About Rachael
The story behind the work.
Rachael J Katz is a financial educator, author, and speaker who helps people make sense of hard financial decisions. Her perspective comes from her own life, from building businesses, and from years of turning confusing financial systems into choices people can understand.
Where it began
Rachael’s work began with a financial problem she needed to understand for herself. After graduating with more than $111,000 in student loan debt from a private for profit institution later sued for misleading marketing practices, she taught herself the federal student loan system from the inside.
In 2022, she received a full discharge under the federal Borrower Defense to Repayment program. The experience also changed the way she thinks about financial problems: before someone can move forward, they need to understand what is actually happening and what changes the answer.
What she built from it
In 2017, Rachael founded Key 2 Debt Free, her debt consolidation planning business. Since then her work has grown into two books, speaking, media, and financial education.
MBAFounder, Key 2 Debt FreeAuthor of Two BooksSpeaker
Author and speaker
Rachael has written two books, Welfare to Wealthy: A Single Mom’s Remarkable Rise to Riches and The Key: From Financial Survival to Financial Freedom. On stage she talks about money the way she lived it, plainly and without judgment.
How Rachael thinks
More information is not always the first thing someone needs. Often the first need is clarity.
- Understand the situation.
- Know what changes the answer.
- Decide what matters first.
- Find the right path forward.
Sometimes that means learning from Rachael. Sometimes it means a consultation with Key 2 Debt Free, or a referral to a professional who fits the problem better.
Want to talk with Rachael?
Speaking, media, books, or a question about where to begin: send a note and it reaches the right person.