Student loans create a self-made prison.

For pharmacists, the problem is especially huge. Those who have $100,000 in student loan debt could be paying $2,000 a month to their loans, with half of that going to interest. Given that the average pharmacist carries $160,000 worth of student loan debt, that includes a lot of people.

If you can eliminate that debt, you’ll be on your way to financial freedom.

That’s why I was thrilled to learn that the guys at Your Financial Pharmacist had created a course to help pharmacists get out from under their debt. The Tims — Tim Baker, Tim Church, and Tim Ulbrich — have devoted their time and effort to help pharmacists achieve financial freedom.

Here’s also a video review (heads up, it’s a long one! 15 minutes)

Full disclosure: I am an affiliate for The Student Loan Course for Pharmacists. I receive a thank you from the Tim trifecta for promoting the course, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra.

I’m also hoping to share that bonus with each of you: If you purchase the course through my affiliate link, I’m offering a free one-on-one career coaching session to help you reach the next step in your career. Whether your goal is to renegotiate your salary, pursue a promotion, or change careers entirely, we’ll move you toward your career goals.

Before reviewing this course, I purchased a copy of course for one lucky student rather than accepting a complimentary copy from the Tims. In my mind, reviewing it without paying for it might raise questions about my credibility.

The Student Loan Course for Pharmacists

I chose to review this course because these guys have made it their mission to help pharmacists achieve financial freedom. While there are other courses available on the Internet, the creators of those courses aren’t pharmacists. No other course out there specifically addresses the challenges of student loans for pharmacists.

The Student Loan Course for Pharmacists costs $399 and includes four hours of content if you watch every video. The course includes plenty of ancillary material to help you determine which financial plan is best for you. It presents an option to help you tackle your loans faster, and another for those who prefer to focus on investing.

It includes valuable information about Public Service Loan Forgiveness, budgeting templates, and a checklist to help you get a handle on your current situation. The content also includes calculators and guides to help you distinguish between finance plans and determine whether refinancing is an option.

Perhaps the most unique part of the course is that students who refinance their loans receive cash bonuses from the companies who refinance.

The student loan course includes three main modules:

Module 1

Tim Ulbrich, pharmacist, and co-author of the book 7 Figure Pharmacist, addresses the basic aspects of student loans. The module addresses the actual amount you’ll pay over the life of a loan, plus the strategies you can use to bust up your loans.

Module 2

Taught by Tim Baker, a certified financial planner and fiduciary, this module prepares you for the stressful process of determining your payoff strategy. I could have saved myself thousands of dollars if I’d had this information as a resident.

Module 3

Pharmacist Tim Church, who co-authored the book 7 Figure Pharmacist, teaches how to optimize your payoff strategy. Once you’ve identified the best means of payoff, this module addresses ways to accomplish your goal quickly.

The course also includes case studies of pharmacists and their debt, the strategy each chose, and how each pharmacist paid off those loans. For me, it was one of the single greatest parts of the course.

Which pharmacists should take this course?

• If you’re a new pharmacist who has no idea how to tackle your student loans, you should take The Student Loan Course for Pharmacists.
• If you’re a pharmacist who has been working for 5-10 years and you haven’t strategized a way to pay off your loans.
• If you hate making payments, if you want to pay your loans faster, or you feel overwhelmed or confused about your payment options, this course is for you.
• Pharmacists who work for a government agency or for a non-profit organization, including not-for-profit hospitals, should take the course to determine whether they qualify for PSLF.
• This course is also a great option for pharmacists who have never considered refinancing their loans. Whether it’s because they don’t know how or because they believe it’s a bad financial move, this course is for them. (Cashback for refinancing should act as a great motivator.)

Which pharmacists shouldn’t take this course?

Pharmacists who have no student loan debt should save their money; this course isn’t for you.

Everyone else should take it, IMO.

This includes pharmacists who are happy paying their loans as well as those who don’t mind the additional interest they’ll pay over the life of their loans. That interest money could be working for you, and your decision to overlook the interest payments is keeping you from financial freedom.

If your loans aren’t holding you back financially and you’ve met all of your life goals, you could skip this course, but my guess is that there are still one or two big dreams you still have in mind. With an extra $2,000 in your pocket each month, how much more could you do?

You could pass on this course if you’re comfortable paying your debts until you retire from pharmacy, but you’re ignoring the possibility that you’ll someday leave the industry. The job you love now may not always exist, and you should plan for the unexpected.

Pharmacists who can’t afford the $399 absolutely should not pass on the course for obvious reasons. Sell your XBOX console and use the proceeds to pay for the course. The cash bonuses alone may cover your tuition.

(Honestly, if you’re a pharmacist with any student loan debt and the above statements apply to you, you probably need this course as much as anyone. You’ve probably accepted that this is as good as it gets, and you just need a reminder of what’s possible.)

But what about if you’d rather invest now and pay off debt later?

I still believe this course is helpful to you. Even if you’d rather invest excess cash into the stock market rather than paying off debt faster, this course will help you do invest even more. The YFP gang is a big believer in paying off debt fast, but they also provide guidance for those who’d rather invest first and then pay off debts.

Pros and cons

This course provides a systematic approach to your financial freedom strategy, and I liked it a lot. It had more than enough information to help with decision-making along the way.

I loved that the platform allows you to consume the courses at 1.5 or 2 times normal speed.

The course also includes a Facebook group so students in the course can interact with one another and get personal help.

On the other hand, I got a little lost in some of the lessons, but two things are worth noting about that: my Economics class was hard for me, and I wasn’t taking detailed notes throughout the course, because I don’t have student loan debt. If you’re financially illiterate, you may struggle a bit with the content, but listening twice and taking good notes will likely help.

I also felt like some of the segments were a little long (about 25 minutes) but you could easily break them into pieces to overcome that. (Also worth noting, I struggle to pay attention through conferences, so you might be just fine.)

Deciding on taking the course or not

Consider who benefits when you take The Student Loan Course for Pharmacists.

• You may determine that you qualify for PSLF.
• You may earn a cash bonus if you refinance your loans.
• You’ll have a money-back guarantee that removes any real risk.
• The Tims get to help a pharmacist escape financial prison.
• The Tims provide a small thank-you to me when you sign up through my affiliate link.
• You’ll earn a one-on-one career coaching session for signing up through my link.
• You’ll likely save yourself thousands of dollars and pay off your debts early.

Consider who benefits if you don’t take the course.

• The entities that hold your student loans will make lots more money.

It really is that simple.

When I was in college, I mistakenly assumed that refinancing my loans would mean starting over; that it would cost me more money in the long run. I was also aware that there were lots of charlatans on the Internet clamoring for my money, and I didn’t trust their tactics.

This course is morally sound. The Tims have created a powerful resource that has the power to change your life.

My friend Brandon Tyson, founder of TLDR Pharmacy, reviewed the course and provided a testimonial: he saved more than $14,000 in interest.

If you’re a member of The Happy PharmD community, you probably know that I’m giving the course away to one of our members later this year. If you aren’t a member of the Happy PharmD community, subscribe now to qualify for future giveaway.

If you’d like to save money and get a handle on your student loans, I highly recommend buying this course.

When you sign up through my affiliate link and then email me the receipt, we’ll schedule a one-on-one coaching session to help you identify your career goals and determine the next steps to help you achieve them. If the coaching session doesn’t make sense for you now, we can put it on hold until you’re ready.

I believe in this course because I believe in freedom of all kinds.

Unfortunately, until you’ve achieved financial freedom, you won’t truly understand the power it holds. You likely do understand the impact of crushing loan debt, because you’ve lived it.

Take steps today to change your future. You have nothing to lose.