Clever Hacks to Help You Thrive Financially

Debt Freedom

Rachel Cruze emphasizes the importance of paying off debts to achieve financial autonomy. She suggests listing debts from smallest to largest and focusing on paying off the smallest first, rolling payments over as each debt is cleared. This method, known as the debt snowball, can lead to complete debt freedom in 18 to 24 months, allowing individuals to use their entire income for themselves rather than servicing debts 1.

Debt steals your income from you. That's what it does. And so what you want to be able to do is to say, hey, I have autonomy and I am going to live a life that is debt free.

--- Rachel Cruze

Rachel also advises increasing income through side hustles and cutting unnecessary expenses to accelerate the debt payoff process 1.

   

Budgeting Mindset

Rachel advocates for a mindset shift towards contentment and the use of budgeting tools to avoid reliance on credit cards. She highlights the temptation of credit card rewards, which often lead to overspending, and stresses the peace of mind that comes from using one's own money instead of borrowed funds 2.

Nobody opens up a credit card planning to go thousands of dollars into debt. But the data shows us that millions of Americans are feeling stressed out by the debts that they owe.

--- Rachel Cruze

By tracking expenses and living within one's means, individuals can achieve financial security without the pitfalls of credit card debt 2.