Crush Your Money Goals: 25 Smart Money Habits to Save, Invest, and Fast-Track Your Financial Freedom

Financial coach Joy debuts with a breezy primer on how to build wealth. Outlining the five-step program she developed to pay off in three years the $300,000 she owed in “student loans, mortgages, and everyday expenses,” Joy encourages readers to streamline their banking and investment accounts, set financial goals, assess their net worth, develop sustainable spending habits, and overcome unproductive mindsets. Of the numerous strategies Joy details to help readers accomplish each step, some track with conventional wisdom. For instance, she encourages setting aside enough money to cover three months’ worth of expenses and paying off current credit card balances weekly to avoid accruing debt. However, other suggestions are refreshingly novel. To cut down on unnecessary purchases, Joy recommends dividing an item’s price by the number of times one anticipates using it, and if the result comes out to $1 or less, it’s worth buying. Joy also pays welcome attention to the psychology of overspending, as when she urges readers to stay off their phones for one day each week because she believes that scrolling through social media drives people to buy things they don’t need to keep up with the idealized lifestyles they see on their feeds. Buoyed by Joy’s unconventional guidance and bubbly tone (“Give yourself a hug right now”), this is right on the money. (Dec.)