Who Helps the Helpers? The Power of Debt Consolidation for Nursing Professionals

When I was in high school, I dreamed of becoming a doctor. Life circumstances set me on a different path.

Right out of high school, I found myself pregnant. My mom sat me down, her daughter who was about to become an unwed mother, and gave me a reality check. She said, “You need to get into a profession that will take care of you and your baby. Before you know it, she’ll be two or three years old and you’ll be without a career. You can always become a doctor later if you like, but you need to go into nursing or something else that will help you take care of your daughter.”

And you know what? She was right. I took her advice and instead of going into pre-med, I concentrated on becoming a registered professional nurse.

It turns out my dreams weren’t shattered—my aspirations just took a different route than I originally thought. Immediately, nursing spoke to me because it was about helping others, nurturing, and teaching people about maintaining good health. I could then watch the teachings blossom into better health. 

I loved seeing people listen to the words I gave them and take action. It’s important, because most people are not experts in health. I’ve had patients call me after I’ve given them advice and say, “Your guidance made a huge impact on my life.” For me, that drives home the significance of the teaching side of nursing. It also shows me I have a purpose in life.

A New Path

Nursing has given me the room to expand my career. Coming out of nursing school with an associate degree, I realized I wanted to go back to get a Bachelor’s degree. While I was doing that, I got my introduction to home care nursing as a coordinator through the Visiting Nurse Association of Chicago. That, in turn, led to more leadership roles and my decision to go back to school again to get a Master’s degree in nursing administration.

In my current role, I coordinate home care services for Veterans who served our country. I get to enjoy that bond with patients that affords me the opportunity to broaden my role as a Registered Professional Nurse into the role of a patient care advocate.  Often times I find myself being the voice for a patient making sure that quality care is delivered effectively and efficiently.

Nursing has been an excellent career, but I want to spread my wings. I’m nearing 30 years as a Registered Professional Nurse and the time has come for me to inject my knowledge and experiences into other aspects of life. 

I’ve started an online business, which promotes products through affiliate marketing, focused on health and fitness. Last year, I documented how I exercised every single day of the year. I needed to show that I am the embodiment of what I promote, no gimmicks.

Once again, it’s about helping people find their best health outcomes, but with this business I get to draw upon more of my own experiences.

There was one thing standing in the way of expanding my horizons: my debt. 

The amount of debt I had acquired wasn’t the issue for me—that was manageable. But keeping track of all these different payments—who I had to pay and when—was taking up a lot of my precious time. It took my focus away from my business. 

While nursing is still my full-time job, I’m growing this side business to become full time—and on top of that I have my life. I’m a wife and a mother, and a grandmother to two beautiful grandsons. Time is something I treasure. What extra time I do have, I want to dedicate to growing my business. But, instead, my mind was cluttered with payment schedules. It was a distraction that weighed on me.

Time for Some Help

One day, I looked at my mail and saw an envelope. I got a feeling of nostalgia. Twenty-five years ago, I received a similar-looking envelope with a credit card offer for nursing professionals. 

This letter was from Bankers Healthcare Group (BHG), offering a fixed-rate loan up to $200,000 for nursing professionals. What really grabbed my interest is when it said: “You’ve taken care of others. Now it’s time for us to take care of you.” That hit home with me. I felt they honored me for the work I do.

That feeling carried all the way throughout my experience with BHG. I don’t have a bad relationship with my regular bank, but I know they don’t value how I help people in my work, and that I’m trying to help people in my new business. But BHG honors nurses. Everyone I speak with at BHG, including my representative, speaks to me with such respect. I was very impressed how the wording in the mailer carried through to how they spoke to me on the phone. These people are the real deal.

A few days after I first called BHG to give them the information for my profile, my representative called me with my loan approval. It was that fast and easy. 

They deposited a portion of my loan into my checking account and the remainder was made out in checks to my creditors. Those checks arrived overnight after BHG approved my loan. When I walked into the bank to pay off those creditors, I felt like a queen. 

After I got the loan from BHG, I called Ron, my representative, and thanked him. I said, “You don’t know the difference you’ve made in my life.”

Changing My Perspective on Debt Consolidation

Before BHG, I had considered debt consolidation, but I never moved forward because I wasn’t sure it would be a good fit for me. I always felt like debt consolidation meant locking yourself in. That didn’t sound right. 

After a few years went by, paying all these different people here and there, I thought maybe it’s time to reconsider. That’s when the letter came in the mail. After I did a little bit more research, called BHG, and learned how it works, it made sense.

What I realized is the perspective of being “locked in” is all just a mindset. I had a change in outlook. I thought, “If I agree to pay a mortgage for 30 years, is that not being locked in?” Compared to 30 years, my 3-year term with BHG feels like nothing. And now that I’m no longer juggling multiple interest rates, this loan could save me a lot of money. I went from thinking I’d be locked in, to realizing that debt consolidation could actually make me feel free. 

A Clean Slate

Consolidating my debt gave me the opportunity to start 2019 with a clean slate.

Now my mind is clear and I can focus on my business and get into the art of helping people with their health and fitness. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

With focus, this is going to be the year of my business breakthrough. Last year was about laying the groundwork. Now, with debt off my mind, things are truly going to flourish. Watch out 2019—I’m coming for you.