The REAL Answer to Erase PT School Debt FAST

[@PTProgress]

Do you agree or disagree?

[@NicNameIsNicki]

I 100% agree! Have you heard of Dave Ramsey? He teaches these same principles 😬

[@PTProgress]

I have 😉

[@michelesherokee567]

Absolutely! Everyone thinks that once that big paying job comes in they are start going to live the life in California of the Bold and the Beautiful!

[@henryjensen8172]

Tim, I love the passion in this video! As a second year PT student I appreciate all the advice you provide in your videos.

[@PTProgress]

Thanks for watching Henry!

[@NormanAmerica69]

Thank you for this valuable information, Tim. I just turned 19 and planning on attending a DPT school. I am only two semesters into college, but I watch your videos frequently because I want to learn these types of things now, to be better off later. I am attending a two year community college right now, and then transfer to a state school for both my Bachelors and DPT. I plan on living at home (for as long as my parents let me😝)

[@Jobinabraham33]

Don’t do it. Not worth it! Go into comp SCI our accounting!

[@wasimkhan-om9hy]

As a soon to be pharmacist with 200k debt this is motivating

[@brandonevans7872]

I'm a massage therapist and I feel many of the repayments are the same regardless of income level from your degree. I wish I had known about some of these things when I was going through school. The administration forbearance is the biggest thing that has helped me pay off portions of my student loans. Thank you so much for your insight 🙏.

[@ajrodts2698]

Tim, thank you for making a video about this. I am a on going PT student and this really helps me out. You took a controversial topic and ways able to make it relatable/reliable and I really appreciate it.

[@jbond8355]

Completely agree! Been practicing 8 years and crazy how many of my colleagues are not even close to paying off their loans and many are doing #2 income based repayment plans. Sadly most are unwilling not work more then 40 hrs and would rather complain and hope the government will bail them out.

[@winston3737]

Guess we just a different perspectives but in my opinion life is too short to work more than 40 hours per week, even if it's to pay off debt. Regardless, at some point within the next decade or two the government will be forced to do something about the student loan crisis. What we have going on now is unsustainable.

[@PTProgress]

Thank you for commenting, and I mean no disrespect with this reply. Is life too short for someone to live in a house they can afford or should we overextend ourselves because the nicer houses are more comfortable. What about cars? If the only car I can afford is a $10,000 Honda, should I borrow $50,000 for a truck because life is too short not to enjoy things? Or how about schools? Like college? What if we visit a campus somewhere and think, “this place is beautiful, I really want to go here and learn here. It’s way too expensive and I could never afford it, but I’ll go anyway. My student loans might be forgiven. Life’s too short to worry about the loans.” Waiting 1-2 decades for the government to solve anything is a losing proposition. It’s time for students to make better decisions and to realize that student loans are crippling and to avoid this kind of debt. And if they can’t avoid it entirely, then students need to understand how it will impact their life after graduation and to have a game plan for getting rid of it Instead of holding onto it like it’s a family heirloom.

[@winston3737]

@@PTProgress @Tim Fraticelli - PTProgress No disrespect taken Tim! I can see how my statement may have made it seem like I advocate for people to be reckless with finances because YOLO. It depends on individual circumstances and outlook on life. For the larger house or the nicer car, I consider those more as commodities and aren't really necessary to live a better life. Sure they are nice to have, but at least speaking for myself I can do quite well with a humble home and a $1500 beater car I bought off Craigslist. Education I view as more as an investment for the future and an opportunity to make significantly more money. This is especially true if you have limited options regarding your career choices. Say someone who graduated college with subpar grades, retook their prerequisites over 3 years, only to be denied to all state schools and accepted to only one private school. I differ in that I'd say for the person to go to that private school instead of taking yet another year to try strengthen their application for a slim chance to get into state PT school. Yes, they are going to have substantial debt upon graduation. However, if it's all federal loans then there are ways to get your payments down to a very insignificant number during the duration of the 25 year plan since the payments are based on your adjusted gross income. Therefore, you can use your income in the meantime to invest in stocks, cryptocurrency, or other assets and earn more than you would've been had you paid off your debt instead. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. I also believe we need to be prepared for the worse case scenario. Say something unfortunate happens and I die upon aggressively paying off my loans in 2-3 years time. I would've left my family with nothing. Because loans are forgiven when you die, I find it a better option to acquire more wealth that I may leave my family with in that unfortunate scenario.

[@PTProgress]

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Investing the difference is a risky approach. I agree that tomorrow is not guaranteed. That’s why I advocate that people take out a term life insurance policy. For about $50-80 / mo, you can leave your loved ones with well over $1M if you were to die tomorrow or in 1, 5, 10, or even 30 years. There’s no way to save and invest $1M in 5 years on a PTs salary. Financial tools like term life insurance provide an answer for that uncertainty. As for education, I believe it’s not necessary to spend $150K+ to earn $70k as a PT. There has to be a point of looking at the numbers because it’s a financial disaster to start out any career with this debt to income ratio. The fear of missing out on a year is one of the reasons people make horrible financial decisions to attend $200k PT schools. For those who have low grades and don’t make the cut for state schools (but do make the cut for expensive private PT schools), that’s another situation where the fear of missing out drives our decisions. No one wants to be told that they can’t do something. I’m not saying you shouldn’t go to the $200k school, but if you have to pay with student loans, you are making a huge financial mistake. Especially if new students approach it with the 25 year forgiveness mentality. They’re setting themselves up to live a life with unnecessary debt and stress. I’ll do a video on the math behind the forgiveness and how it doesn’t actually make much sense financially for most people. Thanks again for your comment.

[@winston3737]

@@PTProgress I agree with also getting life insurance in that instance. You can get your family over $1MM from your policy and the additional $100k+ you would've paid off in student loans. I'll look forward to that video! For a contrarian perspective, look into the "fifthwheelpt" and their math on the subject of debt vs investment opportunity. They break down all of the repayment options, consider the annual return of the stock market, and the deflationary dollar over the 25 year period.

[@ryanlambe6004]

Loved how you discussed the Income-Based Repayment plan and why it is not a great option. It would be great if you could make a video about the different repayment plans and why a certain one is better than the rest. I find that the standard repayment plan is the best and everything is are traps!

[@PTProgress]

Thanks for watching! Yeah, the IBR plans are bandaids and leave people feeling like they can afford more than they really can! Appreciate the video idea :)

[@porter.tyler_PT]

Hey Tim, I wanted to ask your personal advice on the best route to pay off my student debt from PT school. I also went to a private PT school and I’m currently looking at $318,000 in student debt from my bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees. I’m leaning towards travel PT or nonprofit PLSF to relieve my debt in the fastest way possible and would appreciate any financial or career advice you can offer. Thanks!

[@PTProgress]

Since student loan payments are made with after tax dollars, you will have to set aside about $50,000 a year to pay off $300,000 in student loans over 10 years. That takes a significant portion of your income whether it is from a $75,000 outpatient job or $125,000 dollar travel job. If it were me, I would find a job at the VA or any hospital inpatient/outpatient clinic and pursue PSLF while saving as much as possible from your salary. Your monthly payments would be based on your income, but your loans will be forgiven under the PSLF program. That is an extreme amount of debt and I wish you the best. To anyone reading this who is considering PT school, please, please, please be careful.

[@StefanieAnna]

Lol yes!! Love this!! Speaking the hard truth here on how to pay off these student loans! 🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@Kevin3310]

What about Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

[@nightwings8984]

65-70 2 years ago. I thought pt jobs were becoming a desirable job but the offers here are only 55-60.

[@rachelgeis1151]

Do you have a podcast?

[@PTProgress]

Not yet :)

[@agustingarcia9845]

Completely agree with what you stated! Quick question... I’m a junior in college pursuing exercise science degree. Not 100% sure about going to PT school. I was looking at a possible option of being a PTA. I Don’t think it would take a lot of schooling since I’d have all the pre-req for PTA program done... do you think that’s an ideal path?

[@PTProgress]

Nothing wrong with that option. Shadow a PTA and learn more about the profession firsthand if you can.

[@BigWolsky]

Tim, wondering if you could share a bit of advice. I’m a 30 year old guy who switched from personal training to physical therapy this last year. I was only able to apply to one school for this fall and got into Washington university in St. Louis. It’s around 115k tuition. I have the option of going there or waiting a year and trying to get into a state school for around 60-80k. If you went back in time would you skip out on a top university to wait and go to a public school?

[@PTProgress]

Hi Mike. Thanks for watching and for the comment. I went to Wash U and would be happy to answer your question. The $115k doesn’t include the $15k a year it takes (at least) to live and eat in St Louis for 3 years. If you have $160k laying around and can pay for it, great! If not, then personally I can’t recommend borrowing that much money and would not do it again that way. You’re better off taking a year (or even three) off and working and saving up money for living expenses and applying to Mizzou or Missouri State. You’d still come ahead even if it took you 3 years of reapplying to state schools. Paying $160k to get a DPT and earning $70k a year (minus the $30k a year you’ll be paying on your loans for the next 6 years) is not advice I would give anyone and if I could do it again I would advise myself not to do that. If anyone disagrees I would welcome their reply. I’m not trying to bully Wash U or other grads - Wash U is priced like a Mercedes S class. Nothing wrong with owning a Mercedes S class if you can afford it. Nothing wrong with going to Wash U if you can afford it (meaning pay outright). But if you can’t afford it, there are plenty of other programs that will provide the opportunity for you to pursue a career as a PT and obtain the same license as anyone else. The school and the ranking have nothing to do with how successful you’ll be as a PT. I promise. I hope you can see that and I’d encourage you to watch my other videos that highlight the real problem of racking up that much debt and how it’s leaving PTs drowning in a sea of debt and stress.

[@BigWolsky]

@@PTProgress Tim, I really can’t thank you enough for your thorough response. It’s been a tough decision because I would obviously like to start this year but the burden of that debt is too much. Your channel and one other DPT debt channel has really made me realize how unrealistic it is. I can’t thank you enough. Thank you so much for all you do, I’m most likely going to wait and reapply

[@PTProgress]

Absolutely Mike. I would wait. Doesn’t matter how old you are. $160k of debt sucks at 30, 33, 35... Don’t let the fear of “missing out” on getting in this year lead you to a lifetime of debt. You’re missing out on NOTHING by ignoring the expensive schools (don’t even apply). The only thing you’d be missing out on is about $30k of your salary for 5 years if you go down the path of expensive PT schools that can take you this year with their giant class sizes.

[@BigWolsky]

@@PTProgress seriously, I can’t thank you enough. Your channel and advise should be at the forefront for pt school’s. Let’s hope the education system can change for the better to not have to have so many challenging obstacle

[@BigWolsky]

@@PTProgress just wanted to say thank you for your advice, I waited and surprisingly got into an in state school at the last minute

[@Streetrula2]

Hi Tim, thoughts on travel PT for a few years to pay off loans? I’m in a PTA program so loans won’t be so high (20k before interest) but considering this.

[@PTProgress]

Fantastic idea! Here’s a blog post I wrote about travel PT www.ptprogress.com/best-travel-physical-therapy-jobs-salary-companies/

[@alexisbonnay7898]

hey man, did you think it's possible to become DPT (in the usa) if I'm French ? I don't know how to pay 60K/year without financial aid...

[@PTProgress]

It won’t be easy and may require you to work a couple of years to save money to pay for an affordable school. You may still require loans but I would suggest that you keep them as low as possible.

[@alexisbonnay7898]

@@PTProgress thank you for your answer !!

[@swarmy9459]

people are saying the pt industry will die in the few years any comments?

[@PTProgress]

It’s not going to die. It may change like it has changed over the past 20 years. But it won’t go away.

[@Jordan-px9bl]

I think the new generation of PTs are revolutionizing it

[@MeazyTopg]

Remember me when you got more than 200k subs

[@PTProgress]

Always

[@Sora-o]

Hey, did you finally manage to get your smell and taste back? It's been like 2-3 months!

[@PTProgress]

Yep!

[@Sora-o]

@@PTProgress That's great to hear, your tips helped my dad out! He got his smell and taste back 1 week after his recovery thanks a lot!

[@bradmayer5572]

Are internships in PT school paid?

[@nancymiller4383]

Nope