Irina and her husband are more than $100,000 in debt. They’re working to pay it off, but between monthly credit card bills, student loan payments, 401k contributions and spending on their new baby, their money is spread too thin. In this episode of How To!, Charles Duhigg bring on Rachel Cruze, a personal finance expert and author of Know Yourself, Know Your Money, to help Irina create a budget that she can actually follow. It will seem hard at first, Rachel says, but if you cut up your credit cards and pause your retirement investments, you can get out of debt much sooner. If you liked this episode, check out “How To Get That Promotion You Deserve.”  Do you have a conundrum? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might have you on the show. Subscribe for free on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices