17 - Robert Borgersen on Teaching Through COVID-19, Personal Finance and The Importance of Your Why

"Your why for the first year of university could be, 'I want to get a better idea of what I like, and I want to absolutely kill these courses I'm taking even though I don't like them...You will develop grit, staying power (aka discipline), learn how to study and write an essay perhaps for the first time in your life, etc. These skills will benefit you for the entirety of your life." - Robert Borgersen "It's hard to turn a stopped ship. If you are a ship moving, all you have to do is make a rutter adjustment and you can change course. If the ship is stopped, you can make all the rutter adjustments you like...you won't go anywhere different." - Robert Borgersen Robert Borgersen is a Mathematics Professor at the University of Manitoba. Actually, he was my second Applied Finite Mathematics prof when I attended U of M (I was 17) because I failed the first time with a different prof. A big reason why I passed the second time around was due to Rob's teaching style, communication, and approach. Thanks Rob :) In this episode we chat about: Rob's journey to becoming a Math Prof COVID-19 impacts on education (from a prof's perspective) How to be successful in post-secondary education whether taking in-person or virtual courses Possible adjustments to online learning that would benefit students (ie increased # of tests...) The importance of volunteering Finding your why BEFORE going to university However, the real meat and potatoes of this episode are when we dive into money. In Rob's spare time/on the side, he started up a business called We Pay Off Debt which focuses on personal finance support and making a difference in people's lives financially. His personal finance journey includes: Paid off $41k in debt in about 18 months. Built up a $21,000 emergency fund Starting to put money towards retirement and kids education fund Also, we talk about the importance of not having a credit card as it relates to getting out and paying down debt. At the time of recording, the Borgersen's are paying down their mortgage. Hopefully, Rob and I will do a round 2 because I want to talk to him about the order of this...and why it is important. A key point here I want to highlight is that he and his wife did all of this WITHOUT making any substantial raises. He did go out and make more money but only because they wanted to pay off more debt. A bit extra info on Rob. He was one of those kids who knew what he wanted to be when he grew up (in his case, a Math teacher). He did his Masters in Mathematics and has been teaching since 2005. He teaches typically 6 courses per year and spends 80% of his work-time actually teaching (we dive into other professors 'scenarios' in this episode in terms of what time is spent towards teaching and research). Lastly, for the first time on my podcast, this episode has freebie’s available for anyone listening to this episode. Check out www.wepayoffdebt.ca/dean for a couple of freebies associated with financial support. Rob can be contacted via email at Rob@wepayoffdebt.ca If you enjoyed the show, please rate and leave a review. Website: www.deandouglasshow.com Instagram: @deandouglasshow Youtube: The Dean Douglas Show