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Personal Finance
 

Debt reduction ideas  

You must have a way of tracking your expenses. This will give you a clear picture of what you spend daily, weekly and/or monthly and aid you in reducing expenses where needed.  

 

1)   Accept the fact you are in debt and forgive yourself. If you are in denial, you are more likely to repeat the pattern. 

2)   Reduce monthly expenditures. Wherever possible cut the expenses to the bare minimum. 

3)   If you’re a person that makes several trips to the grocery store during the month, reduce the number of trips to once a month except for fresh vegetables. This will reduce the number of times you have to put gas in the car. Today, it costs more just to leave the house to get groceries as well as going to work. If you are an online shopper, order very less times, say weekly once on a decided day. Keep a list of all items till that day approaches. This way, you can review the list and delete unnecessary items before ordering online. This can reduce impulse buying. 

4)   As an option, temporarily get a second job for supplemental income. If married, this should be the person that has the ability to generate the most income. I do not recommend any Multi-level Marketing opportunities. Don’t fall for the online jobs or work from home jobs. They are not real. You will end up losing money in them. There is no home typing job also. It is fake. 

5)   For a single person in debt – if you are off on weekends, temporarily get a weekend job and put those funds towards the bills along with your regular income. 

6)   If you have a cell phone and a regular phone, re-evaluate having both phones. It can get expensive to have both unless the landline phone is bundled with your internet service. Maybe you can remove the regular phone and just use your cell phone if most people call you on that number. 

7)   If you are a stay at home mom, in my opinion the kids should not be going to day care. This is an unnecessary expense. 

8)   Be sensible about your expenditures when it comes to your children. For example, a six-month-old baby does not need name brand clothing. They need to be clothed. 

9)   Grooming expenses for adults: To be reduced to bare minimum. 

10)    Maintaining your vehicle is a necessity, but going to a car wash every week is not. You can wash your car at home. Re-evaluate how you are spending your money. 

11)    If you are a person that likes to go out to eat, reduce the amount of times per month you go out to eat. Begin cooking at home since you are buying groceries for the month. 

12)    Entertainment – whether it is going to the movies, bars or happy hour – these expenses add up. Watch movies on OTT. 

13)    Add up how much you spend for lunch when you are at work if you work outside the home. Consider taking lunch box from home.