So you did it. You paid off your debt. No more stressing about when the payments are going to go out of your account, no more worrying about how interest is compounding and eating away at your money. But now what? Well, here's the truth. The days and the weeks after you become debt free are just as important as the day you pay off your debt. Because if you don't have a plan, that money you just freed up from making those debt payments

can disappear easily.

So today I'm going to be walking you through 10 things you can do immediately after you pay off

your debt so you don't fall backwards.

Instead, you keep moving forward.

Welcome to the Clever Girls No podcast. I'm Bola

Shokunbi, founder of Clever Girl Finance. This podcast is your space for real relatable conversations

about money, business, and building wealth, without shame, without judgment, and without confusion,

especially as women navigating real life

and real responsibilities. If you're ready to take your finances to the next level and

build real lasting wealth, my book, Clever Girl Millionaire, will walk you through exactly how to

do it with Claire Steps, Proven Strategies, and the mindset shifts that make it all stick.

You can find it at clevergirlfinance.com forward slash books.

Now let's get into the episode.

So now that you are debt-free, let's talk about what comes next.

Number one, you don't want to increase your lifestyle immediately.

So when you pay off your debt, you've paid up your high

interest credit cards, maybe you've paid off your student loans, etc. It can be very tempting to

leverage that freed up money to increase your lifestyle. But I want you to pause before you make any big

decisions. It could be you want to get a better apartment, a better car, upgrade your wardrobe, and

etc. But like I said, give yourself some time, pause before you make any of those big decisions.

Keep in mind that you were functioning without these lifestyle upgrades before you paid off your debt, right?

...