33 Proven Ways to Reduce Personal Debt

Editor’s Note: When I heard that my friends Gina and Josh Masters had recently paid off $66,000 in debt and had made a list of the 33 lifestyle changes they had incorporated to accomplish it, I asked if I could use it as a guest post. They humbly agreed. And this is the result:

“Live like no one else now… so that you can live like no one else later!” - Dave Ramsey

Three years ago, my husband and I found ourselves drowning in debt – $80,000.00 to be exact (and that’s not even counting the mortgage). Around that time, coincidentally, our church began offering a financial program called Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. We spent the last $100 from that pay period to sign up. And the rest, they say, is history (or at least, most of our debt is now history).

As I write this, over the past three years, we have paid off $66,000.00 in personal debt. No magic, no quick fixes, no debt consolidation, or bankruptcy filing. Just persistent sacrifice. We have saved ourselves from financial destitution by making a number of simple, small changes in our lives.

Recently, my husband and I sat down to make a list of every change we had made hoping that it would encourage others. When we finished, we reviewed the list and were surprised at how simple it looked. Yet, all of these ideas – put into practice over a period of time – have almost completely wiped out our personal debt. They are tried. They are true. And best of all, simple enough for anyone.

Making Cents of the Dollars 

33 Proven ideas to make your budget work and get your Debt under control:

1. Re-shop auto, home and life insurance to see if you can bring down your payments.
2. Downgrade your cable package, or get rid of it entirely.
3. Disconnect your home phone if you have adequate cell service at your home. Or downgrade to a cheaper package.
4. Buy and sell clothes at your local consignment or shop at Goodwill.
5. Have a massive garage sale. (If you’d rather be out of debt than have an item, choose to sell it to help you get you there.)
6. Advertise higher quality items on Craigslist, Facebook, or your local newspaper to get better prices.
7. Focus on buying mostly sale items at grocery store or generic brands to reduce your cost.
8. Use a grocery store awards program to earn money off gas.
9. Cancel unnecessary expenses like magazine subscriptions, newspapers, manicures, pedicures etc. Anything that could be considered a “want” instead of a “need” should go until you are out of debt or greatly decrease your debt.
10. Go to the matinee movies instead of paying full price (and skip the concessions).
11. Or better yet, use the Red Box for at-home movie entertainment.
12. Get temporary work or seasonal part time work to boost your income.
13. Read books from the library or take a few trips to Barnes & Noble to complete a book.
14. Buy your most expensive groceries in bulk at Coscto: meats, breads, cheese, produce, paper products. Establish a monthly grocery budget for the additional needs at regular grocery stores.
15. When eating out, skip the soft drinks and stick with water. Skip the extras too (dessert, etc.).
16. When eating out, share a large entrée or have small appetizers instead of the costly meal.
17. Plan your errands more efficiently to conserve gas.
18. Find friends that you can trade services with…haircutting, handyman, photography, babysitting, pet-sitting.
19. Give home-made gifts, baked goods, or service IOU’s rather than expensive presents.
20. Boxed cereals are expensive; switch to oatmeal, eggs or fruit for more nutritional and financial bang.
21. Call the utility companies and get on a budget plan to give you more consistency with expenses each month.
22. Set a spending limit with family at Christmas and/or draw names.
23. Use exercise videos, walking or hiking instead of paying for the gym.
24. If your haircut is too expensive, find a less expensive stylist or see if your hairdresser will cut you a break on price temporarily – ours did.
25. Say “no” to hosting and/or attending in-home parties where you feel pressure to purchase.
26. Does your family live nearby? Once a week dinners with mom or dad saved us a meal out of our shopping budget. Additionally, it usually led to leftovers and our parents looked forward to our visit each week.
27. Make your coffee at home instead of buying it each day.
28. Pack your lunch – not once a week, but regularly.
29. Make extra dinner servings on purpose to have leftovers for lunch.
30. Our dentist advised us we could skip the fluoride treatments if we were using a daily dental rinse – which we did… and bought on sale.
31. Program your thermostat for savings on heating/cooling when you’re not at home.
32. Tempted by certain retail stores? While digging out of debt, avoid window shopping these places where you’ve failed to control your impulses before.
33. Give**.

Many may say, “What? I need my manicure!” or “My kids will only eat box cereals!” But trust me. If you are serious about climbing out of debt and changing your life, the only thing you need is a roof over your head, clothes on your back and gas to get to work to bust your way out of this.

Plus, take comfort in knowing that you don’t need to eliminate these things forever. Personally, I look forward to hiring back our housekeeper and treating myself to a few pedicures next summer. But until we are debt free and have a fully funded emergency fund, we’ll be focusing on using the dollars we bring into our home to set us up for a lifetime of success.

**Many wonder about Number 33 (Give) because it seem counter intuitive to most of us. One thing we never stopped doing – even in the worst of times – was giving. We always gave money to our church, our favorite charities, and foundations that we believe in. It’s easy to say “I can’t give. It’s not in my budget.” But if we’re looking for a lifetime of success and influence – not just the latest gadget or status symbol – how can we afford not to give? Giving reminds us that we can live for a purpose greater than this world and all the temporary treasures it offers. It helps keep everything else in perspective. So pick and choose from our list above – do one or two or everything on the list – but don’t leave out number 33. We can attest from firsthand experience, it will radically transform your life!

Image: The Cleveland Kid