Best-selling personal finance author and TV personality Suze Orman has been inspiring Americans for decades to make better money moves and avoid serious financial mistakes.

She's been as busy as ever since the pandemic hit, offering consumers advice on how to weather the hard economic times as prices and interest rates rise.

In a June 16 blog post titled “Are You Saving or Spending This Summer?”, Orman says she can understand the urge to live it up this summer after the relative confinement of the last couple years.

But with white-hot inflation rampant, she warns of the need to exercise some restraint when it comes to spending.

“The worst thing you can do right now is overspending on vacations and fun times this summer, leaving you vulnerable if a recession does hit.”

In times of hardship or prosperity, Orman will be the first to tell you that what you don't do with your money may be even more important than what you do with it.

Here are eight of her most fundamental tips for how to save — and spend — your money.

Don’t miss

• Too many Americans are still missing out on cheaper car insurance

• There’s a ‘perfect storm’ brewing in the multifamily housing market — here are 3 of the easiest ways to take advantage

• Even wealthy Americans are living paycheck to paycheck — here are 4 ways to bolster your finances and get out of that cycle.

1. Don't lease a car

In Suze Orman's words, "you should never, ever ever ever, lease a car."

If you lease, you'll sink your money into several years' worth of car payments and be empty-handed when the lease term is done.

Financing is a better option, but Orman says if it will take longer than three years to pay off the car, then it’s out of your price range.

Buying a used car is another way to go. Models that are just a few years old will have great safety specifications and the same audio-visual tech as a new car, at a fraction of the price.

2. Don’t let spending get out of control

Even people who normally spend responsibly take complete leave of their senses when special occasions, tax refunds or bonuses roll around. Orman blames a lack of planning and self-control — especially when it comes to giving gifts.