Getting Debt Free – A Life Saving Plan
*Avoid going out for lunches. Pack a lunch. Do the same with that glass of wine after work or beer at the pub. A glass of wine might be $6.00 at a cocktail lounge. You can buy the whole bottle and have a glass at home for $9.00-not cheap wine, either! How much will you save? All of that extra money now should go toward your debt.
Make a note of the savings, send extra checks to the credit card companies whenever you can.
*If you are in debt, you can't afford a gym membership or personal trainer until your debt is paid off. Put on some sneakers and go for a run. Once the debt is gone, you can add the gym back into your carefully planned, new budget.
*Shop around for more affordable insurance, car and home. Make changes when necessary and save $$$.
*Contrary to common belief, neither cable nor satellite service is a necessity. If you are in debt, cut back to the minimum package until you can comfortably afford an elaborate cable package with hundreds of channels.
*Most of us will get by with the clothes in our closet. Shopping should not be considered a recreational activity at this point in our financial recovery. Neither should eating out be considered a social experience for now. Eat at home, wear what is already in your closet.
*If you have children, enlist them in your quest to put your house in order. You may think that you will embarrass your children by making them part of the solution. Actually, you'll be teaching them a valuable life lesson about responsibility. You'll also be teaching them that material "stuff" is not the important thing in life; the fact that you are together, fighting together to recover from poor spending decisions and learning together how to make better decisions, will serve them well as they grow up.
*Stop trying to keep up with friends who can afford to spend more than you. If you can't pay for your indulgences with cash, you can't afford the indulgences. Friends that you have to impress in order to keep them as "friends," aren't friends worth keeping. Here's another point that it wouldn't hurt your kids to learn early!
*This last point is important, so listen up! Never, ever grocery shop when you're hungry. You never know what might come crawling out of your shopping bag when you unpack it at home!
Every time you save money, send a good portion to pay off one of your debts, then put away a portion for emergencies. Don't forget to make extra payments to your highest interest rate credit cards; you are able to make more than one payment per month. Do it when you can!
If you stick to this plan, and keep paying down on your debt with the money that you don't spend on unnecessary, you will emerge a free person. You will also be proud that you conquered a problem that many people never get under control. Once you have done this, never, ever allow yourself to be put in an indebted place again.
