Thoughts on Debt

Now is the time to tighten the belt and to try and set aside some money each week for the future. How is it going? Overall, I do think that people are trying to save some money, but for many people they are not instituting the changes they need to survive. Many people I speak to on a regular basis are complaining about the prices on most items and are talking about cutting back, however, what I am finding is that most people don’t know how to even save some money. In speaking to a woman who has kids and works a regular retail job and so does her husband, she was talking about how even the discount stores are starting to charge really high prices for the everyday items and so she has stopped going to them. She was in the middle of having her lunch and was eating a pre made, store bought lunch in one of those little plastic containers, and I was thinking to myself, you can’t really afford to eat that for lunch. I could buy a pound of lunch meat and a loaf of bread and eat lunch for a whole week, on just what she spent on that one meal. People really need to realize that it is time to start making your own food, bringing leftovers for lunch, and saving money where ever you can. For instance, Food Lion has a commercial on TV that shows a mother and daughter looking at the ad and getting all excited about the $10 meals for four, premade at Food Lion. Now the mother was going to buy fast food. Well, fast food for four people would have run her about $20.00 at Food Lion she can get a spaghetti dinner for 4 for $10. Well, if you bought a box of pasta that costs about a buck (usually less) and another $3 for the sauce (it would be less if you made the sauce), so really you could make this simple dinner, which really only takes about 15 minutes to make for about $6 if you include salad and a drink. The point is, I guess that we really need to start thinking about making meals on the weekends and freezing them, things that are easy to fix and can just be thrown in the oven or something and we could save a huge amount of money. Also, shopping the sales and stocking up, and using coupons. These are all things that can start to add up to big savings. Get the whole family involved, have a weekend cook off and get the meals done for the entire week, plus reap the savings of not settling for fast food or premade, prepackaged meals. You must eat, but you must find ways to cut back the cost of it all. Cutting back means changing our lifestyles and our sloppy ways. We know we will have to eat all week, so we need to learn to plan ahead.

Well, we have already arrived at the time and place that we should have been saving for all these years, and here we sit with costs of everyday items rising daily and without a savings it seems near impossible to pay the bills much less save some money.  I am here to tell you it is completely possible to save money, but it does take work and a conscious mindset towards savings.

The first thing that you must commit to is that the money that you save on this and that must be put aside.  You can not take that money and spend it on extras, extras are out.  All the money that you save must be put away for a later need.

1.  Find a bank with interest and little or no fees, and don’t keep too many accounts open this can cost you more.  I have recently found that credit unions offer many more benefits from banks without losing a step.  My local credit union charges less in fees and also supplies me with more interest than any account I have seen of late.  This is savings + interest and is worth looking into.  Also there are banks that offer incentive programs with either cash back or one’s that will match your savings money or something.  Looking into your options is just one way to put a few extra dollars in your pocket.

2. If you often use credit cards, stop.  Consolidate your cards and pay them down or off.  I know this sounds like spending money, but it will save you a lot in costly interest and fees and leave you with less debt which is always good.  Shop around for the best rates you can find, these companies want your business and have the ability to offer you some really great deals.

3. Use coupons for everything.  There are coupons for oil changes, department store discounts, and restaurants and fast food.  Be sure to clip and save all coupons in an organized fashion.  These can really add up especially when they can be combined with sales and discount items.

4. Change all the bulbs in your home to energy saving bulbs.  Especially in the winter this savings will really add up.  Don’t pay retail for your bulbs, go online and find a deal.  You can get 13W bulbs for about $1.50 each so shop around.  This is a big savings over the $4.00 per bulb that they are going for at Walmart.

5. Find more energy efficient ways to heat and cool your home.  Wood is an excellent source of heat and if you have a fireplace on your house it can serve as a good source of supplemental heat.

6. Walk instead of driving.  If you are going somewhere local you can save on fuel costs and get some exercise.  As long as the weather is good take the kids or the dog.  Good bonding time as well.

7. Don’t over mow the yard.  With the cost of fuel being so high, allow the grass to be a little bit longer, and when you cut it, cut it really short to stretch out the time between mows.

You can find other money saving tips on the Consumer Federation of America website.  Just be sure to calculate out your savings and put that money aside.  You will be glad you did, it will add up.