “follower” on Twitter is considered the en vogue thing to do. However, being a follower of our debt-consumed society is not. To be different means you pay off your school debt instead of buying a brand-new car within your first five years of practice. Being different means starting in a much smaller house than what the mortgage companies tell you you can afford based on your income. Being different means forgoing fancy restaurants and eating at home, just like you did in optometry school. Be different now and you will be different when you are independently wealthy at 50 and can practice, travel, or sleep all day while your mainstream friends are still paying off their student loans.
3. Be focused – Start with the smallest loan and put a couple of wins in the “paid off” column. Once you start seeing a few of the little debts disappear the momentum will pick up. Being focused now will allow you freedom later to turn down the intensity of paying off debt. Those optometrists who have reached the tipping point where they transition from payor to payee understand how satisfying being focused and retiring debt can be. Listening to daily podcasts by money management expert Dave Ramsey helped me keep my focus by reminding me of the benefits of paying off debt.