This 20-Minute Money Routine Could Change Your Financial Life, According to Rachel Cruze
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
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Molly Sullivan
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If you’re struggling with money stress, Rachel Cruze said you can feel better in just 20 minutes.
“I can offer you some pretty instant relief for whatever financial dilemma you might be facing,” she said in a recent YouTube video. “Set aside 20 minutes, either daily or weekly, and do five simple steps.”
Here’s Cruze’s five-step formula to take control of your finances.
1. Write Everything Down
Cruze said to take a pen to paper (or finger to phone) and write out every money worry that’s on your mind.
“This can include your worries, your stressors, your frustrations, financial problems — whatever is going on that’s in your head that is stressing you out,” Cruze said. “I will do this in my Notes app. … There’s something about it getting out of your brain and out on paper to visualize what is going on.”
You should immediately feel better just from doing this one simple step.
“It alleviates some of it because our minds are so powerful,” Cruze said.
2. Determine What You Can Control and What You Cannot
The next step is to sort that list into two categories: what you can control and what you can’t control.
“Spending, for instance, is something that you can immediately control,” Cruze said. “Your salary, you may be able to control long term … but today, you probably can’t control that.”
Seeing clearly what you can and cannot control can also help ease your mind.
3. Talk About Your Money Problems
Once you have your list, talk about it.
“Verbalize it in some way,” Cruze said. “This could be taking a walk and praying about it, this could be talking to your spouse about it, talking to a friend. … Bring someone else in, because I do think when you have people in your life that you can … have a conversation with … that other person has a different perspective.”
Talking to another person about your money worries can help you see things more clearly, and they may even help you come up with solutions.
4. Take Small, Tactical Steps
Step four involves taking steps toward addressing the items on your “things I can control” list.
“Next to every stressor that you have written down, put a little plan in place,” Cruze said. “If you’re stressed about college savings, just say, ‘All right, today, I’m going to open up a 529.'”
Other small steps could include saving a small amount of money each month toward a trip you’ve been wanting to take or talking to people in your network if you want to change careers to earn more money.
5. Have a High-Level Financial Plan
Putting a high-level financial plan in place will tell you which of the items on your list to attack first. Cruze recommended following Dave Ramsey’s seven “baby steps.”
Ramsey’s seven baby steps are:
- Put $1,000 in a beginner emergency fund.
- Pay off all debt minus your mortgage using the debt snowball method.
- Put three to six months of expenses into savings as a full emergency fund.
- Invest 15% of your household income for retirement.
- Begin a college fund for your kids.
- Pay off your home early.
- Build wealth and give generously.
“These are going to help … so much … because people feel overwhelmed with debt, they feel overwhelmed because they don’t have savings, and the baby steps help solve a lot of those,” Cruze said.
By following this 20-minute routine, you can start feeling more confident and in control of your financial future — one small step at a time.
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