Time To Laugh A Little

Time To Get Back To Work People!

WOW, has it been a long time since I've visited and/or updated my blog...YES! It's been too long and I apologize to my regular readers for the long break. I'll try to pick things up again on a regular basis. This blog, while I hope it helps you, is really my own way of trying every measure possible to get out of debt that would otherwise eat me alive. I've noticed we've had some great visitors to the blog giving some great advice to go along with what I've said. I can't thank you all enough and you know who you are :).

These days when gas prices are absolutely killing us and everyone is scraping to get by, it is even more important than ever to be aware of our spending. I've heard of people quitting their jobs because the price for gas to commute along with childcare expenses is greater than what they make in salary. Can you imagine?Bottom line is, times are tough and we need to get tougher to beat them. This post is about finding all the ways possible you can help yourself get through the difficult financial times. Being a stay-at-home-mom myself, I'm sure I speak for many others out there when I say that it's hard to live on one income but there are tons of ways to make things better and a little easier. Put that brain to work and think of what might be even the simplest ways to make a little extra money. This will help to not only get through the gas price increase but also a little extra to help pay off those debts, which is what the main goal is long term! Some ideas are as simple as offering neighbors who don't have the time themselves to walk their dogs around for $5 or $10 See if you can mow a neighbors yard for an extra $30 a week. Maybe even take in a friend's child over the summer while they are out of school. The ideas are out there, you just have to get up and run with them and make it happen. I'll be trying out some of these ideas myself so take charge and get to work. WE can do this!

Give Yourself A Break

Sometimes I wonder if perhaps this is what got me into so much debt in the first place, but at the same time I cannot help feeling like we need just a couple of our own simple pleasures now and then. It's different for everyone. For some it's a pair of brand new shoes and others it is a night out to dinner and possibly a good flick. No matter what it is for you, I do believe it's important to indulge yourself now and then. The only trick is, don't put your simple pleasure on a credit card!! In my journey so far with trying to get out of debt I've realized that there is a lot of pride that comes in paying for things with cash instead of pulling out that ever so easy to use credit card. It's amazing how it starts to feel like free money after awhile.

Anyhow, what I basically am getting at with this post is to remind all of you readers that getting strict about getting out of debt should not also rob you of your simple pleasure. Indulge a little. Just remember to pay with cash and leave those stinking credit cards at home so you're not tempted to over do it!

Keeping Track Of How Far You've Come

At this point in the game it's a really good time to talk about tracking how far you've gotten with your debt management. One thing I do that I do believe is a great way to get more motivation to keep going is to keep track of the debt as it goes down. I keep a sheet, actually a note file on my computer, that shows me where I started with my total debt. I added up what I owe for every one of my credit cards and then I update it each month with the new balance and the amount I paid that month. It's a great way to watch your debt get paid down. It's very easy to feel like you're literally getting nowhere when you're trying so hard to pay off debt but trust me this will help you see it plain as day and you feel proud when you get to type in a lower amount each month for your total debt. It really does help and it will make you proud. Try it!

Another Informative Video

Using A Home Equity Loan To Pay Off Credit Card Debt

I've heard some talk recently about people wanting to sign up for home equity loans in order to pay off their high interest credit cards. I wanted to give some advice on the matter and let everyone know this is a VERY BAD IDEA! I'm only giving advice and not trying to tell anyone how they should handle their money but I wouldn't do it. If I did do it, I'd have to be pretty darn bad off with credit card debt and in way over my head. You're basically putting yourself at risk of losing your most precious asset if you end up not being able to pay the bill. I think we would all agree that being in credit card debt is bad enough without having to worry about losing your house on top of it BECAUSE of the credit card debt loan you took out against your house. Try to keep things as simple as possible and look at every possible resouce before you turn to your house. This, in my opinion, should be the very last resort! Managing money is not easy but if we don't learn, we'll never get ahead and we'll always be sinking further and further into debt. Think about it!

Carry Cash Instead Of The Cards...

I mentioned before about the great tip to leave your credit cards at home so you don't even have the option to add more debt to them and this tip goes along with that but I thought it was even better and worth mentioning on it's own. So many people these days use their debit cards instead of cash but it occurred to me that putting away every card you have, even a debit card can really help cut down your spending. The way this should be done is you should set a limit each week of the amount of money you think you will spend for that week. Calculate it all out or even go as a daily guide and then visit an ATM for only the cash you need. This way you won't be able to overspend because you won't have any other option in your wallet. To some it may seem very silly but each person is different and I believe in giving advice that can reach a large variety of people and their different personalities. Try it out and see what kind of difference it makes for you. Share your thoughts with comments below.