When it comes to my life, there may be a time in your life where you may begin to consider lifestyle choices and make difficult decisions.
Do you want to pay off debt? Do you want to invest? Do you want to travel? Are you considering your retirement? Family hardships that changes your life? Saving something that you don’t have enough money at this time?
We are all human and unless you were born wealthy, won the lottery or have wealthy parents taking care of you, going through some sort of financial hardship can happen.
But making decisions today, can save you money. But also wanting to eliminate debt and the willingness to change your lifestyle is very important.
It’s important to note that paying off your debt should be a priority, because eliminating that monkey off your back, will lead you to be more financially free.
There are so many tips that one can give but here are some things in my life which I have used to eliminate debt.
So, I’m going to discuss decision I made, which led to budget cuts that allowed extra cash flow.
CAR PAYMENT
I absolutely hate debt, but having a vehicle is important, if you have to commute. If you live in a metropolitan city and can ride a bike, that’s great. But if you don’t, you’ll need a car. May it be used or may it be new, you’re going to have to make a car payment.
But what it comes down to is what you are willing to pay.
This is where I see people make bad decisions. They get an expensive car beyond their means and most of their paycheck goes to their vehicle. Not just in paying their monthly car loan, there are gas expenses and maintenance expenses.
Lately, a trend I am seeing are people wanting a Tesla or a Range Rover. They can afford it, but it takes up most of their take home pay. Granted, if they live with mom and dad, that helps if they don’t have to pay rent.
I know someone who works with wealthy people due to her career and having the image of having money was important to her. But yet, she is incredibly broke. She’s barely making it and her money goes into that car.
For me, I needed a vehicle but no more SUV’s or anything expensive. I wanted a car payment that was low interest and not high in payments and a vehicle that would save me money on gas.
So, I went with a 2015 brand new Prius-C (purchased in 2016), the savings on gas is awesome because I tend to pay $13-17 when gas prices are low ($23 when they are high) but I average $27-$44 a month on gas.
My other vehicles, I would easily pay $37 at the pump just one time and would average $120 a month.
Oh and as for payments, I paid off my vehicle as quickly as I could.
SMART PHONE
I know a lot of people have an account with a major communications company and for many years, I have went with Verizon. I used to average close to $100 a month, $1200 a year and then I started using the same phone without upgrading and still would pay $60 a month. So, about $720 a year.
I switched to Ryan Reynold’s communication company, Mint Mobile. $200 a year! That’s a savings of $520! If I need a phone, I would just buy the phone myself. But I’m perfectly fine with my Sony Xperia XZ2 Premium. Sure, I got it back in 2018, but it’s perfect for my needs. I don’t need to get the latest Apple phone and the latest Samsung Galaxy.
BYE BYE SATELLITE/CABLE
I was getting tired of paying for a service that kept upgrading it’s monthly payments every year. With one company, I was paying $59 once a year and then a few years later, it became $110 a year.
I switched to Playstation Vue, but when Sony stopped their service, I began using YouTube TV. And of course, there is Netflix, Vudu, Hulu and other streaming services.
EATING OUT – DON’T DO IT AS MUCH (OR DON’T DO IT AT ALL)
I don’t eat out that often. If I travel, then I will splurge, but that is the only time I will eat out. Save money, eat at home. I know people who go out and eat everyday and that’s just too expensive!
DON’T SPEND MONEY ON A GYM MEMBERSHIP
I can easily work out at home. I can ride my bike, do pushups, do situps, do weights. Sure, you certain things take some investment, but those can last a lifetime if you take care of it. Why pay monthly on a costly gym membership that you may hardly use.
MAKE YOUR OWN COFFEE/TEA
I know there are people who visit a coffee shop daily and spend $6 a day. That’s about $180 a month. And one can end up paying $1,800-$2,160 a year, if you are those daily hardcore coffee/tea drinkers.
Go to Costco or the supermarket and buy some coffee beans or coffee grounds and make your own coffee!
PLANT YOUR OWN VEGETABLES
Are you paying a lot for vegetables?
One of the more fulfilling things to do is making your own vegetable garden. It brings a sense of peace and you save money and you also help friends or neighbors save money with the excess vegetables you grown. Some worry about water usage, but if you have a small garden, it’s not going to take too much water. And seeds for vegetables don’t cost that much.
It also can be a source of great quality time with family. It can be educational and they can take part in it in watching the vegetables grow.
If I have one tip on having your own vegetable garden. Don’t go overboard with the vegetables. Don’t plant too many seeds. Don’t plant too many vegetable plants (especially tomatoes).
And one more tip… Don’t purchase expensive seeds from other countries because in my experience, the climate and soil must be right and chances of success, for me, the success rate is like 25%.
FINAL THOUGHTS…
There are people who earn good money but don’t know how to manage it.
Making wise decisions with your money is important and what you do with it is important. So, it can lead to saving your money wisely.
A lot of people have a compulsive nature of wanting to spend. Some equate spending in order to achieve some sort of happiness, even if temporary.
May it be a luxury car that sucks up your money, leaving no extra money to spend. May it be a plethora of video games or movies that end up on your backlog, which leaves you with no money to spend.
For many people, their hardworking money is going to debt and that debt can be crippling. But it doesn’t mean that is the end.
It’s about owning up to it and then dedicate yourself to moving forward and doing what you can to eliminate that debt. Whatever financial decisions you made back then were in the past and know you will do what you can to make sure it’s not part of your present and your tomorrow.
But in order for change to happen, it begins with you (if married, you and your spouse).
These are just a few of my cost cutting tips and I’ve made some decisions that are not easy for some people to do but it helps put extra money into your pocket, which you can use towards paying off your debt (this should be priority), investing (especially investments that can can lead to passive income), saving up for your child’s birthday or Christmas presents, saving up for that family trip, etc.
No one said it would be easy. But it can be done.
I leave these words from Dave Ramsey:
