How I Stretch My Dollars...and You Can, Too
I'm In Debt
- Posted:
4/16/2008
Trying to pay off excessive older debts - credit cards in particular, is one of the hardest things you'll ever do (unless of course you inherit a ton of money or win the lottery). The main reason it's so hard to get rid of debt is because we have ongoing living expenses that have to be paid. In other words, our current living expenses, for most of us, use up most of our paychecks, and keeping up with the minimum payments is a chellenge itself- let alone trying to pay MORE than the minimum amount due!
I have been there. In fact, despite the fact that I've paid off my credit card debt (which was ridiculously high, let me just tell you!) I still struggle from time to time because of my college loans. They never seem to go away no matter how long or much I pay on them!
I have found a few ways to stretch our family income, and it seems to help for the most part. I also recommend using the snowball method (or
pyramid) of paying off your debts. It's how I paid off my credit cards and I swear by it. It generates momentum and you start to see results of your efforts rather quickly, which is what you need to keep going. It's sort of like dieting- if you can lose the first 5 or 10 pounds in a couple weeks, you're more motivated to stick with the diet and exercise routine! Paying off debt is the same way... if you can see results quickly, you'll be motivated to stick with the plan and keep going.
Here are a few ideas to stretch your dollars- while they won't make you rich, they will help you make ends meet:
* Recycle soda and beer cans. I will admit we never used to do this, because it was too much work in our minds for what little bit of money we got back from the effort. We do it now though, and it's pretty simple and painless once you get started. We don't have much room in our kitchen or utility room to store all the empty bottles and cans, so we put a big plastic bin with a lid on the deck. When a bottle is empty, I rinse it quick and toss it into the bin outside. Once a month, I toss the entire bin of cans and bottles into my trunk or back of husband's pick-up, and take it with me when I do the grocery shopping. It takes me about five minutes to push all the empties into the recycling machines, and then I use the recycling receipts like coupons for my grocery bill. I routinely save between $3 and $10 a month doing this, and more if we happen to have friends over for a night of cards! I realize it's not a TON of money, but we're looking at methods to reduce your expenses or generate a few extra dollars here and there, to add up over time.
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Use the recommended amounts for your soap products (or even a bit less). You'll get much more use out of each bottle of laundry detergent or hand soap, and have to buy it less frequently.
* Save all of your loose change and roll it once a month. I think most people probably would be surprised at how much money they have in loose change over the course of a month. In our family, we typically save about $50 a month, just from rolling the change. What you do with it is up to you- maybe this will become your entertainment fund, or pay your phone bill, or give you gas money. If you didn't toss your change into a bucket each night though, chances are you wouldn't have that extra $50. Easy and painless way to get some extra money each month. Will you really notice the change is missing from your wallet or purse?
* Consider dropping your cell phone service. I know, some of you probably have phones attached to your ears 24/7, but it's not a necessity. You're wasting a ton of money if you have one of those $50-$100 a month plans with all the bells and whistles- you just don't need it. If you're serious about paying off your debts and getting into a better place financially - switch to a prepaid cell phone. Put a few dollars on when you run low on minutes, and learn to use the phone when you need to- not just to chat to someone on your lunch hour.
* Shop Smarter.
Plan for work lunches so it costs under $2 a day. Use coupons and shop the sale items as much as possible. Cut back on the amount of groceries you buy, you can probably really do without most of the snacks you buy. Remember to check yard sales for items before buying them new, and visit eBay and other online auctions to buy things at discounted or used prices.
* Gym memberships are rarely a necessity. I'm all for living healthy lifestyles and getting the proper exercise. I just don't think we need to spend $30 a month to do it! If you're not a professional athlete, chances are, you can get enough exercise around your home and outdoors - and most of it is free. If you really enjoy a piece of cardio-equipment, or a weight set- make a one time purchase to have it at home and it will pay for itself over a few months of use. (if you use it!) Remember you can walk and jog outside, ride a bike, participate in sports... all for free. Having an extra $30 a month or so can really add up over the course of the year and help you pay off debt faster.
* Download single songs from iTunes and other music sites instead of paying full price for a full cd. Most of us only like one or two songs off the CD - why buy the whole thing?
* Eat at home more and use up your leftovers. If you can't bare to eat the same thing two nights in a row - just freeze leftovers and use them later.
* Cancel unused memberships, and crazy phone services you probably don't even use. There are still places around the country where the phone company charges $3 a month for call waiting, $5 a month for voice mail, $2 a month for 3 way calling... etc. Do you really need those things? Reduce your phone service to the basics and pay less. If you've got memberships to video, game, book clubs, etc - and find that you aren't using them - cancel the memberships and save some money there as well.
None of these things will turn you into a millionaire. But if you can use several of these tips to reduce how much you pay for your current living expenses, you'll have more money available to pay off your debt- bringing you closer to living debt-free.
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