Carmen Perez knows firsthand what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck — and the heavy debt load that comes with it. After accruing approximately $57,000 of debt, the founder of the financial education platform Make Real Cents implemented a zero-based budget, meticulously allotting every dollar of her pay to a budgeting category. She took on a side hustle for extra income and created a plan that led her to pay off her debt in two years and nine months. Her "been there, done that" approach to financial literacy provides a real dose of money management.
