How My Dad’s Stroke Has Changed My Financial Life
In a way that I could have never imagined…
Happy Father’s Day 2020!
Today is a very special day for me. It was the same day two years ago that I decided to embark on my debt-free journey. It’s all because of my dad.
I’ve shared many times here on Medium and my blog that for years, I delayed paying off my student loans because I thought that I would pay them all off once I’m out of grad school and make good money. But one thing I haven’t shared yet is that while I was in college and grad school (5+ years), my student loans’ interests were NEVER deferred due to my immigration status. This means that the loan interests were accumulated even though I was still attending school.
My parents stepped in and helped cover all the interests during those years, using their hard-earned money and pensions. Some months, due to high-interest payments, they couldn’t make ends meet and had to borrow money from friends and relatives.
I was aware of all this and felt very guilty. However, I thought there was nothing I could do about it because I was still in school and making a less than minimum wage. Therefore, I didn’t do anything.
Then, on Father’s Day of 2018, I learned that my dad had a stroke and fell head first on a table at home. He suffered from both a stroke and head injuries. He was hospitalized for months. Fortunately, he was able to make a full recovery.
During that time, I lived in another country and was pregnant with my first child. So, everyone hid the bad news from me. I only knew about it once my dad was out of the hospital. I also learned that to cover the medical expenses for my dad (AND my student loan interests) during that difficult period, my mom had to sell everything in the house.
Like EVERYTHING.
When I heard about my dad’s stroke and what my parents had to go through because of me and my stupid loans, I just cried and cried and cried for days. After that, I vowed that even if I could only put $1 down to my debt per month, I would still do it.
I will never, never, ever let my parents go through such pain again.
That month, I put down the first $200 towards my debt. Then the following month, I cut all of my unnecessary expenses and was able to put down $700 toward debt. Then the month after that, I asked my supervisor to work overtime and earn an extra $1,200, which went straight to debt. And just like that, the ball kept on rolling…
Over the last two years, I’ve paid almost $60,000 toward my student loan debt. Last month, I was able to put down $8,600 (70% of my household income) toward debt. I’m expected to be completely debt-free by the end of this year. The thought of having my first Christmas in a decade without debt made me want to cry.
Related post: How We Paid Off $40,000 of Debt in 18 Months with Low Income
Sometimes, I feel bad that it had to take my dad’s stroke to give me a wake-up call. However, I believe everything happens for a reason and I’m just grateful that I still have my dad with me today to celebrate Father’s Day. My financial life has changed completely because of him.
Thank you, Dad!
To all the dads out there: Happy Father’s Day. You’re changing lives every day!
