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In Part 1 of my get out of debt post, which is actually Part 3 of the Spend Less Have More Series (confusing, huh?), I outlined exactly what I’ve done to reduce my own debt by 67%. In this post I’m going to explain how to stay out of debt and how to manage your finances while you are paying off your debts and beyond.

First of all, in order to truly take control of your finances, you need to evaluate your current spending habits and trim off the excess. In addition to the methods I taught you in the Save Money on Groceries and Save Money on Electricity posts, there are a few more things you can do.

1. I want you to start tracking every cent you are spending over the course of a month. You will probably want to do this much longer than just a month once you see how much of an eye-opener this is. Set yourself up a simple spreadsheet or even just use a notebook and make note of everything you are spending. Most expenses can fall into one of the following categories:

Rent/mortgage
Car loan
Visa
Store Credit Card
Line of Credit
Electric Bill
Cable
Internet
Phone
Groceries
Insurance
Entertainment
Savings
Other

The goal here is once you see what you are spending in these areas, you want to reduce the frivolous categories, like “other,” which includes money-wasters like takeout, morning latte’s, impulse buys, etc, and put more money into the debt categories, and eventually the savings category.

2. Need? Or Want?

Before you haul out the debit card (because you don’t use a credit card anymore, remember?) you should ask yourself whether you really need the item or if it’s just a want. Better yet, wait a couple of days and see if you still think you need the item.

3. Can I Afford It?

Now that you are paying off (or have paid off) your credit cards, you are not going to use them anymore, except if it will benefit you financially. In other words, if you don’t have enough cash to buy it, or enough to pay for it within 30 days before interest is charged – you don’t buy it. Simple as that. Save up for it if it’s that important. Of course, this doesn’t apply to life-essentials such as medical care, housing, heat, food and water. But if it’s not required to survive, it’s really not an emergency, now is it?

4. Another point worth mentioning here is consolidation loans. They aren’t for everyone, but in some situations they can really help. Essentially, if you have several debts that have a high interest rate, find a bank or company that does consolidation loans and get a loan to pay off all of those smaller high-interest debts and have one monthly payment with lower interest rates. I did this a few years ago with a high-interest credit card that I owed way too much on and it really helped.

Now you have the whole plan for saving money, getting out of debt and staying that way! If you follow this plan and stick to it, it really works. And believe me, it feels so good to be in control of your money and your life again!

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I’ve saved the best for last. This one is a long-term strategy, but it also has the best bang-for-your-buck.

If you really want to save money, you need to 1) rid yourself of your consumer debt. And 2) keep it that way forever! When I say consumer debt, I am referring to a credit card debt, lines of credit, personal loans, car loans, etc. Pretty much everything but your mortgage.

Photo by materialboy

As a society, it seems that we’ve been programmed to believe that debt is a necessary part of life. Everyone has debt and there is no way to survive without it. HOGWASH! We simply need to evaluate what is truly important to us, learn to have patience and work toward our goals and have the will-power to see our plan through.

“But I’m so far in debt, I’ll never see the light!” you say.

Well, guess what? 18 months ago I owed $35,473 in consumer debt. Today, that balance is $11489! That’s a 67% reduction! I’m well over halfway there. If I can do it, so can you!

So, how did I do it? What you need to do is list out all of your credit debt from smallest balance to highest balance. Beside each, write in your current monthly payment. For example:

Macy’s Card	$1200	$50
Visa	$2300	$75
Car Loan	$8700	$350
Line of Credit	$11000	$300

OK. Now, an important point to note here is that (for credit cards especially) making the minimum monthly payment only will never ever pay off the debt. You’re barely paying the interest. We are going to do this part of the time, but you will see that it will work to pay these debts down very quickly anyway. Read on.

So, with the above example, what we are going to do is work at eliminating these debts, one by one, starting with the smallest one.

• First you are going to put as much as you possibly can spare on the Macy’s card while making the minimum on the others. Make frequent payments on this Macy’s card – if you get an extra $20, put it on there right away. At the very minimum, pay as much as you can every payday.

• As soon as the smallest debt (in our example, the Macy’s card) is paid, get rid of it. Cut it up. Store credit cards are evil! The interest rate is usually anywhere from 18% to 28%! You don’t need it.

Photo by SqueakyMarmot

• Now, I want you to make note of what you were paying on your Macy’s bill each month. Let’s say it was around $75. (In addition to the $50 monthly payment, you were able to put around $25 extra on it each month.)

• Your next step is to take that $75 that you have been paying on the Macy’s card and put it on the Visa, IN ADDITION to the regular monthly Visa payment. So you are now putting $150 on the Visa, plus any extra that you happen to get your hands on.

• Now, once Visa has been paid off, you may not want to cut it up if it is your only credit card. It is good to have a credit card for emergencies and once you learn Part 2 of my plan, for occasional use. So let’s put the Visa away where you can’t get at it easily. Some people suggest freezing it in a big block of ice in your freezer. That way you’ll be less apt to fall into the trap of impulse buying. You could put it in a safe deposit box, a safe, hide it somewhere, whatever works for you. Just don’t carry it around everywhere you go.

So no we now have Macy’s and Visa paid off. Are you starting to feel good about this? Exciting, isn’t it?

• Next we are going to do the exact same process with the car loan, and then with the line of credit. Take the $150 plus whatever else you can spare and add it to your car loan payment. (You may not be able to do this yourself online or at an ATM, but you can go to the bank, or call them, anytime you want and tell them you want to put an extra principal-only payment on your loan.)

By the time you get to the Line of Credit, you will be putting at least $500 in addition to our regular $300 on it every month! That is going to be paid off in no time! And guess what? Believe it or not, this becomes rather addicting after awhile! I know that I started to get really into this – the first thing I do as soon as I get paid is put as much as I can on the debt I am working on. It feels so good to watch that balance go down every month!

This really works, guys. I have paid off almost all my debt (close to $24,000 in 18 months by trimming my spending and following this exact plan. In less that a year from now I will be 100% debt-free, excluding my mortgage! (But I have a plan for the mortgage too! )

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I explain where to go from here.

Any Comments, Questions, Suggestions are welcome!

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Next in our Spend Less Have More Series, we are going to look at ways we can save money on utilities. We all pay for electricity, phone, cable, internet and home heating. There are a lot of simple things we can do to cut our utility bills by at least 25%.

7 Ways to Save Money on Electricity:

• Ceiling fans, if used properly can really help cool or heat your house. Hot air rises, so in the winter you want the fans blowing the warm air down into the room. In the summer, change the direction of the fan and use them to draw the air up. By doing this you will be able to turn your heat or air conditioner down a couple of degrees and still be comfortable. Since heating and air conditioning are your biggest energy users, this can save you at least a couple hundred dollars a year.
• Turn it off! When you aren’t using something – turn it off. Turn off the lights when you leave a room, turn your computer and monitor off when you are done with it for the day (use the stand-by or hibernate modes for shorter breaks throughout the day) You’ll be surprised at how quickly the energy savings will add up.
• TURN THE TV OFF! TVs and computers are the number one energy wasters. When everyone is finished watching television, turn it off.
• Replace all of the light bulbs in your home with compact florescent bulbs. The cost a little bit more to buy, but they use a quarter of the electricity that regular bulbs use. And they last up to 10 years, so the higher initial purchase price is worth it. I actually have received several of my compact fluorescents for free from various home shows, power company promotions, etc. Check around. You may find some deals or rebates in your area.
• I very never use my clothes dryer in the summer, and only occasionally in the winter. Put up a clothesline in your backyard and use it instead of the dryer whenever you can. I found this to be a substantial savings as most dryers are real power-hogs!
• Check your insulation throughout the house. Check for drafts around all windows and doors by holding a candle near the edges of doors and windows (watch the curtains! You don’t want a fire!) if the flame is flickering or going out, you have a draft. (Another way I’ve seen people do this is with a piece of Kleenex – if it flutters you have a draft) Anywhere that you find a draft, no matter how slight, install or replace the weather-stripping. Caulk around the windows, and consider using the shrinkable plastic kits on your windows too. Make sure there is lots of insulation in your attic too. A lot of heat escapes through the roof.
• Long Term Planning- Consider converting your house to Wind or Solar Power. The potential savings are truly in the thousands over the long term. Converting your house into a solar powered home does not have to be complicated or expensive. For more details on converting your home to wind / solar power, visit Solar Powered Home.

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image by annia316

All we seem to hear about these days is the current economic crisis. The news is getting more and more worrisome every day. In times of economic downturn many people are re-thinking their spending habits and looking for ways to save money any way they can. So I thought that a series on ways to save money on everything from gas to groceries to running your business would be a timely and useful series right now.

So, here is the first post in the “Spend Less Have More” series:

5 Ways to Save Money on Groceries

1. Always make a list - I keep a running list in the kitchen of groceries we need. As soon as I use the last of something I write it on the list. Try to stick to the list when you are shopping. This will eliminate impulse buys and save you money on things you don’t need.

2. Have Lunch First - Never go to the grocery store hungry! You’ll end up with a cart full of high calorie expensive snacks because everything just looks so yummy when you’re hungry.

3. Buy in Bulk - certain items are staples in your kitchen. They have a long shelf life and you always need them. Buy these items in large quantities when they go on sale. Things like flour, salt, spices, bathroom tissue, soap, toothpaste, peanut butter and shampoo are all things that I like to stock up on when they go on sale.

4. Go Old-School! - making things from scratch does take longer, but it is so much healthier and A LOT cheaper than the convenience items. For example, a loaf of bread where I live costs around $2.00. I can make a loaf of fresh multigrain or whole wheat bread in my bread maker for about $0.29. It takes me less than 5 minutes. Another example - I saw Rice Crispy Squares at the store for $2.29 a box. I can make a batch that has twice as much in it for less than $0.35.

I also make my own laundry detergent. For about $7.00, I get enough ingredients to last a year of making laundry soap.

5. Check the Sales and Use Coupons - But do it the right way. I check the sales flyers each week looking for things that are already on my list or that I know I use alot of. I jot down mo my list which store has the item for the best price, then I know where to buy it. I don’t make a special trip across town to save 10 cents, but I will make a note to stop in and get the item when I am in the area anyway.

Coupons - same deal. Only save the coupons for items that you normally buy anyway. Just because it’s on sale or you have a coupon doesn’t mean you need it! And you’re not saving anything if you weren’t going to buy it in the first place.

These are a few of the things I do on a regular basis to save money on day-to-day purchases. What about you? What tips do you have for saving on groceries and household items?

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