{"id":65306,"date":"2022-04-23T19:06:40","date_gmt":"2022-04-23T23:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=65306"},"modified":"2022-05-01T20:11:45","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T00:11:45","slug":"how-to-get-out-of-business-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How common is business debt? What are some things you can do to reduce your company’s debt burden?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies show that 79 percent of all U.S. small and medium companies are in debt<\/a>, and that 58 percent of all U.S. small and medium companies are over $50,000 in debt. According to Mike Michalowicz, the author of Profit First<\/em>, pulling out of debt begins with ruthlessly cutting your expenses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how to get out of business debt in three steps, according to Michalowicz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Be Ruthless in Cutting Expenses<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In his book Profit First<\/em>, Mike Michalowicz explains how to get out of business debt. The first step, he says, is to find a way to make your expenses less than your current adjusted revenue.\u00a0You can\u2019t compromise on this, because if you do you\u2019ll just continue to increase your debt. Reduce expenses using the \u201ckeep, improve, remove\u201d method we explored at the beginning of this chapter, and be particularly vigilant in checking and rechecking them for ways you can save money. Continue to cut expenses<\/a> until your expense allocation percentage is 10 percent below the typical percentage for a company of your business\u2019s size. <\/strong>This extra amount cut is a safety net, just in case you need to take back a few expenses to keep things running.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where to Cut Costs Quickly<\/strong>

The extensive cuts recommended here might leave you overwhelmed, and wondering where you should look first for money to save. In a situation where you\u2019re looking for expenses to cut, experts suggest that most businesses can start by cutting administrative costs<\/a>. Specifically, they recommend you improve two different components of your business-wide organization, which will eliminate unnecessary costs. 

Improve communication<\/a>: <\/strong>Improving communication throughout your business will allow you to save money, especially as you grow. This is because better communication makes it easier to spot redundancy in roles, tasks, or purchases\u2014redundancies that are very common in larger companies. 

This could include something as small as making one company-wide purchase of paper instead of having different departments or employees making their own individual purchases. Or, it could include something as large as better circulating financial reports and analyses to prevent redundant research and make sure everyone knows the same information. 

Streamline management: <\/strong>By streamlining your management, you can ensure there\u2019s no redundancy in the supervision of your employees. If you\u2019re confident in the abilities of your employees and they don\u2019t need to learn any new skills, then they probably don\u2019t need close management. Experts recommend that each year the work of your employees stays the same, you should reduce time spent managing them by 10 percent. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Spend Critically<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While in debt, cancel any and all automatic payments. <\/strong>You need to know exactly how much you are spending when and to be critical of every single expense you make\u2014every expense paid will be a conscious decision.<\/strong> Cancel all automatic credit card charges (you can do this by getting a new credit card with a new number from your bank), stop all automatic withdrawals from your accounts, and pay with checks instead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: While Michalowicz advises you to think about each expense you make, you might be wondering how to do so effectively. Dan Ariely recommends in  Predictably Irrational<\/em><\/a> <\/em>that you pause before buying something and ask yourself several questions<\/a>. He advises you to ask yourself how your preference for this purchase started, if the purchase is worth the time and money you spend on it, and if there\u2019s a better way you can spend your money. Answering these questions allows you to rationally think about your behavior and recognize if your purchase is due to a habit or due to what you genuinely need.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Paying Down Your Debts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve applied the first two methods to make sure you aren\u2019t taking on any more debt, then you can start paying off your existing debts. <\/strong>Michalowicz outlines two guidelines you should follow while doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alter Profit Distribution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you take out half of the money in your profit savings account each quarter for your personal use, 99 percent of that money should go towards paying your debts. <\/strong>Keep one percent for yourself so you can still feel rewarded for your success. Doing this keeps you from spending your tax money or salary on debts and further incentivizes you to keep your business stable and profitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Build Your Confidence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pay your debts in order from smallest to largest<\/strong>, rather than by interest rate. Pay minimums for all other debts, and use what\u2019s left to pay down the smallest one. This builds confidence in your ability to pay debts and makes paying them all off seem achievable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like much of the Profit First method<\/a>, this emphasizes how the average person thinks over what\u2019s the most logical. <\/strong>Paying your highest interest debts first makes more sense logically, but starting with your most daunting debts is far more likely to lead to you giving up. Instead, prove to yourself that paying back debt is possible and you\u2019ll do so more consistently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practical Guidelines for Paying off Debts<\/a><\/strong>

While Michalowicz explains how to approach the process of paying off debts, you might still want practical advice on how to manage your finances<\/a> while doing so. Dave Ramsey provides some practical tips in The Total Money Makeover<\/em><\/a>\u2014specifically, he explains how to prioritize debt payments in your finances, as well as how you can get started paying your debts<\/a>. 

1) If you have absolutely no cash on hand to start paying off even your smallest debt, then Ramsey emphasizes that you need to start selling your possessions. You\u2019ll have to make sacrifices, but he says it\u2019s all in service of having financial stability as well as<\/em> the things you want in the future.

2) In contrast to what Michalowicz recommends, Ramsey advises that you use more than just your profits to pay off your debts. In addition, he suggests you stop contributing to any retirement funds (like a 401(k)) and use that money to pay off debt. This is because debt has to be your first priority\u2014focusing completely on paying off debt over a few months means you\u2019ll be better off financially than if you\u2019d paid less debt off while still contributing to your retirement account. However, Ramsey does concede that if you\u2019re likely to be in debt for over 18 months then you should keep making contributions, since you won\u2019t be able to become debt-free in a short<\/em> amount of time. 

3) Finally, Ramsey suggests that maintaining an emergency fund should take priority over paying off debt. This means that if you have to use money from your emergency fund, you should fill it back up before you continue to pay off debt. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How common is business debt? What are some things you can do to reduce your company’s debt burden? Studies show that 79 percent of all U.S. small and medium companies are in debt, and that 58 percent of all U.S. small and medium companies are over $50,000 in debt. According to Mike Michalowicz, the author of Profit First, pulling out of debt begins with ruthlessly cutting your expenses. Here’s how to get out of business debt in three steps, according to Michalowicz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":52028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,79,31],"tags":[610],"class_list":["post-65306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-entrepreneurship","category-money","tag-profit-first","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Getting out of debt is crucial if you ever want to turn a profit. Here are three steps for getting your business out of debt.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getting out of debt is crucial if you ever want to turn a profit. Here are three steps for getting your business out of debt.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-04-23T23:06:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-02T00:11:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1162\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hannah Aster\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\"},\"headline\":\"How to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-23T23:06:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-02T00:11:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/\"},\"wordCount\":1156,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Profit First\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\",\"Entrepreneurship\",\"Money\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/\",\"name\":\"How to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-04-23T23:06:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-02T00:11:45+00:00\",\"description\":\"Getting out of debt is crucial if you ever want to turn a profit. Here are three steps for getting your business out of debt.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg\",\"width\":1162,\"height\":706},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f\",\"name\":\"Hannah Aster\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hannah Aster\"},\"description\":\"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing\"],\"jobTitle\":\"SEO Team Lead\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom - Shortform Books","description":"Getting out of debt is crucial if you ever want to turn a profit. Here are three steps for getting your business out of debt.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom","og_description":"Getting out of debt is crucial if you ever want to turn a profit. Here are three steps for getting your business out of debt.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2022-04-23T23:06:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-02T00:11:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1162,"height":706,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Hannah Aster","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hannah Aster","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/"},"author":{"name":"Hannah Aster","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f"},"headline":"How to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom","datePublished":"2022-04-23T23:06:40+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-02T00:11:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/"},"wordCount":1156,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg","keywords":["Profit First"],"articleSection":["Business","Entrepreneurship","Money"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/","name":"How to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg","datePublished":"2022-04-23T23:06:40+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-02T00:11:45+00:00","description":"Getting out of debt is crucial if you ever want to turn a profit. Here are three steps for getting your business out of debt.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg","width":1162,"height":706},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-get-out-of-business-debt\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Get Out of Business Debt: 3 Steps to Freedom"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f39f52830e4f7039a16e45d12354542f","name":"Hannah Aster","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0302cb2690b70a21639bc6873e587f42d39d02385b7e59d8efd0d3e000ae7681?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hannah Aster"},"description":"Hannah is a seasoned writer and editor who started her journey with Shortform nearly five years ago. She grew up reading mostly fiction books but transitioned to non-fiction writing when she started her travel website in 2018. When she's not writing or traveling, you can find Hannah working on home reno projects, crafting, or taking care of plants.","knowsAbout":["Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in professional and creative writing"],"jobTitle":"SEO Team Lead","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/hannah\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/empty-wallet.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65306"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65697,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65306\/revisions\/65697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}