Rachel Cruze - Know Yourself, Know Your Money: Discover WHY you handle money the way you do, and WHAT to do about it! 

2020 Lampo Licensing, LLC

Published by Ramsey Press, The Lampo Group, LLC

Franklin, Tennessee 37064

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering financial, accounting, or other professional advice. If financial advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Except where noted, scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

All Scripture marked (NKJV) is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

All Scripture marked (ESV) is from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). ESV Text Edition: 2016. Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Cruze, Rachel, author.

Title: Know yourself, know your money : discover why you handle money the way you do, and what to do about it! / Rachel Cruze.

Description: Franklin : Ramsey Press, 2021.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020032403 (print) | LCCN 2020032404 (ebook) | ISBN 9781942121312 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781942121336 | ISBN 9781942121329 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Finance, Personal.

Classification: LCC HG179 .C788 2021 (print) | LCC HG179 (ebook) | DDC 332.024--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020032403

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020032404

ISBN: 978-1-9421-2131-2

Editors: Jennifer Day, Rachel Knapp

Cover Design: Chris Carrico

Interior Design: Mandi Cofer

Ebook formatting: Mark DAntoni, eBook DesignWorks

Printed in the United States of America

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To Winston.

I love that you are the person in this world who knows me the best. I feel known by you and loved by you. Your approach to growing yourself is one that has not only strengthened our marriage but my pursuit to grow and know myself even more. Thank you for always being there, and for encouraging and fighting for me in this life. I love you so much.

This book would not be the same if it werent for the many people who helped shape what it is. I am forever grateful to work with an incredible team who is so passionate about helping people discover more about themselves so they can win in money and life! A special word of thanks to:

Winston Cruze, for your support during this two-year project while you had a major project going on yourself, I was pregnant, and we were building a house.

Dave Ramsey, for teaching me so much and pushing me to get the best book out of me that you knew was there.

Jennifer Day, I have said it before and I will say it again: you are an angel sent from heaven. Thank you for all your work and making this book what it is!

Ami McConnell, thank you for shaping my words and stories into a process that people will actually want to read! You were incredibly helpful to this project.

Preston Cannon, for leading this project from start to finish and adding humor along the way.

Katie Crenshaw, for your leadership and encouragement. Im glad youre my boss.

Amy McCollom, for coordinating all the millions of details to make sure we actually had a book!

Rachel Knapp, for your copyediting skills. You are always a pleasure to work with and so good at what you do.

Chris Carrico and Brad Dennison, Brad Imburgia, Will Smith, and Seth Farmer for the design element and how your gifts make this book look incredible.

Heidi Egloff, Cory Mabry, and Caitlin Cofield, for the best publicity and marketing minds on the planet. So thankful for you all.

Jeremy Breland, Suzanne Simms, Jen Sieversten, Andy Barton, Julia Mynhier, Erin Drury, Naomi Parton, Russ Sellars, Cathy Shanks, Alena Drehmann, Tim Smith, Natalie Wilson, Shane Emerson, and too many others to mention for their time, leadership, prayers, and hard work throughout this process.

When you grow up in a noble, hillbilly household like I did, stories and sayings become part of who you are. Partly because you hear them over and over again. And partly because they carry so much truth. I remember many times when I was a little kid, my dad would say, Ninety percent of solving a problem is realizing there is one. Thats true whether the problem is with the transmission in your car or the problem is with you.

When I went broke many years ago, I made the mistake most financial people make. I thought the way to fix my personal finance problems was to come up with a different mathematical strategy. All I needed was some brilliant breakthrough with the numbers. Then, the huge hole of debt Id dug for myself and my family would magically disappear.

But the math was not the problem. The real breakthrough was discovering that the guy in my mirror was the problem. Oh, and by the wayhe was also the solution. I couldnt change the numbers. I was millions of dollars in debt no matter which way I looked at it. I couldnt change that, but I could change me. I could stop doing stupid stuff with money. I could learn about Gods ways of handling moneyand do that instead.

Today, thirty years after that moment of self-discovery, my team and I have now taught millions and millions of people that personal finance is not about the math. Handling your moneywinning with moneyis all about behavior. We have a saying for that too: personal finance is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent head knowledge. Knowing what to do with your money is the easy part. Actually doing it is the hard part.

Changing your behavior is tough work. You have to first understand your own personal strengths and weaknesses. Why do you make the choices you do with money? Thats not an easyor comfortablequestion to answer sometimes. But by discovering what your strengths and weaknesses are, you can learn how to offset those weaknesses and accentuate your strengths. And that? Thats fuel on the fire of behavior change. It will lead to huge breakthroughs with your money, your relationships, and your life.