Melanie Lockert is the founder of the blog and author of the book, "Dear Debt." Through her blog, Melanie chronicled her journey out of $81,000 in student loan debt. Her work has appeared on Allure, Business Insider, Credit Karma, Fortune, and more. She is also the co-founder of the Lola Retreat and host of the Mental Health and Wealth podcast. Melanie lives in Los Angeles and enjoys jazz music, traveling, coffee, and spending time with her two cats and partner. Today Melanie takes a look back at her childhood and talks about where she believes her money mindset in large part comes from, something she has not shared too much about publicly before. We talk about debt and depression, the connection between money and identity and how her story of debt to debt-free impacts other areas of her life. We also get into higher education, student loans, and so much more. 

“It’s clear that your mental health affects the way you approach money. And it’s very clear that your financial situation affects your mental health. I’ve seen it both ways.” - Melanie Lockert

Links:

Christie’s Website

Christie’s Instagram: @sasssays

Melanie’s Website

Melanie’s Instagram: @melanie.lockert

Melanie’s Podcast

Melanie’s Book

Resources Melanie Mentioned:

Overcoming Underearning(R): A Five-Step Plan to a Richer Life by Barbara Stanny

I Will Teach You To Be Rich Podcast