George Kamel - How To Detox Your Money In 30 Days

Episode Date: January 1, 2025

💵 Start your free budget today. Download the EveryDollar app!  It’s officially 2025, and this is the year you promised you’d get your money (and midnight snacking) under control. In this episode, learn how to detox your money in just 30 days.  Next Steps:  🎥 Watch my video Best Way to Pay Off Debt Fast (That Actually Works).  📙 Order my new book, Breaking Free From Broke, for $15 and get the audiobook FREE with promo code NEWYEARS.    Connect With Our Sponsors:  🔒 Get 20% off when you join DeleteMe.  💸 Learn more about opening a high-yield savings account with Laurel Road.  📱 Get $5 off Tello's Unlimited Plan and enjoy great nationwide coverage for only $20 at Tello.  Explore More From Ramsey Network:  🎙️ The Ramsey Show  🍸 Smart Money Happy Hour  💸 The Ramsey Show Highlights  🧠 The Dr. John Delony Show  💡 The Rachel Cruze Show  💼 The Ken Coleman Show  📈 EntreLeadership    Ramsey Solutions Privacy Policy  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three, two, one, Happy New Year! It's time for a reset, guys, because the holidays work crazy. Am I right? I'm thinking we should do a money detox to get back in tip-top financial shape. Forget your resolutions because this is the year of detoxing, from your phone, your bad money habits, and definitely your ex. Okay, the last thing we need is another long-term commitment that doesn't pan out, Brandon. Why are you always picking on me?

So let's ease in with a 30-day challenge. If you do this stuff for 30 days, you'll be set up to win with money for the rest of the year to infinity and beyond, which I'm now realizing is not a thing. There's nothing beyond infinity, buzz, or was that the point? Dude. Whatever you're doing, please stop. And great news, no ice baths, shake weights, or sketchy supplements required here. Before we get going, let's ring in the new year by finally hitting that like and subscribe button. Ready? Three, two, one, happy new subscription! Okay, if you're open to a 2025 money detox, you're probably experiencing some money stress and anxiety. And if you're anything like me after the old

Bacl of the hangover, you just want to feel better. But for that to happen, we need a detox plan that cuts out what's really causing you financial pain and adds in some healthy, wealth-building goodness. Now, if I ask the average American, how would you do a money detox? Most people would probably say, start saving money. Well, saving more was America's number one New Year's resolution in 2024. And it is a great instinct. In a lot of ways, saving money is like eating your financial kale or drinking your recommended eight glasses of money water. But if you want to make progress fast, you've got to remember that adding healthy stuff is actually the last step of the detox process. The first step is to get the bad stuff out. And I hate to say it, but the only way

to do that is to stop putting it in. So the number one thing you've got to stop doing is poisoning your financial waters. And the most prevalent financial toxin in the world is debt. Okay, debt is the thing keeping most Americans broke and stressed. Not only do those monthly payments steal from every single one of your paychecks, the same paychecks you could use to, you know, save money and build wealth. But even worse, most debt is also racking up interest and digging you deeper into a financial hole. So my first money detox challenge for you is to say no to consumer debt for the next 30 days and hopefully forever after that. Don't put a single new charge on that credit card. Don't take out a car loan or a he lock or buy now pay later that ninja creamy. Just stop. Stop it for 30 days.

Use cash or your debit card and see how you feel at the end of the month. See if you made financial progress. I can almost guarantee you will. Okay, now that we've set down the junk food, let's drink some water and eat some veggies. If you haven't done it already, your first order of business is to save a $1,000 starter emergency fund in a high-yield savings account. Now, if you've already got this baby grand in savings, awesome. You're a step ahead of the game. Love that for you. But the bad news is four in 10 Americans have zero in savings.

But the good news is, most Americans can save $1,000 in about 30 days or less if they get laser-focused. We're talking cutting your expenses, selling stuff, get a side hustle, do what you gotta do because you got this. Plus, you'll feel incredible 30 days from now, knowing you can pay cash for the surprise inconveniences that are going to hit throughout the year. No need to go back into debt when life throws a rock at your windshield, right?

All right, so we've stopped borrowing money, we have a thousand bucks saved, the next step is to pay off our consumer debt. We're talking credit cards, car loans, student loans, HILOCs, the IKEA Futon you've been paying off for 18 months. You're gonna pick your smallest debt and see how much extra you can put down

on the principal over the next 30 days and make minimum payments on the rest of your debts, okay? Smallest, the largest balance, ignore the interest rate. We're not doing math, we're trying to make progress fast. Now, if you're already debt-free, or once you become debt-free, your goal over the next 30 days is start saving

three to six months of expenses in a fully funded emergency fund. That's right, it's time to take your vitamins, eat some protein, we put down the kettle chips, time to pick up the kettle bell. You know what I'm saying? This guy knows what I'm talking about. No one knows what you're talking about, man.

Now, I know the three to six months thing can be confusing. Do you need to start saving up for three months or six? Well, it depends on the main, of risk you have in your financial situation. If you're a single person with no kids or you're married with two stable incomes, I would lean towards three months. If you have kids and only one income, or your job is seasonal, you've got chronic health issues in the family, or your income as a regular, like commission-based or self-employed freelancer type work, I would aim to save six months' worth of expenses. And regardless of where you are in your detox plan, you've got to

make sure every single dollar you make is working for you. Think of your paycheck like a pile of ants. If an ant pile gets disturbed, they're going to scatter in all directions. But when you give those ants a job, the ants say, yas, queen, and they get to work. In the same way, your money needs to be told what to do, because if you don't give each dollar a job, it's like stepping in the ant pile. They're going to go in a million directions, places you don't want them to go, and you'll probably end up in pain. Fire ants, where you at? Rise up. And the best way to give every dollar a job is with something called a budget. This is an intentional spending plan for your money. And if you want to use my favorite budget,

app every dollar, I will link it below. And here's the deal. It's super simple. You list out your income, then you list out all of your expenses, food, utility, shelter, transportation, your insurance, your lifestyle, your subscriptions, your minimum debt payments, and then you track your expenses as the month goes on so that you make sure you hit your target. And again, every dollar has a job. We want this to be zero-based, meaning our income minus all of our expenses equals zero. So go check out every dollar. I promise you it will be worth your time and help you follow this 30-day challenge. And one of the best things about writing down a plan for your money is that it helps you see where you can cut back on spending so that you have more margin to pay off debt

and save over the next 30 days and beyond. And there's only two ways to get margin, either spend less or make more. So let's talk about three easy ways to cut your expenses. First, look at what you've spent on eating out in the last 30 days. I guarantee you it is more than you thought. And if you're still in debt, take on the challenge to avoid eating out for the next 30 days. And even if you're out of debt, it's still a good idea to cut back on eating out to make more progress on your other financial goals. And I know you had that big, hairy, audacious goal of trying everything on the cravings value menu at Taco Bell.

Let's hold on that until you're crushing it financially and get approval from your doctor. Good call. Second, actually list out your streaming services and how much you're spending on each. You'll probably figure out pretty soon, there's only a few that you really, really need and use regularly. The rest, get out of here.

It may sound crazy, but as of 2023, Netflix had over 6,600 things that you can watch. And surely, there's something on there, you don't need Amazon Prime and Paramount Plus on top of that. So if you want to get really crazy, cut streaming altogether and see what 30 days of extra side hustling or reading books can do

for you. And lastly, be an intentional shopper. This is where most people overspend. You can save on groceries by switching to a cheaper grocery store, choosing budget-friendly meals, buying generic brand, checking the price for a unit, planning meals around sales, and using store pickup to avoid wandering around the aisles

being tempted to impulse buy those holiday treats on clearance. There's plenty of ways to save and fine margin, and you guys are really good at this. So if you have a favorite go-to hack, drop it in the comments below. Please do not get keep on this channel. Now, for those of you thinking, well, George, I've never done anything healthy for 30 days straight, let alone a money detox. I hear you.

And thank you for being so, hashtag vulnerable. I've got some good news for you. There is a secret to sticking with it that I've seen work time and time again. But first, for those of you who are in that savings mode trying to get that $1,000 or that $3 to six months of expenses, you're going to want to put it somewhere where it can work for you. somewhere like a high-yield savings account, like the one offered by Laurel Road, one of the sponsors of today's episode. They've got top-tier rates on their savings accounts that give you the extra boost to keep

your money working and growing for you. The best part is there's no minimum deposit or balance, there's no sneaky fees, and your deposits are FDIC insured, meaning they are guaranteed by the government. So if the bank goes down, your money stays safe. So make the switch by going to Laurelroad.com slash George, or you can always click the link in the description below. And listen, I'm so proud of you for working on. hard to start the year off with a clean financial slate. And you also deserve to have a clean

slate when it comes to your data and your personal info. And that's what Delete Me does for you. They're a sponsor of today's episode. And they scour the internet to find and remove your info from these no good dirty data broker websites. They'll do all the heavy lifting for you and they'll send you a detailed report showing you exactly what they've done and how much time they've saved you. And I'm currently tracking at 55 hours. Beat that. I dare you. Double dog. So go to join deleteme.com slash George to get 20% off any of their plans, or you can just click the link in the description below. Okay, back to sticking to this whole money detox for 30 days. One of the best ways to hold yourself accountable to any goal is to make it visual. Now, there's lots of good ideas from

taping your goals to the mirror, to making one of those construction paper chains. And no matter what the visual reminder is, your goal needs to have a few non-negotiables. Non-negolshables, if you will. I'll see myself out. Just kidding, we got more to cover. You have to have a clear goal. Here's what that means. We're not just going to say, well, my goal is to get out of debt. My goal is to save more money. It's got to be my plan is to pay off $5,000 in credit card debt in 30 days. My goal is to save $1,000 in the next three weeks.

When you make it that clear, you can break it down into smaller goals. Like, all right, that means I got to save this much per day or this much per week in order to hit my goal. So make it very specific, write it down, make it plain. And once you have your specific goal, it's got to be measurable. So track your progress with an app like every dollar so that you can feel the momentum, feel the ride, get on up, it's bobsled time. And yes, that is our first cool running's reference.

I'm just as shocked as you. Took this long. And finally, be sure to celebrate the small wins. One of the reasons so many people fail at their goals and resolutions is that they don't have checkpoints to know they're making progress. You're working hard, and it's important to reward that. Now, you don't have to get crazy, but maybe you have a little dance party in the kitchen or you treat yourself to a $1.50 hot dog and Pepsi at Costco.

Or, for my Gen Z peeps, a fat, and a crispy boy. I think you're capable of having money wins to celebrate all month, all year, and for the rest of your life. And that's why I wrote my book, Breaking Free from Broke, the ultimate guide to more money and less stress. So if less stress and more money sounds like the kind of year you're looking for, go check out the discount code in the description below and grab your copy today. I will be the money mentor you deserve and the one you need right now. And if paying off debt is your big goal this year, keep watching this next video where I walk you through exactly the best way to pay off debt with Batman intensity. or click the link in the description below. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.