Beverly Harzog is a consumer finance analyst and credit card expert at U.S. News and author of The Debt Escape Plan, she paid off $20,000 of debt in only 2 years and now inspires others to do the same.Beverly Harzog is a consumer finance analyst and credit card expert at U.S. News and author of The Debt Escape Plan, she paid off $20,000 of debt in only 2 years and now inspires others to do the same. Welcome! [:] First off can you tell us a bit about your debt payoff journey? What motivated you to tackle all that debt and what was the debt from? ● When Beverly was young she knew nothing about personal finance, she was a CPA ● Getting out of College, she got a ton of offers for credit cards ● She spent a ton of money on her image (she was self-conscious) ● She took things seriously and really cut back to get rid of her debt [:] Debt, debt, debt! We’ve seen a whole bunch of rate hikes this year, debt’s like one of those things that you should be using responsibly. When do you think it’s a good time (if any) to go into debt and what are some things to look out for? ● There is good debt and bad debt,  ● Good debt is something like debt on a home ● Bad debt is credit card debt [:] It it’s always easy, some people have bad credit. What advice do you have for people with bad credit and do you have any good resources they can use? ● Don’t feel terrible ● Get a secured credit card; US News is a great resource ● Some credit card have fees ● If you are against a credit card, you could try get a credit builder loan. [:] You wrote a post about whether you should get a credit card or a loan, do you want to give us your view of when you’d want to choose either option? ● People often reach for their credit card if they have big purchases ● If something is much more long term, then you might want to look at a loan ● Get a 0% intro APR on purchases if you have good credit ● You should always be careful of taking out any debt, get online and do research about the companies [:] Value Link RoundIf you want to listen to books on the go check out chainofwealth.com/audible for a free trial [:] What is your saving or retirement plan? ● Emergency fund - a year's worth of expenses in the fund ● IRAs as self employed [:] Do you have any other books or podcasts you can recommend? ● Beverly’s book - The Debt Escape Plan [:] Favorite Quote? ● Do or do not, there is no try [:] Parting piece of advice? ● If you have debt do whatever you have to doSupport this podcast at — https://app.redcircle.com/shows/11f32da4-3081-471f-bf51-ea341b89ab1d/tip