Written by Brent Lacey on December 6, 2020. Posted in Personal Finance, Podcast, Podcast Episodes, The Sunday Special.

Sunday Special 07 – “How I Paid Off $100,000 in Debt in Just 2 Years!” with Dr. Holden Graves

Sunday Special 07 – Sometimes our greatest accomplishments come without accolades or fanfare. Sometimes it’s as simple as getting back up after being knocked down. Other times, it’s doing what you said you would, just because integrity means something. Our guest today is Dr. Holden Graves, and he faced some real challenges when he and his wife were trying to pay off all of their student loans.

They had a few false starts, but they got it done and now they are living a great life, debt-free and fully able to make the choices they want to make. It meant making a few sacrifices, but as he’ll tell you, it was totally worth it. For all of you out there who are deeply in debt and wondering when you’ll be able to get all of your loans paid off, I think this conversation is really going to encourage you.

Free Resource: The Body of Christ – A 14-day devotional series for healthcare professionals

This is a medically-themed devotional series with Bible passage discussion, reflection questions, prayers, and action steps to take each day. It’s a great series, and you can download it for free below.

Also, we are expanding The Body of Christ to a full 90-day series, and we are now accepting submissions from guest authors for the devotional series. If you want to contribute to the series and write some of the devotionals, please let me know!

Guest authors get full attribution and promotion for their business, blog, or podcast. You can email me at mailto:info@thescopeofpractice.com.

Please take 2 minutes to fill out the podcast survey and tell me how I can make the podcast even better for you!!

Click here for the survey link and you’ll be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card

Meet Dr. Holden Graves

Dr. Holden Graves is a pharmacist in the Dallas, TX area. Holden was a graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences – College of Pharmacy.

He has a passion for helping people through innovation in healthcare and through personal finance. His growing faith in God is strengthened by his growing family and he hopes that his story can inspire others to grow in their faith as well.

Connect with Holden on Linked in by clicking here.

One-on-one personal finance and business coaching

If you need a little more individualized help figuring out:

How to build and implement a successful long-term finance strategy
How to budget effectively without going crazy
What to do in order to get you and your spouse on the same page with your finances
Writing a resume
How to find the right practice to join
Or anything else related to business or personal finance

I’d love to help you so you can have the successful career and financial freedom you deserve. Just click here and email me to set up a free consultation to determine if one-on-one coaching is right for you.

I’ve coached hundreds of families to eliminate millions of dollars in debt and get their finances on track, and I’d love to help you do the same so you feel safe knowing your career and personal finances are as strong as you want them to be.

Click here and email me to set up a free consultation today!

Show times

00:00 – Introduction to the episode.
02:33 – Free resource: 14 day devotional series called “The Body of Christ”
03:15 – Today’s Bible verse is 2 Timothy 1:7 – “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
04:19 – Introduction to Dr. Holden Graves.
05:07 – Welcome to Dr. Holden Graves and he shares his personal spiritual journey and how he came to faith in Jesus.
08:55 – Christians struggling is normal!! We are definitely not perfect!
10:45 – Dr. Graves shares how he decided to become a pharmacist.
12:17 – As a community pharmacist, you have an incredible opportunity to build a real, long-term relationship with your patients.
14:04 – We learn what it takes to train to become a pharmacist. Dr. Holden Graves shares the path from college to pharmacy school and beyond.
17:57 – Dr. Graves’ experience has been that the pharmacy community is not openly hostile to Christians.
21:11 – Like the Christian Medical and Dental Association, there are local and national organizations for Christian pharmacists.
22:30 – Dr. Holden Graves shares his journey to become debt-free. The key: intentionality and working together with his wife to accomplish the goal!!
24:38 – Automating the process was very helpful so that he would have money automatically deducted to go towards paying off debt. That removed the temptation
25:26 – How did he the overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed by the burden of debt?
26:47 – Dr. Holden Graves shares that he and his wife were both motivated to get the debt out of their lives, but for very different reasons.
29:15 – Borrowing from a few different sources/ideas, Dr. Graves and his wife put a plan together to get rid of the debt.
31:03 – The University of Arkansas Pharmacy School had an actual elective in personal finance that students could take.
33:13 – Dr. Holden Graves shares that his journey to debt freedom was not free of mistakes.
34:16 – Lifestyle creep is a really big problem for pharmacy school graduates just like medical school graduates.
36:00 – How does Dr. Graves discuss money with his wife in a constructive way?
39:15 – Is it fun to be debt-free? Dr. Holden Graves says YES!!!
39:46 – His Christian faith shaped his debt-free journey in an important way.
40:37 – Dr. Graves shares a Bible verse that is a theme for his life – Proverbs 10:12 – Hatred provokes disputes, but love excuses all offenses.
42:42 – Dr. Holden Graves shares his parting advice.
43:58 – Connect to Dr. Holden Graves.
44:58 – Summary of the episode.
46:50 – Signing off!

Listen to the next Sunday Special episode

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