When you’re in debt, your quality of life is anything but good. Unfortunately, getting into debt is easy. You buy a home, purchase a new car, and buy things you otherwise couldn’t afford on credit. You move along fine until one day you realize that every cent you make is going right back out the door to pay your bills. The good news is that you don’t have to live your life this way forever. There are ways to pay off your debt and live comfortably.
Reducing Your Household Expenses
In most cases, the average person spends more than they have to on their utilities. If your electric, gas and water bills are on the rise, look for ways to cut back on usage. Reducing your consumption is easier than you may imagine. Take shorter showers and turn the water off while brushing your teeth. Run only full loads of dishes and laundry. With regard to the electricity, turn off unnecessary lights and replace the bulbs with energy-efficient LCDs. Use your appliances late at night and turn off the television. Lowering your gas bill is easy, too. Replace your dial thermostat with a new digital model with presets that let you change the temperature during the day to a much lower setting while everyone is away.
Bundle Services
Bundling services provides a great way to save money without compromising. You probably already have cable, internet, and phone services; and probably through different companies. However, you’re missing out on a lot of savings. Many companies offer a substantial savings when you use bundle all of your services under their programs. The same applies to your homeowners and auto insurance. Shop around and check the rates of other insurance companies like AcceptanceInsurance.com to see if they offer a discount for bundling the services together.
Using Cash Only
With automatic payroll deposits being the norm, most people use their debit cards for everything. It’s a bad habit of convenience that’s sapping your extra cash from your account without notice. One way to avoid spending your bill money is to pay yourself an allowance in cash each week. When you run out of money, you simply stop spending until the next week. It’s a great way to teach you how to live within your means and to make you aware of how much everything costs.
Reversing Your Debt
Debt is something that’s almost unavoidable. However, outside of owning a home, personal loans and credit cards are things you can eliminate. The best way to start reducing your debt is to stop making purchases on credit. For instance, if your vehicle is older, don’t replace it just because it needs a little work, make the repairs. The repairs may cost a lot at the time, but by comparison, a thousand dollars or so for the year, versus a large monthly payment for many years, is more cost-effective. If you want a new car, save up for it. This way you’ll acquire something of value that you own outright.
Spend Less on Your Essentials
Chances are good that you live in an area where there’s more than one supermarket. It’s time to take advantage of the savings this offers you. Unbelievably, the shopping centers don’t always have the same products on sale. What this means is that you can go to multiple stores and achieve a large savings. Double down on your efforts and make sure to bring along your coupons, too. You may spend an extra hour or so by going to several stores, however, the savings are well worth your time and effort.
Debt is something that’s crippling. It prevents you from enjoying even the simple things in life. Luckily, you can change your current status and achieve your goal of living debt-free.
Nickida
Nickida is a first-generation Trinidadian American wife and mother of four. She enjoys sharing recipes from her childhood growing up in Trinidad with her readers. Nickida has a son with Autism and shares posts around traveling with a child with special needs to help other families like her own. She loves television, movies and is a true 80's baby.
Follow Me:
