Climbing out of debt can be a long and tedious process but there are a variety of things you can do cut down on the amount of debt you have. Losing debt is about the battle between income versus expense. The more income you have coming in and the less you have going out the more you have to contribute to paying off your debt. Here are eleven ways you can reduce your debt:
1. Create a budget
A budget is your one stop shop for controlling your personal finances. It will allow you to see where you are spending too much and where you can stand to save.
- 2. Review Your Luxury Services
If you are faced with a large cable bill at the end of each month you should consider downgrading. How many of those channels do you watch anyway? You may even consider cancelling your television service completely and making the switch entirely to streaming services to watch movies and TV shows if that would be cheaper.
- 3. Review Your Insurances
If you think your insurance payments might be the issue, you should shop around for better prices. If you bring down your payments, that more money in your pocket.
4. Home Phones
If you have a mobile phone and you live in an area with adequate coverage you should consider cancelling your land line service.
5. Food
Food costs really can add up if you are not careful. Try to limit the number of times every month that you eat in restaurants and try to prepare your own meals more often. Do not be afraid to hunt for sales and generic items.
6. Want vs. Need
Analyse your expenses in terms of wants and needs. Once you fulfil all your requirements look at your expenses that are luxury or entertainment items. You should cut some of them out if you want to eliminate your personal debt.
7. Libraries
Use your local library to its full potential before you head to bookstores or to DVD stores. See if you can read or watch the same things for free before you buy or rent.
8. Petrol
Do your best to conserve petrol. Try carpooling, walking, or biking if you can. When you run errands, plan your route so that it uses less petrol.
9. Drink Water
Try to drink water rather than juices or fizzy drinks. Water is free in restaurants and cheaper in your home than other beverages. Plus, it’s good for you.
10. Extra Work
If you need to supplement your income, try to find some seasonal or part-time employment.
11. Getting Help
If you have tried all these things and you still do not see an end to your debt on the horizon. You may need some extra help. Try to find an organisation like Consolidated Credit that can help you plan and give you advice to make your debt more manageable.
Try some or all these things to see how much you can save. Then use the extra money to put towards paying of your debts.