‘You do not have to suffer’: Money expert Tori Dunlap says you shouldn’t try to ‘white-knuckle’ your way out of the red Self-made millionaire and money expert Tori Dunlap has built a massive following by helping over 5 million women challenge their beliefs about money and their…
ility to manage it. As the founder of Her First $100K (1), the New York Times bestselling author of Financial Feminist (2) and the host of the Financial Feminist podcast (3), Dunlap focuses on making money conversations more accessible — especially for women, who actually take the lead in most households’ financial decisions (4)
Her approach combines practical advice with the honest acknowledgment that money is deeply connected to identity and freedom — or lack thereof. And one of the recurring themes in Dunlap’s podcast is that paying off debt doesn’t have to be all-consuming. Must Read – Here’s how to get rich from rising US property values with as little as $100 — and without the stress of angry tenants – – In a recent “bonus” episode focused on saving money without deprivation — “If Paying Off Debt Is Taking Over Your Life: Listen to This (5)” — she argues that paying off debt should not feel like it’s your whole personality or require the removal of everything joyful from your life.
The episode is described as a “pep talk for people paying off debt who are emotionally exhausted, even if they’re ‘doing everything right.’” “Debt payoff isn’t about money; it’s about the mental load of carrying high-interest debt every single day and owing somebody else money,” she says of why paying off debt can feel so daunting, even when you’re doing it right. “That lack of control is the part that almost nobody talks about.” She calls it “debt as cognitive labor.” And it’s exacerbated for those who obsess over it so much that “debt has become their entire identity.” “Hypervigilance is not healthy, and it’s definitely not discipline,” she says of the common misconception that, while you’re paying off…