In early 2015, my wife and I were close to $80,000 in debt, including student loans, credit cards, and one vehicle. Just 15 months later, we no longer have any credit card debt and have just over $45,000 left to pay off -- all on a combined income under $75,000.

No matter what anyone tells you, mastery over your money is possible if you're willing to work for it. Thanks to many different resources -- such as these money blogs, finance-related subreddits, and free ebooks about personal finance -- we've learned how to control spending and slash debt. You can too.

We know it isn't easy to find podcasts worth listening to, because a lot of them simply aren't good. That's why we've done the work for you. Need help with your own money situation? These podcasts will help. For real.

1. Radical Personal Finance

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Host: Joshua Sheats

Length: 45 to 75 minutes

Frequency: Scattered, about four per week

Description: Joshua Sheats is an extremely qualified financial planner who actively teaches everyday people how they can live a rich life while being smart with their money and planning for the future. His end goal is to teach you how to build financial independence.

This podcast is very informative and well researched; if you could only listen to one money-related podcast, I'd pick this one as a serious contender.

One of the best episodes is episode 43, which is called "My Plan For How I Would Become A Millionaire With a Minimum Wage Job at Walmart!" It's exactly what it sounds like. Give it a listen to see what this podcast is all about.

2. The Dave Ramsey Show

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Host: Dave Ramsey

Length: 40 minutes

Frequency: Three per day, Monday through Friday

Description: Dave Ramsey can be quite polarizing. On the one hand, he's great when it comes to money fundamentals. Newbies love him because he makes things easy to understand. He mainly focuses on getting out of debt ASAP, which a lot of people struggle with.

On the other hand, once you get out of that initial phase of "OMG money is scary," then you've pretty much outgrown him. He can be opinionated and his advice is often too generalized. Also, his money philosophy is heavily influenced by his Christianity, which can be a turn-off for some.

All in all, Dave Ramsey is great for absolute newbies. This show is highly recommended if you don't know how to make a budget or feel like you're drowning in debt.

3. Listen Money Matters!

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Hosts: Andrew Fiebert, Thomas Frank

Length: 40 to 60 minutes

Frequency: Every Monday

Description: Listen Money Matters! is a good next step after you've outgrown Dave Ramsey. They can be a bit too reactive at times -- they like to bash Ramsey and rant about how he's wrong -- but they offer great advice for those who aren't newbies to money anymore.

A quick heads-up: the hosts market themselves as down-to-earth and uncensored but some listeners may come away with different words in mind (like "brash" or "coarse"). We recommend giving them a try and arriving at your own conclusion.

4. Money Show Podcast

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Host: Paula Pant

Length: 60 minutes

Frequency: Every Monday

Description: This podcast is relatively young -- it launched in January 2016 -- but has already proven itself as a solid resource for those who struggle to master their money. Topic coverage is wide: budgeting, saving money, productivity, entrepreneurship, investing, and more are covered regularly.

Perhaps the best thing about the show is the energy between the co-hosts, though one just left at the time of this writing. Still, Paula herself brings an uplifting and inspirational mood that makes this podcast an easy one to listen to.

5. The Clark Howard Podcast

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Host: Clark Howard

Length: 75 minutes

Frequency: Once per day, Tuesday through Saturday

Description: This podcast is my top choice for finance newbies. His early episodes are good for learning basic concepts and tips on how to be smart with your money, whereas his later episodes are more about getting good deals and avoiding ripoffs.

I would listen to this one as a supplement to another money podcast, as it can get repetitive at times, especially if you binge-listen to several episodes at once.

6. Jill on Money

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Host: Jill Schlesinger

Length: 75 minutes

Frequency: Every Friday

Description: Jill on Money is a played-straight, no-nonsense podcast that's all about helping listeners/callers take back control of their financial lives. The topics that are covered in each episode are complex, but that's the point: she tries to break it all down in ways you'll understand.

I wouldn't recommend this one for newbies, but as soon as you reach the intermediate of dealing with money, give it a try. Jill is a senior business analyst and it shows in the way she communicates. If you want something more down-to-earth, you may want to look elsewhere.

7. Money for the Rest of Us

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Host: J. David Stein

Length: 30 minutes

Frequency: Every Wednesday

Description: Money for the Rest of Us is a lesser-known podcast, which is a shame, because it's beyond fantastic. Every once in a while it touches on subjects that aren't exactly personal-finance-related (e.g., cryptocurrency) but it's great otherwise.

It can be a little advanced at times for those who are "financially ignorant," which is why we ranked it this low on the list. But once you're comfortable with the fundamentals of money, this podcast will boost you to the next level.

8. Dough Roller

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Host: Rob Berger

Length: 30 to 60 minutes

Frequency: Scattered, about one per two weeks

Description: The Dough Roller is a money blog that added a podcast to its repertoire in late 2013. Since then, it's been a wonderful resource for learning how to get the most value out of your money. It covers a whole bunch of things: debt, savings, earning more, retirement, cutting expenses, and more.

The unreliable schedule can be a bit frustrating if you like to plan which podcasts you're going to listen to and when, but that's just a small concern that doesn't outweigh the benefits of this podcast.

9. The Mad Fientist

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Host: The Mad Fientist

Length: 40 to 60 minutes

Frequency: One per month

Description: The Mad Fientist -- a play on words, as FI stands for "financial independence" -- is nice because it's a podcast built on interviews rather than straight advice-giving. His guests are all smart and financially savvy.

This podcast is all about providing you with the knowledge and motivation necessary to achieve quick financial independence and early retirement. It also covers a few topics that are only relevant to early retirees, like how to overcome boredom and what to do to fill your time.

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Host: John Pugliano

Length: 20 to 30 minutes

Frequency: Scattered, about one per week

Description: Wealthsteading is all about hard work, discipline, and steady growth over the long term. There are no get-rich-quick schemes here. No shortcuts. That being said, this podcast sort of assumes you already have a handle on the basic aspects of your money.

Or in other words, this is the kind of podcast you'd listen to once crushing debt is no longer a concern, when you're comfortably maxing out your retirement accounts, and now want to take it to the next step, hence why it's so far down on our list.

Don't Let Money Control You

For most of us, money is our master. We can't live the life we want to, because the chains of debt and consumerism keep us tied down. The good news is that there's a way out, and the above podcasts show you how.

But if you want to speed up the process even more, we recommend checking out these TED Talks on how we view money. And if you're a complete newbie to money management, we recommend starting with one of these easy budgeting apps.

Good luck!

Which of these podcasts sounds most intriguing to you? Are there any that we missed that belong on this list? How are you doing with your own journey towards mastering money? Let us know in the comments below!