With mounds of debt on my plate (a big shout out to my ex) and a limited income, I've been working veraciously to climb my way out of the hole, penny by penny. To make my life a bit more financially fabulous, I've made changes recently to cut expenses even further. If I want to live rich tomorrow, I figure I gotta live like I'm poor today. So here are a few of my cost-cutting measures that are saving me a buck or two:
1. The dreaded B word -- Yes, you got it, I've been BUDGETING. I finally learned that my budget can be different each month. Wow! What a concept, right. Monthly, I have been setting limits for myself, and yes, this includes shopping. I do find I like the having the power to choose where I put my $$$ and having a plan each month has worked out really well. I also log every dollar I put on paying debt down. Seeing my progress helps me stay motivated, as sometimes it can feel a bit slow-go.
2. Getting cozy with carpooling -- I put 50 miles round trip on my car each day driving to and from work. Since I live in a commuting kinda town, and with the gas prices continually getting more and more out of control, I've been slowly easing my way into carpooling. I started out by hitching a ride at least once or twice a week to give my car a break. It definitely helped to stretch the gas budget. Recently, though, I decided to really bite the bullet and join a van pool. It reduces my mileage each day to only 12 miles round trip, and at a cost of only 30 bucks to me per month. That is less than one tank of gas. Cha-ching. More $$ saved and back in my pocket.
3. Brown Bag -- Thanks to the above, this means I must be more vigilant about packing a lunch. This, my friend, is a definite trouble spot for me. I absolutely love and rely on getting out of the office at lunch time to retain my sanity. I detest being in the same environment all day long. But if I don't live like this today, I can't live a financially free life tomorrow. So without my own set of wheels at my disposal, I'm forced to brown bag it more regularly. Maybe it's a forced savings plan, but I asked myself, "What would Dave Ramsey do?" Plus, this change will not only reduce my lunchtime spending, but it also decreases the amount of money I drop on my afternoon Starbucks.
4. Work the system -- I've started paying my credit card payments and loan repayments twice a month instead of only once a month when it is due. It can be a bit of a hassle keeping track of this and not forgetting to do it, but doing this helps to actually reduce the amount of interest I am charged each month. Nobody likes interest!
I've got quite a ways to go, but the prospect of financial freedom is looking more and more like a possibility every day.
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