5 Tools to Ditch Debt and Build Wealth
- Aug 2, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 4, 2025
Wendy Lyon, also known as "The Financial Lyon" and “The Millionaire Maker,” is a nationally recognized financial strategist, international speaker, author, and media host. She helps women and the people they love ditch debt, build wealth, and protect their future, without sacrificing their lifestyle or values.
Before you can solve a problem, you have to admit you have one. And right now, America has a debt problem – one that’s stealing our peace of mind, our future, and our freedom. Let’s start by understanding just how big this problem is, and then I’ll share five powerful financial tools and mindset shifts I use to help clients break free from debt, build wealth, and live with clarity, confidence, zero risk, zero apologies.
Let’s start with the truth: U.S. household debt hit a record $18.2 trillion in early 2025, and it’s not slowing down. Credit card debt alone is over $1.18 trillion, an all-time high, and student loans are hovering around $1.63 trillion.
More than 60% of Americans carry a credit card balance from month to month, and over half of student loan borrowers are behind on payments. It's closer to 18% in lower-income areas and student loan late payments have increased eightfold since repayment resumed post-pandemic.
Many of the people I meet aren’t living extravagantly; they’re just trying to keep up. But the real danger isn’t just the size of the debt it’s the fact that over 60% of credit card holders carry a balance from month to month, and more than half of student loan borrowers are behind on payments. Financial stress is stealing our peace of mind and our future.
But here’s the good news: You don’t have to live like this forever. Getting out of debt isn’t about sacrifice, it’s about using the right system.
Tool 1: Commit to change – mindset is everything
Before you can build wealth, you have to believe you deserve it and that it’s possible. Mindset is the foundation of every financial transformation. No system, strategy, or spreadsheet will work until you decide that you’re done with stress, done with excuses, and ready to take control.
That starts with a powerful internal shift: making the decision to do something about the financial situation you’re in. Then comes belief. Belief that you can change your circumstances, that you’re not doomed to repeat the same patterns, and that your past does not dictate your future.
This is not about guilt or shame. It’s about ownership. It’s about realizing that even if you didn’t cause the mess, you still hold the power to clean it up and come back stronger. And when you pair that mindset with the right tools and support, your entire financial life can change faster than you ever imagined.
Tool 2: Face the truth, debt awareness is the first step
Let’s call it what it is: We’re in a debt crisis. Credit card delinquencies have spiked to over 12% nationally, and in lower-income communities, it’s closer to 18%. These aren’t just statistics; they’re families making impossible choices every month.
Student loan payments, paused for years during the pandemic, are now back, and millions are unprepared, with late payments increasing eightfold in just a year. The weight of this debt is affecting mental health, relationships, and the ability to plan for the future.
For those struggling with student loans, I recommend checking out Yrefy. They offer refinancing even if your credit isn’t perfect, and they can help get parents removed from the loan entirely, something most lenders won’t do.
Tool 3: Use wealth-building vehicles that actually work
The myth that you have to suffer your way to financial freedom needs to be retired. My clients are busy professionals, parents, and entrepreneurs; they don’t have time to become financial experts or live on rice and beans while trying to pay off their debt.
Instead, we use smarter systems. One of the most powerful tools in my toolbox is what I call my Financial GPS, a software system that calculates the optimal debt payoff strategy, without requiring clients to change their spending habits. It shows them the exact month and year they’ll be debt-free and how much wealth they’ll build once that debt is gone.
It’s about shifting from survival mode to strategic growth, because once you’re out of debt, your dollars start working for you, not against you.
Tool 4: Be open to new ways of making your money work for you
Let me introduce you to one of my favorite client success stories. She’s an MD who is smart, successful, and ready to think differently. Instead of using a traditional 529 Plan to fund her kids’ college, we took another route: permanent life insurance. You see, people think life insurance is just about death, but the truth is, it’s really great if you live!
She’s contributing a total of $147,888 (paying into it till the kids turn 21). But here’s what’s amazing: that money will cover college costs, provide tax-free retirement income for her and her husband, fund her kids’ future retirements, and still leave a multi-million-dollar legacy for grandchildren who haven’t even been born yet. How? That $147,888 turns into over $37 million in income. That’s the power of long-term, tax-advantaged planning. One simple strategy that serves four generations.
We didn’t just solve one problem, we created generational financial freedom and security. That’s what real wealth looks like.
Tool 5: Don’t just learn, leverage experience
Most people think they can’t save for the future until they’re debt-free. And that’s partly true, but what they don’t realize is that the right system accelerates the process. Once debt is gone, everything changes: you have cash flow, peace of mind, and options. You and your spouse no longer fight over money. You show up with clarity and confidence in life. You raise your “vibration” or “frequency” and start to attract what you desire in life.
Whether it’s saving for retirement, investing in real estate, or funding a dream business, the same principle applies: build wealth on a solid, debt-free foundation. And when you do it without compromising your lifestyle, you’re far more likely to stay on track and actually enjoy the journey.
Ready to break free from debt and start building wealth that lasts? Reach out to learn how you can take control of your finances without sacrificing the life you love.
Let me be honest, I know exactly what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck. I was widowed when my husband died in a motorcycle accident at 24. I became a widow with two little girls, just one and three years old, and only $20,000 in life insurance to cover the $1.6 million economic hole his death left behind. Decades later, after remarrying in 2000, my husband and I both lost our jobs on the same day, not once, but twice. One of those times, we even lost our home, because it was part of his compensation, where we were doing crisis intervention for foster children. We were heartbroken, completely surprised, and wondering what our future would be.
But we got through it, not by winning the lottery or working 90 hours a week, but by applying the very same financial tools I now share with my clients. Using the same financial vehicles I recommend, we’ll enjoy an income higher in retirement than what we make right now (can you say “inflation” boys and girls?), and we'll live without financial stress or fear of the future. So when I say it’s possible to break free from debt and build lasting wealth even if you’re starting from scratch, I’m speaking from experience.
Bonus: 3 debt myths that keep people stuck
Myth 1: You have to sacrifice your lifestyle to get out of debt. Truth: With the right system, you can eliminate debt without changing your budget or lifestyle and without giving up what you love.
Myth 2: Life insurance is only for death benefits. Truth: Permanent life insurance can be used to fund college, retirement, and leave a legacy, all while growing tax-free cash you can access throughout your life, unlike a 401(k) or IRA that you have to pay penalties for using if you’re not 59 1/2.
Myth 3: A 529 Plan is the best way to save for college. Truth: It's not flexible, it's taxable, and it doesn't create retirement income or a legacy. There's a better way.
You don’t have to struggle your way to financial freedom. Whether you’re drowning in debt, feeling stuck, or simply ready for more, there is a smarter way.
Let’s talk about how the same tools that changed my life and my clients’ lives can change yours, too.
Schedule a complimentary financial strategy session, and take the first step toward ditching debt, building real wealth, and protecting your future, without changing your budget or lifestyle while saving you tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process.
Visit The Financial Lyon Schedule to get started today. Imagine how you’ll feel knowing your debt-free date and knowing the light at the end of the tunnel is no longer an oncoming train!
Read more from Wendy Lyon
Wendy Lyon, Transformational Financial Strategist
Wendy "The Financial Lyon," is a transformational financial strategist, speaker, and host of the acclaimed TV show Wealth & Wisdom. With two decades of experience, she's helped thousands ditch debt, build multiple millions in wealth, and create lives of abundance, with confidence, zero risk, zero apologies. Her journey began with a tragic loss, widowed when her husband died in a motorcycle accident at 24, and left to raise two young daughters with only $20,000 in life insurance. That ignited her mission to ensure others are financially prepared for whatever life throws their way. She rejects outdated financial advice built on hope, hustle, and risk and helps people raise the bar, rule their finances, and roar into a future they love.
