Teacher Who Exhausted Her Savings To Adopt Former Student And His Brother Finally Pays Off Her $48K Student Loans

Jan 11, 2023 by apost team

Teaching is one of the noblest professions there is. An educator’s responsibility of shaping children goes beyond the four walls of the classroom. They do not just serve as someone who will help them understand the concepts they need to learn in life, but they are also responsible for inspiring them to apply it in real life for the betterment of their own lives. 

Chelsea Haley, a teacher from Marietta, Georgia, kept that conviction close to her heart. When she was 22 and teaching fourth grade in Louisiana, one of her students, Jerome, took her attention. The boy was rowdy and was always suspended from school, and was failing academically. Others would not have batted an eye to even care for Jerome, but Haley did the other way around. 

“After exhausting all of my resources in the classroom, I realized the only way to reach Jerome was to get to know him and just build a relationship,” she revealed to Good Morning America. The teacher spent her free time with the kid, watching him play sports, and even to the extent of buying his family school supplies and groceries.

Later on, she found out that inside his “tough-boy exterior” lay a “really witty, very smart and just kind” kid. In 2015, Jerome asked to live with her, with his new-found love for studies and overflowing inspiration. With his birth mother giving consent, Haley was granted custody of Jerome and his little brother, Jace. 

Since then, the three have been living in Marietta, Georgia, where Jerome is enjoying being an honor student.

“I think it just goes to show that he’s always had the potential, all he needed was the support and the self-confidence to be successful,” Haley gushed about her son’s achievements. 

Before Haley adopted Jerome and his little brother Jace when she was just 22, she revealed in another Good Morning America interview in 2021 that she wiped her savings to process the legal adoption of the two. 

“Being their mom is the greatest blessing of my life. I get to wake up in the morning and love two little guys," she admitted. 

But to recover from the financial sinkhole she was in after seeking custody, she had to take on side jobs to funnel in more money to the household to sustain a living, provide for her two boys, and clear out her student debts. 

She took on tutoring gigs, picked up groceries, did building manager duties, and even sold her house to pay her debts. Haley said that doing this allowed her to focus on her boys' future by saving money for them in the long run. 

Five years since she emptied her savings for the adoption of her boys, Haley and her sons finally celebrated, as she managed to clear out her student loans worth $48,683.41.

Haley said that in order to eliminate one’s debts, one should list all their goals first – check what bills are needed to be paid with utmost importance. Afterward, backtrack paychecks to determine which recurring expenses should be spent more or less on. 

If time permits, one should also be looking for additional sources of income like part-time jobs. Lastly, saying “No” to money-spending habits will keep one motivated – as they know they’ll get a lot more once debts are finally paid off. 

Surely, paying off your debts calls for a celebration, although it could just be a quaint one!

apost.com

Have you had any debts in the past? What did you do to clear them out? What do you think of Chelsea Haley’s story of adoption and paying back her debts? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends and those who need financial advice!