Every Penny Counts
Debt is a wide spread epidemic that plagues the United States. Most families spend more than their monthly income, which puts them in dangerous territory-especially if something unexpected happens. The tricky thing about debt is that it happens so quickly. It seems that all of a sudden you are increasingly in debt. The reality is that it takes quite a bit of effort and time to get out of the debt that you so quickly accrued. The process of getting out of debt will take patience and dedication because one slip and you will be back under. Here are some of the best ways to get yourself out from underneath the burdens of debt:
Action Plan: Yes, it is important to make a plan of attack. Either right it down or type it out; you need to have a physical representation of what your goal is and how you will get there. It also helps if you keep it somewhere you will see it often (on the fridge, beside your computer, on your wall). Refer to it often and keep track of your progress in order to keep up your motivation and determination to finally get out of debt.
Eat In or Bring Your Lunch: This may seem trivial, especially to those who are extremely in debt. But every little bit helps; it adds up quickly. Just by limiting how much you eat out, you can save yourself quite a bit. To really increase your motivation, add it up. Figure out how much you spend a month on eating out and put that towards paying off your debt.
Garage Sales: This will not only declutter your house, but will give you a little bit of extra money. Make sure to put all proceeds towards your debt, if you can.
Just the Basics: Cut things out of your budget that are not necessities. Or even just downgrade services (phone, cable, and internet) until you can afford them. And again, put all of that extra money towards your payments.
Timely Payments: Just by making sure to make your payments on time, you will avoid any extra late charges and you will accrue less interest than if you didn’t make on time payments.
Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster: Easier said than done, right? Well, there are new methods/programs to paying off your mortgage exponentially faster-and it doesn’t even require you to make multiple payments each month. U First offers a program where every extra penny is used towards your mortgage payment. Once you have paid off your mortgage, just imagine how much extra money you will have to pay off your other debts. After this, you will soon be debt free.
Odd Jobs: If you have the time, look into doing some odd jobs. You don’t have to make a lot of money doing them. Anything will help. The important thing is to apply it to your monthly payments. You will be surprised at how quickly your debt diminishes when you pay more than just the minimum monthly payments.
Buy in Bulk: When buying food for yourself and your family, buying in bulk can save you bundles. To be safer, don’t buy fresh products in bulk because if you can’t eat them by the time they expire, you just lost some money. But dry goods and bathroom supplies are great to buy in large quantities-so long as you get them at a fair price.
Recycle: Again, this doesn’t seem like it will help too much, but ever penny counts, right? This is especially great if you have a large family who uses a lot of recyclables. Remember that for this to be beneficial for your debt payments, you will need to go to a recycling center rather than just putting it in the blue bins-this way, you can collect some money.
Carpool or Walk More: If you can reasonably walk to where you are going, by all means, do it! Especially since gas prices are continuing to rise, you can save so much money just by putting your legs to good use. People always want to save money, so they should be very eager to start carpooling to work as well.
The important thing is keep motivated. You can do this! Many people have done this before you; it is possible. And remember, it will be well worth the effort when you finally have financial freedom and less monetary-related stress.
Add comment April 20th, 2008
