Smoothing out the financial road for the young and old

Someone once said, "You can't buy happiness. But you can buy pizza, and that's kind of the same thing."

Fun fact: Rachel Cruze loves pizza. That’s something important to know about her, she notes on her website (rachelcruze.com).

Maybe it’s all that pizza, but the personal finance expert, best-selling author, motivational speaker, and mom of three, certainly seems happy. And she is busier than ever guiding others on a road to contentment, especially when it comes to their financial situations.

Her new book, Know Yourself, Know Your Money, published by Ramsey Press is available for pre-order and will be released January 2021.

“Understanding why you handle money the way you do changes everything,” Cruze, a Tennessee native, said. “When you understand your motives, you’re able to reach your goals faster,” she continued. “For over a decade, I’ve been helping people get out of debt, build wealth and create a life they love. So much of my work has centered around teaching people how to clean up a financial mess. But when you understand how your childhood, your fears and your dreams shape how you manage money, it creates serious life change that lasts.”

Know Yourself, Know Your Money takes readers through the key factors that shape how people manage their finances, including their childhood influences, money fears, dreams, motives and more. The book shares practical insights.

“The biggest obstacle from where you are today to becoming wealthy is NOT opportunity or income—it’s you controlling you,” Cruze notes, explaining that the book allows the reader to explore how one’s behavior is the biggest obstacle to making good decisions with one’s money. “When you take a closer look at your behavior and beliefs, money problems are usually just a symptom of a larger problem in your life,” she adds.

Cruze maintains that the way our parents viewed money shaped our money personality and she takes readers through the four types of childhood money classrooms. She also breaks down the six money fears that drive most money decisions, and teaches the reader how to make healthy money decisions.

“Understanding yourself is essential to understanding the way you handle money,” Cruze says. And she identifies seven money tendencies that we all have—and that can be unlocked to better comprehend our own psychology, strengths, and challenges.

The daughter of personal finance maven Dave Ramsey, Cruze grew up learning how to win with money. She understands the dangers of debt, and she’s seen firsthand the damage it can do. She knows how to give generously, spend wisely and save for the future. Her passion is to help others learn those same principles.

The father-daughter team co-authored the bestseller Smart Money, Smart Kids, and Cruze followed that with Love Your Life, Not Theirs—an immediate New York Times bestseller. Cruze has appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, Katie and Fox & Friends, CNN and she’s a contributor for magazines like Woman’s Day and Glamour. Aside from appearing regularly in print, Cruze can be heard on radio and podcasts around the country, and seen on her own The Rachel Cruze Show™, on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and other outlets.

“I hated budgeting with a passion growing up, which was awkward, since my dad is financial expert Dave Ramsey,” she says. “No pressure there! But eventually I realized that a budget is the best way to tell my money where to go. I found that the more I did it, a budget didn’t limit my freedom—it gave me freedom.”

Now at age 32, Cruze has addressed hundreds of thousands of students, young adults and parents over the past several years, sharing with them how to get on the right track and avoid big money messes.

While COVID-19 has somewhat cut into Rachel’s personal appearances, she has spoken at women’s conferences, churches and companies across the country. She’s an engaging speaker and a person of faith, who shares her stories and money advice in a way that’s relevant, fun and uplifting.

Nowadays, lessons from Cruze – found in her books and many appearances – have become mantras for many who seek out her insight. Among her greatest hits to date:

• “Personal finance is 80% behavior and 20% knowledge.”
• “Debt basically enables people to live a lie.”
• “Every dollar you spend is a reflection of your values.”
• “Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes permanent. And permanent, positive change is what we’re after.”
• “Money is a magnifying glass. It's makes you more of what you already are.”
• “With parenting, more is caught than taught. Your kids are watching your habits and how you interact with money.”
• “It's a disservice to kids when they are handed everything they ask for. Giving boundaries and limits is a gift within itself.”
• “You're not a bad parent if you can't pay for college. College is a blessing, not an entitlement.”

This summer, even as the pandemic was spreading, Cruze never let up.

“The Pandemic Was Your Wake-Up Call,” was a recent episode of The Rachel Cruze Show™, during which she said that one in four middle-class households in the United States could not pay all or some of their bills due to COVID-19.

“And that means a lot of people out there did not have an emergency fund,” Cruze said, “But even in a time of job loss and health crisis, you can have peace about your money…no matter what, whatever the situation, you can do something about where you’re at. You can take control.”

And control – by being more diligent about budgeting, reining in spending and finding even the smallest of ways to save some money – can turn a crisis of panic into one of mere inconvenience, according to Cruze.

On the podcast, Retire With Purpose, hosted by Casey Weade, CFP®, she talked about her upbringing by Dave and Sharon Ramsey.

“I think people assume when they hear, ‘Oh, you’re Dave Ramsey’s daughter,’ that we had mutual fund parties for our birthdays and we went to budget camp every summer,” she recalled, adding, “All these stereotypes come in people’s heads. Honestly, it was nothing like that. Mom and dad, they were great at teaching us how money works but it was done in such the ebb and flow of life.”

She explained there were no mandatory sit-down seminars or meetings about money that she and her sister had to sit through.

“It was really just what real life brings and money, and they kind of just brought it into conversation. For that I’m really thankful; very, very thankful,” she said. “They did a great job teaching us and also letting us make mistakes – I always say that about their parenting style – which I really appreciate.”

Perhaps most present in the Ramsey household was a sharp focus on education. “They let us learn,” Cruze noted on the same podcast, speaking of her parents. “They were like, ‘Yeah, okay. If you fall down here, you’re going to learn that it hurts. If you spend that money on that thing and it breaks two days later, it’s going to hurt but you need to figure that out.’”

Today, Cruze’s core messages around spending, saving and giving are not only for her fans and followers, but for her young children. One key: Cruze and her husband do not give allowances to the kids. In their home, it’s called a commission. And it’s an important distinction.

“Amelia, our oldest, we just started implementing that and my sister’s oldest, William, he’s doing it too,” she said on the podcast. “Their chore chart is up. During quarantine I really thought, ‘Okay, we could really buckle down and get in a good rhythm.’ I’ll be honest and say, yeah, some days we’re great with it, some days we’re not.”

Cruze describes her oldest, only five years old, as being much more of a pleaser and doer. “She’ll go and she loves to keep score and all of that. She’s right on with the commission system. She gets it, she thrives on it,” she said.

The amounts of the commission are not set in stone. But Cruze insists on the three big things, and shares the same advice with other families wanting to school their kids on matters of money.

“You can make a percentage, whatever you think is best for your family on the give, save and spend. Having them do all three is really important,” she said. “Some kids you’re going to find they just would give it all away, which is great. That’s a wonderful trait, but they have to learn to save money eventually.”

“They have to learn to spend wisely,” she continued. “Some kids they just want to save it all and hoard it and keep it all to themselves. No. You need to teach them to also give and also how to spend.”

Cruze readily admits to being a natural spender, still to this day. “That’s how I was as a kid. It was good for me to learn, ‘Okay, no. I have to have delayed gratification. I need to put some money away and I need to give some money away.’ All three of those money muscles (saving, spending, giving) have to be built.”
Getting to zero debt

Part of Ramsey Solutions, Cruze adheres to its doctrine of getting to zero debt – excluding mortgage debt that’s no more than 25 percent of take-home pay.

“Everything else, we promote no debt,” she said. “It’s an extreme viewpoint, but the reason we say this is because not only does it just lower your risk – when you own everything your mind, your spirit, your emotions – financially you’re in a completely different mindset. When you don’t owe anyone anything, you’re not having to keep up and you’re not trying to play this math game of interest rates and trying to get a better deal here or there.”

Cruze emphasized: “Listen, when you own it all you sleep better at night. You’re not stressed. So much is taken off your plate when you know, ‘I’m completely in control. When my paycheck comes in or that investment check comes in at retirement, that is mine and I get to decide to do whatever I want with it.’”

Taking charge and having the freedom to decide are common themes running through all of her books. Perhaps the next one should be titled: Cruze Control.