Clear Money
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Phase 1 of 5

Survive

Stop the bleeding before you build.

You can't put money to work that's already gone. Phase 1 is about understanding exactly where your money goes today, plugging the leaks worth plugging, and getting to a place where surprise bills don't become crises.

This phase, at a glance

Stop the bleeding.

Decode your paycheck, plug leaks, and get to a place where the next bill isn't a crisis.

Tools

4

Books

4

What you'll walk away with

By the end of Survive

  • How to read every line on your pay stub and find money you didn't know you had.
  • Where the money actually goes each month, not where you think it goes.
  • A barebones budget that protects rent, food, transport, and minimum payments first.
  • Three to five quick wins worth $50 to $200 a month that you can implement this week.
  • How to set up a simple weekly money check-in that actually sticks.

Watch out for

Common traps in this phase

  • Apps that promise to fix your finances by tracking every cup of coffee. Skip them.
  • Aggressive 'cut all spending' advice that ignores how your life actually works.
  • Shame. If a system makes you feel bad about being behind, walk away from the system.
  • Anyone telling you to invest before you have a real handle on cash flow.

Tools for this phase

Free, no signup required

See all 22 tools

Books for this phase

Short reads in plain English

All books

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Next phase

Phase 2: Break Free