Looking for Extra Money to Pay off Debts? Here Are 10 Things You Can Do Today to Free Up Money:
I'm In Debt
- Posted:
5/30/2008
You've probably heard of the "debt snowball" or "pyramid" method of paying off your debts. (Start with your debt that has the lowest balance and put all extra money towards it until paid off - while paying just the minimum on everything else). If you want to start paying off your debts, this is one of the quickest ways to do so- and you feel good about it because as your debt gets smaller, you have more money to apply to larger debts. You'll start seeing the results of your efforts in no time at all.
If you want to free up additional money to help speed up the process even more, there are a number of things you may not have thought of that will result in reduced living expenses or additional cash. Just be sure you really apply that money to your debt, otherwise it's a waste!
1. Comparison shop for your communications stuff. You can often get a better deal if you bundle your cable, phone and internet service into one package. I did this and saved about $50 a month on average! (Also, getting a cable phone meant no more long distance, even when I call overseas)
2. Reduce your Cable TV service, especially during the summer months! Let's face it, we don't really need 600 channels, 5 premium movie channels, 22 music only channels and 12 pay-per-view stations do we? My husband is a big fan of TV, and had to have the biggest, most expensive cable tv package. After a few months, even he agreed that 90% of the stations never got watched and we reduced to a smaller, less expensive cable package.
3. Are you renting a modem from your cable internet provider? Some internet companies charge people $3 a month or so for the modem that you could buy for about $40. Same goes for the DVR - if you're renting one through your cable television company, chances are you can buy one from the store and use it with your cable service.
4. If your kids are draining the budget with activities, set an annual budget for sports and extra-curricular activities and let the kids choose which ones they participate in. When the budget limit has been reached, they're done until the following year.
5. Hang your clothes to dry instead of using your dryer all the time. For every hour you run the dryer it costs around 50 cents on your utility bill.
6. Turn the heat dry cycle off on the dishwasher and let them air dry. Run the dishwasher only when full.
7. Skip the drinks if you go out to eat. Soft drinks can cost around $2 when you order them at a restaurant, while alcoholic beverages are often $5 or more. Get water instead and apply those savings to one of your debts.
8. Buy a cheaper brand of pet food. I have a friend who buys pet food that costs more than the food I feed my children! If you can't stand to give Fido a generic brand, at least look for coupons and specials on some of the brand names. You really don't need the most expensive brand to give your pets a nutritional diet.
9. Buy things that come in "sets" or "cases" and that can be broken up into individual gifts. A case of wine gives you several hostess, thank you, housewarming or anniversary gifts with a single purchase.
10. Carpool. Whenever possible, ride with someone else to save on gas costs. This is great if you can arrange for a carpool to get to and from work, but consider times when you and a group of friends arrange to meet someplace, too. Taking turns being the driver means everyone saves.
Remember, the trick to this is to actually apply all the money you save from doing these types of activities to your debts!
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