What should you be doing right now to get out of the rat trap you’re in? The rat race is what most of us are in but sometimes it’s worse than that (been there many times) and you need to dig deep to pull out pennies even. How do you break that cycle when you’re ready to rejoin the race and win? Here’s how:

For starters, get yourself a High Yield Savings Account and use that instead of your regular savings account (which is paying you zilch in interest) to earn nickels on the dollar instead of a penny. Yep, there’s a big difference between an HYSA and the one you have now. They’re both free and usually have no minimum balance requirements so ditch your old one.

Secondly, and don’t hate me, but streaming is getting so expensive lately. Do yourself a favor and ditch one for good. Instead, put that money every month on autopay into your HYSA instead of your credit card. That’s a savings bonus right there!

Third, what is your highest recurring debt? Is it your student loans? A car payment? A credit card you owe too much on? Pay an extra $50 onto your minimum payment (or whatever you would usually pay on it) and do that until it’s gone.

Fourth, if you have retail credit cards, stop charging on them. I’m talking Macy’s, JCP, Nordstroms, etc. I know the holidays are around the corner but people tend to overspend on these and not only do you buy more, you pay more in interest because you’ll be paying for years on all these over expenditures. Those sales will end up being more than double the price you paid! That $40 discount will be at least $75 OVER sale price by the time the interest is paid; if not substantially more. Don’t do it! Pay them down and let them sit. Don’t cancel them. Just let them remain at ZERO.

Lastly, actually track your spending every month for Target, MCD, Starbucks, fast food, shopping, etc. Knowing your numbers is key to success and set a goal each month to reduce that number by 10% the following month. You spent $600 at Target this month that wasn’t all food and necessities? Spend no more than $540 this month. Then keep reducing until you get your extra spending under control and have a savings building up.

It’s a new month so let’s set new goals and expectations!