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Debt is stressful, scary and expensive
Getting yourself into debt is easy. You go out to dinner a lot. You don’t set a budget. Spending without thinking. And not communicating with your spouse about your money and life goals. Discover 7 things that helped us pay off over $10,000 of debt.
So how do you turn it all around and get out of debt?
You learn to be honest about money. How much you have, how much you make and how much you spend?
Learning how to budget is an important part of getting out of debt
If you are new to budgeting or need a bit of a refresher course Financial Peace University is an amazing place to start.
In fact, Financial Peace University was where my husband and I learned to communicate better about our financial goals and obligations.
7 Things that helped us pay off over $10,000 worth of debt:
1. Communication & Honesty
When you balance a budget on an irregular paycheck communication is important. For us every check is different so we need to stay on top of where our money is going and how hard it is working.
I find it beneficial to communicate with my husband the cost of groceries (which keep going up) or if an unexpected bill comes up. This way we both know where the money is going.
We both find it beneficial to talk about goals, losses and financial stresses so that we can support each other on this journey.
2. Help, Support & Education
It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a village and some great education to handle personal finance.
Financial Peace University will teach you the baby steps of personal finance. How to budget and how to snowball your debt for the best results.
Having the right education and support will help you achieve your goals.
3. Things We Have Given Up
When you want to achieve great things you need to give up a few things along the way. Learn the 21 things we gave up to help pay down our debt.
4. Side Hustles & Earning More
Sometimes you just got to work a little harder. Here are 50 great work from home jobs that can help you earn more.
I started this blog as a method of accountability and to share our frugality with others. It has also been a great income earner that has helped us pay down our debt.
If you are looking to start a blog and learn more about creating an income from home start here.
5. Meal Planning
So what happens when dinner isn’t ready and you have nothing taken out and prepared? In our house it would mean pizza delivery or ordering out.
This all costs extra money you could be saving by spending a few minutes each week scheduling a meal plan.
I take a few minutes every Sunday and write on our family calendar what we are having for dinner each day.
This one action means our meals are set and I know what to take out and fix everyday. No more drive thru, no more eating out and home cooking is always better than take out anyway.
If meal planning seems a bit daunting checkout the meal plan we use here for great meal selection and recipe ideas.
6. Live As Frugally As Possible
Living below your means is the definition of frugality and this means you will have extra funds to pay down your debt. So how do you live more frugally?
You make smart money choices. You choose to do without so that you can save money. You learn money saving tips to help you reduce your household expenses.
7. Keeping Your Eye On The Prize
The road to paying down debt is long and bumpy. Let’s face it being honest is better. Sometimes you will have days where you can’t put as much as you wanted into your debt snowball, other days you may be able to put more.
Keeping your eyes on the prize will help the journey go by faster. Knowing that you have a task to complete and your life will be that much better. Live like no one else, so you can live like no one else.
Other money saving frugal living posts you may enjoy:
- 275+ Frugal Living, Money Saving Tips To Help You Reduce Your Household Expenses
- Ways To Save Money That Won’t Cost You A Dime
- Secret Must Haves Of A Frugal Home
- 7 Things We Stopped Doing To Save Money
Updated April 13, 2020
