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- [00:00]
Candy Valentino
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.
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Unknown Advertiser
Foreign.
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Candy Valentino
Welcome to the Candy Valentino show, the podcast for founders, investors and entrepreneurs where we have honest conversations about what it takes to grow your business, build more wealth, and create financial freedom.
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Unknown Financial Expert
Today, we are going to be talking about one of the biggest financial challenges that most Americans, millions of Americans, are currently facing. I talked about this in the book Wealth Habits. I did a whole chapter on it. And I think it's really important to understand that if you're struggling with debt, you're not alone. Our society literally perpetuates marketing to you in order for you to use the flashy credit card, in order to put something on credit, in order to get the bigger house, the bigger car, all of the things that you want and desire. They're playing to that ego. And so debt is something that's here for so many millions of Americans. And it's really more than a financial burden. It can actually be an emotional one, one that's anxiety inducing, stress inducing, because the stress of paying off bills or not being able to make your rent payment really takes its toll on your mental well being. But having debt doesn't mean you're a failure. It doesn't even mean that you're stupid or that you should be embarrassed or any of those things. It means that you were part of a system that we never learned or were educated about. We were taught so much history and science and math in school, but nobody told us what to stay away from, how to make more money, how to pay less taxes, and why we should not take on debt. In 2023, consumer debt in the United States is expanded, expected to exceed $14 trillion, a staggering number that has increased over 30% since 2020. And as debt levels continue to rise, it's becoming increasingly important to understand how to proactively manage it so that you can become financially free. Because here's the deal, you will never out invest bad debt. So if you have all of this debt hanging over your head, it's like trying to build to climb a mountain and have a big bag of rocks that you're trying to climb with you. You're never going to build true financial wealth while you have bad debt. So I want to cover just seven quick ways that you can get on the path to being financially free and to stop taking on all of this debt. Okay, number one, everyone will tell you that you need a budget. Making sure that each dollar is like a soldier that goes out and has a purpose is really key. It's important to understand your finances. And by doing a budget, it really starts to help you identify, like, what are you spending money on and what money do you really have to allocate to certain expenses. This will help you maintain greater control and transparency on where your money's going and how you can make necessary cutbacks. So here's the thing. If you don't have a budget and you aren't allocating where all of your funds are going, it's really easy to overspend. Once you have wealth and you're making money, you actually typically don't have a budget. What we do then is we just decide what life we want to live and what we want to actually spend, and then we reverse engineer it to just make more money. But at the end of the day, either you control your finances or they will control you. And according to a study by the national foundation for credit counseling, 65% of Americans don't have a budget. So it's not shocking that a huge portion of Americans are in debt. By creating a budget, it's really the first step to understanding your finances and really start eliminating debt so that you can pay that down and start investing in your future. Second, number two, get creative in finding additional income sources. Now, here's the thing. Like I always say, business and personal finance, super easy. You either increase your income, reduce your expenses. That's it. The way you bridge the gap will allow you to pay down debt more quickly. So are there ways that you can get additional side jobs? A study by Bankrate found that nearly half of Americans earn extra income through a side hustle. So it's always worth exploring what you can do. What do you have experience in? What do you have knowledge in? What are you currently doing in your day job that you may be able to do on the side? That's a way to create additional income opportunities. Number three, evaluate all in any forms of debt that you have. This could be a student loan that you took out 20 years ago that you're still paying on credit cards. And always see if there's a different repayment option available to you. And also if there's a lower interest rate that may be available to you. Oftentimes we get a credit card five, 10 years ago, and maybe your credit wasn't as good, but you actually are paying a higher interest rate than you can be paying now. Sometimes it's just worth a call to that financial institution to see if there's anything else available to you so that you can lower that interest rate and start to pay off that debt faster. This one little shift can save you thousands of dollars.
- [05:40]
Unknown Advertiser
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- [06:41]
Candy Valentino
Roverusa.Com this episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.
- [07:10]
Unknown Advertiser
This episode is brought to you by Google Gemini. With the Gemini app you can talk live and have a real time conversation with an AI assistant. It's great for all kinds of things like if you want to practice for an upcoming interview, ask for advice on things to do in a new city or brainstorm creative ideas. And by the way, this script was actually read by Gemini. Download the gemini app for iOS and Android today. Must be 18 plus to use Gemini Live.
- [07:35]
Unknown Financial Expert
According to a study by Nerdwallet, the average American household has a credit card debt balance of around $15,611. By understanding the different options that are available to you will help you pay down debt more quickly. Number four Always set up automatic payments for both your monthly expenses and any debt or loan payments. This way you're not taking on any additional late fees or interest charges and you're going to be assured that they're taken care of to avoid any of those types of penalties. They really do add up, so make sure that this is automated if you are not diligent enough to automate this and make sure that these are paid all the time and you're still, still using credit cards, I want to tell you that you probably should be cutting up all your credit cards. Credit cards can be a good tool for those who are financially solid. But if you haven't built financial discipline and you're still using those credit cards to overspend, you want to get on the debit card system until you can have that discipline. Right? Because you're going to always use it. Credit cards are great to have again if you are the person that are disciplined in your spending. And if you're not, go to debit. Number five, look into balance transfer offers if possible and available to you. Obviously you can lower the interest rate like I said, but there may be balance transfer offers that you can combine or pay off other high interest rates. This could mean transferring an existing balance to a new account that has a lower interest rate. But sometimes too, your current companies will offer you a lower interest rate option. Or sometimes you'll even get offers that are at 0%. According to a survey by Magnify Money, the average savings from a balance transfer is $1,000. Just be cautious. Don't then use that credit card for something else. The goal is to be debt free so that you can start investing more. So make sure if you do use that option that you then do not use that other credit card. Cut it up, throw it away, whatever you need to do. Don't use this as a way to spend more. Use this as a way to reduce debt. Number six, make sure that you're starting to build that fallback fund. You want to set aside a small amount, even if it's only 20, 25, 50 bucks a month. You want to make sure that you're consistently doing that again. Wealth is a habit. It's building the muscle. Having a fallback fund saved will help ease any stressful financial situations. Just in case one pops up in your life, which we always know. There are challenges that always come up. But according to a survey on Bankrate, only 41% of Americans have enough savings to cover even a thousand dollar emergency. Imagine that. So by starting small and building up a fallback fund, you'll be better prepared for any emergency that may arise. And last but not least, remember that it is okay to ask for help. Like getting a financial pro, a specialist, talking to even a debt support group, which, yes, they exist, can help provide guidance through this process. But here's the thing. Guilt, shame. The decisions that got you into debt. The things that you didn't know before are nothing to be embarrassed about. So many people struggle with this, and until you talk about it, until you look for solutions, until you make this a priority, it can seem really daunting. But I can guarantee you that starting to take actions today will truly transform your future. Not just for you now, but for your family for generations to come. This is a really important topic. I know that it's not a sexy or fun one, but doing this one thing, becoming debt free, will drastically change your life, your finances, your net worth, and the amount of assets that you own. Hey guys, thanks for tuning in to this episode and if there was something that you loved or you had a specific takeaway, share it and tag me Andy Valentino. And if you haven't already, grab a copy of my latest book, the 9% Edge Life Changing Secrets to create more revenue for your business and more freedom for yourself. You can pick it up anywhere books are sold, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local independent store. And once you do, head over to.
- [11:45]
Unknown Advertiser
9% edge.com and claim $1,500 in pre order bonuses, including a chance to to join me on this very show.
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Unknown Financial Expert
Thanks so much for tuning in and.
- [11:57]
Unknown Advertiser
Spending this time with me today guys. We'll see you next time.
- [12:04]
Candy Valentino
Afford Anything talks about how to avoid common pitfalls, how to refine your mental models, and how to think about how to think. How would a person buy their time?
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Unknown Guest
There are technology hacks. There's of course income hacks. There's outsourcing. If you have the means. Now it's time to take the action and outsource. If you don't have the means, you can't afford to buy back your time. This is the whole point. We want you to stop buying silly objects and start saving so you can get to the position to do these.
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Candy Valentino
Things, make smarter choices and build a better life. Afford anything wherever you listen.