Overcoming Debt Together

My husband and I began getting serious about being debt free in 2007. We've paid off our vehicle and only have the mortgage left to pay.

It has been a lot of work digging ourselves out of debt but it was all worth it. We are so thankful to our friends and family who supported us through the years of us declining the dinner engagements, date night invitations and request to vacation together. We refrained from those things and others today, so that we could secure financial freedom for tomorrow.

Here are few tips that have helped us stay the course to becoming debt free.

1. Have a plan for paying down debt. Whether you choose to follow the principles of Dave Ramsey or any other financial guru, be sure to have a clear cut destination in which you will have arrived after all of the hard work and sacrifice.

2. Don't pay anyone to become debt free. I cringe when I hear that people tell me that they've paid X amount of $$ for some company to help them reduce their debts. You can do what you are paying these companies to do. Get on the phone and begin negotiating a payoff.

3. Fight through the pain of self deprivation. I order to pay down debt you'll either need the make more money or spend less. If you cannot make more or the more that you make still is not enough, then you will have to get used to doing without.

Doing without what?...You must do without anything that is not a necessary element to living. We reduced our spending to the bare minimum. For us the cable, landlines, luxury items and vacations were the first to go. The hardest to let go was the little things like picking up a bucket of $5 ice-cream every week.

4. Make a vow not to argue about money. You must support each other through any bad money decisions. It was bad money decisions that got you into this predicament and they don't stop just because you decide to become debt free. It takes time to change bad habits and learn new ones. So when he/she accidentally overdraws the account and it throws everything off track...fight the urge to blame. Be the support that your spouse needs to build up the courage to break free of the grips of debt.

Becoming debt free is hard work but not impossible to achieve. Be prayerful and seek the Lord for guidance in your situation.

She looketh well the the ways of her home and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Proverbs 31:27

6 Changes That Will Save You Money

Eliminate one item from your expenses~

Some of you may say "I can't cut back in any other areas of my spending". My reply to is "You must". There are no if and or buts about it. There is at least one thin in your budget that is not a need but a want and it has to go in order for you to survive what we may possibly be in store for economically.

Reduce current expenses~

Look for ways to get what you need cheaper than what you are currently paying. Ask for deals, look for deals and invest time in creating deals for yourself.

Utilize coupons and free after rebate offers~

Rite-Aid offers free after rebate items just about every week. If you focus solely on buying free after rebate items that you can use this is just another way that you can stretch your budget dollars.

Cook from scratch~

I cannot emphasize this point enough. Cooking form scratch was one of the first things that I began doing to reduce our budget. Not has it allowed us to reduce our budget from $550 per month to $300 per month, we also feel so much more healthier and energized in our daily lives.

Make it yourself~

In addition to cooking form scratch you can begin by identifying one item that you could make at home, such as laundry detergent or dishwasher detergent. You could make clay for your children versus buying it.

DIY (Do-it-Yourself)

Before paying for repairs do some research to see if you could possibly make the repair yourself. There are many resources that can be accessed free at your library and on the internet.