"The only reason I went to college, honestly, was football. I was lucky to secure an athletic scholarship that covered half my tuition. My family didn't talk about money a lot growing up - unless it was in the context of an argument. So, when I got to college, I decided to major in finance, trying to make up for lost time."
"The Great Recession marked a pivotal moment in my financial life. It wasn't too bad early on, but once we were in the thick of it, my pay dropped substantially. My spending, however, did not. This continued for a while until I had what I call my "come to Jesus moment." As a 1099 employee, I was responsible for making payments to the IRS then the remaining balance on Tax Day."
The narrator attended college primarily for football with an athletic scholarship covering half tuition. Family conversations rarely included money, prompting a finance major to compensate for financial inexperience. Financial lessons were learned academically but not applied, leading to excessive student borrowing and graduating in 2008 with roughly $60,000 in loans. Early career insurance sales brought a credit card and status-driven spending, including a BMW. The Great Recession reduced income while spending remained high. A large commission reversal before Tax Day exposed the lack of emergency savings and tax preparedness, producing a decisive financial reckoning.
Read at Fortune
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