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 to teach others how to get out of debt. 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 that led to us getting out of debt.
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 nearly completely got us out of debt.
They are tried and true. And best of all, simple enough for anyone.
33 Proven Ideas to Getting Out of Debt:
- Re-shop auto, home, and life insurance to see if you can bring down your payments.
- Downgrade your home television package/services, or get rid of it entirely.
- Disconnect your home phone (for sure). And double-check the rate on your cell plan for a better deal if it’s been awhile since you checked.
- Buy and sell clothes at your local consignment or shop at Goodwill.
- 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.)
- Advertise higher quality items on Craigslist, Facebook, or your local newspaper to get better prices.
- Focus on buying mostly sale items at grocery store or generic brands to reduce your cost.
- Use a grocery store awards program to earn money off gas.
- 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.
- Go to the matinee movies instead of paying full price (and skip the concessions).
- Or better yet, use at-home movie entertainment.
- Get temporary work or seasonal part time work to boost your income.
- Read books from the library.
- Buy your most expensive groceries in bulk at Costco: meats, breads, cheese, produce, paper products. Establish a monthly grocery budget for the additional needs at regular grocery stores.
- When eating out, skip the soft drinks and stick with water. Skip the extras too (dessert, etc.).
- When eating out, share a large entrée or have small appetizers instead of the costly meal.
- Plan your errands more efficiently to conserve gas.
- Find friends that you can trade services with…hair-cutting, handyman, photography, babysitting, pet-sitting.
- Give home-made gifts, baked goods, or service IOU’s rather than expensive presents.
- Boxed cereals are expensive; switch to oatmeal, eggs or fruit for more nutritional and financial bang.
- Call the utility companies and get on a budget plan to give you more consistency with expenses each month.
- Set a spending limit with family at Christmas and/or draw names.
- Use exercise videos, walking or hiking instead of paying for the gym.
- 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.
- Say “no” to hosting and/or attending in-home parties where you feel pressure to purchase.
- 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.
- Make your coffee at home instead of buying it each day.
- Pack your lunch—not once a week, but regularly.
- Make extra dinner servings on purpose to have leftovers for lunch.
- 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.
- Program your thermostat for savings on heating/cooling when you’re not at home.
- Tempted by certain retail stores? While digging out of debt, avoid window shopping these places where you’ve failed to control your impulses before.
- 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 getting 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 seems 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 to get yourself out of debt – but don’t leave out number 33. We can attest from firsthand experience, it will radically transform your life!
Image: The Cleveland Kid
Andrew C says
Gina & Josh, thank you for sharing,and allowing Joshua to blog it.
The youth of today will benefit much,and for many that are striving for financial freedom.
Dave Ramsey’s wise words thought deeply has many implications.
Most importantly, to learn the circumstances giving rise to run away debts, and also exercise delayed gratifications to build a healthy and sustainable emergency funds.
Wear clothes/shoes to last and of classic looks,and ensure groceries(especially food) do not go to waste(thrown) because has past expiry date.
In short, keep our wants and needs to the minimum.
And learn to make money work for you once you achieve full financial freedom.
All the best on the paying off 14k and also mortgage.
UltimateSmartMoney says
There are so many ways to save money and reduce debt. This is another great list. I really like #1. I ended up saving almost $800/year just by switching auto insurance.
Briana says
We have a lot of debt too. We try so hard to make dents in it, and we do, but it never really seems to get very far.
I was excited to read the list, like I always am when I see these kinds of things. But then I realized we already do all of these except #1, #5, #21 and #26.
Whew! Oh well, a few new tips can’t hurt!
April says
I know how you feel, Briana. We already do most of the things on the list just to get by. We find it very difficult to reduce our debt when almost all of our income goes directly to necessary expenses like food, housing, and utilities. One thing we haven’t done is take on an extra job, but I don’t know if that little bit of extra money is worth more than the time spent with our family.
sheeba m says
I would like to bookmark you and add you to my blog inspiration later this week…your 33 pointers sum all that I have been trying to tell people, is it called minimalism :) i never knew…
Martha (MM) says
Just found you and glad I did! What an inspirational post and blog!
Gina Masters says
Isn’t Joshua’s blog great?! Glad you’re here and thanks for posting….please share this with somebody you know who could use it!
Martha (MM) says
Sharing it with everyone by adding it to my “Inspiration” blog roll at http://minimalistinthemaking.blogspot.com/ :-)
JRS says
#26 borderlines on just using people. It is wrong to eat at anyone’s home for the primary purpose of saving money. ‘Planning’ to do it makes it even worse! However, now I know why my sister (who is an extreme minimalist) visits my parent so much!! ha ha ha ha LOL
Gina Masters says
JRS – While there were other circumstances that began our weekly meals together that I didn’t have room to detail in this post, when my family saw how much we were struggling it was my mother who suggested that we continue our weekly visits to not only visit, but to save ourselves a meal in our budget. I find it so interesting that you and someone else took this as “using” people. However, someone else who posted here also did the same thing quite a bit and I doubt she was using her family…they just saw a need that their daughter had.
JRS says
That sounds much better. Thank you so much for taking the time to clarify. Being offered to come over, is much different than just planning to go over to a relatives’ home for meals to save money on food, which is how I read that suggestion. ;-) Again, thanks for clarifying… What a wonderful mom you have!
Pauline says
At work, 4 of us teamed together for lunch. Once a week, each one of us cook for the 4. Then the 5th day is usually going out. That way, we save tons of money (about 10€ per day) and we are always happy to see what the others have cooked. It’s like going to the restaurant 4 times a week.
When we prepare the meal for the team, it should not cost over 10€, so basically, for 10 € you eat 4 days and you save 30 !!
Everyone is very jealous of our organisation now since we actually take time to prepare the food. We cook lasagna, pies, chicken, french cuisine (and easy), but all home made from scratch!
Gina Masters says
Pauline, What a fantastic idea…I’m jealous!!! :) That’s a very pro-active way to save money and enjoy new foods regularly! Thanks for sharing…
Norman says
I can relate! As of last Friday, I am completely debt free and it was by doing most all the things you mentioned and making them a way of life. Everyone should apply these overall principles, but tweek them to suit their own needs, because everyone is different. For example, I don’t do # 20 because I love boxed cereal, there’s nothing better to me than a quick easy meal of Cherrios (store brand of course) with granola on top. Its fast easy and delicious. But I almost always do #16, sharing an entre. The entres they have these days are huge, so we share a meal. Most restaurants will even ask if we’d like an extra plate to make it easier to share. It saves a ton of money, and I always order water since I figure I don’t drink enough water anyways. And I enjoy eating out the same as I did when I was trying my darnest to finish off a platter of food. Oh, and I promise to do #33 more.
Gina Masters says
Norman – Congratulations!!!! I’m very happy for you! I can’t wait to be in your camp with the rest of the debt free folks :) And you’re right…apply these principles as your personal situation calls for. Thanks for your post…its an encouragement to me!
Miranda says
First off, congrats Gina and Josh on paying down your debt, that’s awesome and such an accomplishment! I enjoyed reading your list and was excited to see that I do most of this stuff already. I really appreciate that you included #33, such an important reminder.
I do take issue with #26 though. I live close to my parents, my in-laws, grandmother and two sets of siblings/in-laws. I love seeing them on a regular basis, as I know they love seeing me–even on days they don’t provide a meal for my family. To rationalize mooching off your parents with “our parents looked forward to our visit each week” is a bit insulting to your family. While I’m not suggesting it’s rude to take your parents up on a free meal offer-even on a regular weekly basis- I do think it’s a bit much to include it in a list of ways to save money. It should be bonus time with your family and a help to the budget, not money in the bank.
Gina Masters says
Thanks Miranda for your congrats. I certainly didn’t mean for #26 to come across as insulting or “mooching.” I was interested to see that someone else who commented has done the same thing. Our weekly meal together serves multiple purposes and I’m learning that its hard to convey details on something like a blog post and expect the point to come across the way intended.
Danielle Schwartz says
# 18 is exactly what I had in mind when I created Generosity Street.
Generosity Street is a website where you offer your skills/services to your neighbors in an effort to work towards a gift economy and grow common bonds with your community.
http://www.generositystreet.org
Thanks so much for sharing your tips, they’re inspiring!
Gina Masters says
Danielle – Wow, That’s a great idea! Hats off to you!