This is an excerpt from Simone Milasas’ book Getting Out of Debt Joyfully. Simone is the founder of Joy of Business as well as the Worldwide Coordinator for Access Consciousness® which is now in 170+ countries.

Editor’s note: This is one person’s experience and should be treated as such. For more articles about money and finances, click here.

Simone Milasas was $187,000 in debt when she realised she needed to make a change. That’s a lot of money, and she had pretty much nothing to show for it. While Simone enjoyed having lots of jobs and travelling around the world, she didn’t have a house or investments or any awareness of how much debt she was really in.

With the help of some of the tools listed below, she was totally out of debt within two years.

Tool #1 for having money: the 10 per cent account.

One of the first important money tools I would like to give you is putting away 10 percent of everything you earn, 10 per cent of every single dollar, euro, pound, or whatever currency you create. You are not setting it aside to pay bills with. You are not saving it for a rainy day. It is not for when you run out of money. It is not to pay a big bill that is upcoming. It is not to help a friend out. It is not for buying Christmas presents. It is for none of those things!

You are putting it away as an honouring of you.

People say, “I’ve got bills to pay! How can I put away 10 per cent of my income? I have to pay the bills first.” But, here’s the thing: if you pay your bills first, you will always have more bills. When you pay the bills first, the universe says, “Oh, okay. This person wishes to honour their bills. Let’s give them some more bills.” If you honour yourself by setting aside 10 per cent first, the universe says, “Oh, they are willing to honour themselves. They are willing to have more,” and it responds to that. It gives you more.

Setting aside 10 per cent is gifting to you. It’s about you being grateful for yourself. When I first did my 10 per cent account, I was doing it grudgingly because Gary had suggested to do it. The 10 per cent account will not work if you do it from the point of view of, “This book or person said to do it.” You have to do it for you. You have to do it to change the energy you have around finances and the energy you have around money. Not just because I said so and you read it here in this book. Start making the demand to create a different reality.

Ask, “What would it take for this to be a choice for me and not a necessity?” What is the worst thing that can happen? You spend it? But you cannot do it from the point of view that you are going to spend it. After around three or four months of starting my 10 per cent account, the energy of money changed for me. I no longer had this panic about money. How many of you have a panic about money, or a stress about money, and that has become more normal to you than not? If you look at the energy of this, it’s contractive; it’s like throwing the depressing party that money doesn’t want to show up to. Money follows joy. Joy doesn’t follow money.

What I recommend is you start it today. Even if you have a whole pile of bills. Even if you’ve only got $100 in your wallet and you are thinking that you have to buy the groceries and so on. Start it today. The thing is, this is not logical or linear. You can do the maths around it, but this is not computable. Energetically, the universe starts to contribute to you as well and you start to have money show up in the most random places.

Somebody told me she keeps putting money into her 10 per cent account and then when the bills come in, she uses that money to pay off her bills. She said, “I pay all my bills in full every month, which is great, but I want to change the priority from paying bills to putting that money into my 10 per cent account, and keeping it there, as a way of honouring me.” She asked, “How do I stop running out of money between paychecks?”

I said, “My question would be: How many conclusions have you gone to that you will not have the money to pay the bills if you don’t use the 10 per cent account?”

The logical point of view might be, “Well, I have to pay the bills, and the only money I have is the money in my 10 per cent account, so I have to use that.” I am asking you to not function from the logical point of view. This is where choice comes in. I’m inviting you to have the courage to demand, “You know what? I’m not spending my 10 per cent account.” And discover what else is possible for you to create.

At one point, the balance due on one of my credit cards was extremely high. I had three times the amount due in my 10 per cent account, so I knew I could pay off the balance on my card if I chose to. I did not do that.

Instead I looked at what energy that would create for me if I used the money in my 10 per cent account. I got the sense of that energy, and then I looked at what it would create if I did not do that and instead demanded that I create and generate the money to pay off the credit cards. For me, that second energy of creating more to pay off the cards felt like a lot more fun.

So, that’s what I chose.

Tool #2 for having money: carry around the amount of cash you think a rich person would carry.

How different would you feel about your life if you saw a big wad of cash every time you opened your wallet or purse instead of a lot of blank space and some scrunched up receipts? What if you enjoyed having money in there? Carry around the amount of cash that you think a wealthy person would carry.

I travel a lot, so it is really fun for me to have my cash in different currencies. I also have a gold coin in my purse. It makes me happy to have it there. It makes me feel abundant with money. For me, this works.

What would work for you? What would be fun for you? What makes you have a sense of wealth?

The “script” that could save you major dollars every month. Post continues after audio.

I like to have at least $1,000 on me at all times. I like to have a bottle of water with me at all times. I like to have a cold bottle of wine in the fridge at home. These things make me happy; they’re joyful for me. They provide for me the sense that I’m creating my life. What gives you that sense that you are creating your life that if you actually chose it, would create a different financial reality for you too?

Some people balk at the idea, thinking, “What if I get mugged, or lose my wallet or purse?” I had a young friend who carried about 1800USD on her at all times and lost her purse. It wasn’t very nice for her at the time, but after that, she was much more willing to be aware of her money!

If you are worried something like that might occur for you, my question would be, “How much money would you need to carry on you so that you are willing to be aware of it at all times?” When you carry around a large enough amount, you will suddenly become willing to be way more aware of your money; you will become conscious of where it is and what you need to be aware of so that it doesn’t get stolen or lost.

If you avoid having money on you or in your life because you think you will lose it or it will be stolen from you, you will never allow yourself to have money at all. You have to be willing to have money and you have to be willing to enjoy it without a point of view.

Tool #3 for having money: buy things of intrinsic value.

I have purchased lots of gold and silver with my 10 per cent account and it’s fun for me. I have a safe in my house where I keep a lot of my gold and silver. If I ever get the feeling that I don’t have money, I will go and look in the safe and realise, “Oh, I do have money.” That’s the sort of thing the 10 per cent account can do for you.

Buying items of intrinsic value (that means that by the nature of their material they have monetary value) is a way to enjoy having money, and to also have liquid items (liquid means easily sell-able for cash) in your life that will maintain or increase their value over time. Things like gold, silver or platinum can be bought in ounces, kilos or coins.

Purchasing antiques or antique jewellery can be a good investment too. They retain their value over time, unlike modern furniture or costume jewellery which may look good, but immediately lose a large proportion of their retail value once purchased. Things like sterling silver flatware are great liquid assets because they are aesthetically beautiful items you can actually use which will contribute to creating a feeling of wealth and luxury in your life. Isn’t it much nicer to drink champagne out of beautiful crystal, or a sterling silver goblet rather than plain glass or plastic? I know it is for me!

You don’t have to have thousands and thousands of dollars in your 10 per cent account to start buying things of intrinsic value either. You could start with buying a silver teaspoon to stir your coffee with, and add from there. Just make sure, whatever you do or buy, that you follow what is joyful for you. Educate yourself about things of value that would be fun for you to have in your life.

I have also bought diamonds and pearls with my 10 per cent account. I have always made sure that there was enough cash money in my 10account for me to continually have that sense of peace and the feeling that I have money.

How much cash would you need to have in your life to have a greater sense of peace and abundance with money? And what else could you add to your life to create a sense of aesthetics, abundance, luxury and wealth that expands every facet of your life and living?

Simone regularly appears in the media offering tools that influence greater possibilities in the areas of money, business, creativity, empowerment and improving your life. Getting Out of Debt Joyfully, her second book, invites everyone to change their money problems and create a unique financial future that works for them. You can find it here.