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
Bob Hertz says
Good article but something does not add up.
My family has done all of these things, and I would estimate that the total savings are about $600 a month. (One time revenue from garage sales not included)
Nothing wrong with that, but $7200 a year does not pay off $66,000 in 3 years!
This family must have had a high income.
Bay City Brokers says
These are awesome tips! I try and keep my personal debt to a minimum by only using cash and pay off any debt I have then save some as well. I also keep a smaller wallet so that I don’t have a million cards that I can use at stores. It helps me personally at least.
Walter R. McDaniel says
Have a budget in mind before you go car shopping. This involves assessing your monthly income and bills, and having a clear understanding of how much you can really afford to add to those. Doing this will help you to stay in budget when you make your new car purchase.
Stephe says
For a single man that is 29 years old this list really is crap. Sorry. I already do most of these things on the this list, or they are totally not applicable. And who saves rent by down sizing to a new smaller apartment is a fool. If it looks like you are going to stay where you are for five years or more just buy. You’re not saving $6,000 a year, build some equity.
MS Barb says
Nice article! I cancelled my trash service & recycle everything–except styrofoam–nowhere in my part of US takes it! I live in the country, so I have a compost pile…
I very seldom buy carbonated beverages, but I do save aluminum cans & cash them in once/twice a year…
I cut toothpaste tubes in 1/2, & swish my toothbrush down inside, to get the last bits of toothpaste!
The county Bookmobile comes to my place of employment about every 3 weeks, & I can make requests & they are great about getting my requests! Also, I have a Kindle & have over 500 books on it–about 99% were free–from Christian websites (like Bethany House Publishers) or frugal websites, like Bargain Babe, where I can get free e-books of cookbooks, & kids’ books!
Thanks for sharing your tips!
Mike says
“No magic, no quick fixes, no debt consolidation, or bankruptcy filing. Just persistent sacrifice. ”
This is the American mindset that’s fascinating to me. It is a sacrifice to finally pay for everything you’ve been enjoying and been using for years.
The TV the pots and pans, car, pool, etc. We think we are owed a certain lifestyle. We think we should have as a right a pool and a giant TV and all things Apple.
It isn’t a sacrifice to pay for what you’ve purchased. It’s simple decency.
Kim says
These are incredibly tough times. As someone said, salaries are not keeping up with the cost of things. A family struggles if there is only one moderate income. Since Obama took office, gas prices have doubled. This has meant an additional $400 in gas, since my husband commutes to LA for work. We can not afford to live on the more desirable west side of town, so our kids are on transfers to those schools. This means we have to drive them over there. We can’t afford for our son to drive because it is an additional $2400 a year. We are just finishing up braces for our kids; three kids cost us nearly $30,000. Insurance covered very little. I was a stay-home mom; the economy tanked just as I was trying to go back to work. Jobs just weren’t there; now I am on the older side and a less desirable candidate. We are having to teach our kids that they must go to college, even though we can’t help–colleges are about 40,000 a year. Our girls can’t stay one with kids. They should only have one or two kids, no more. They need to consider multi-generational homes or sharing a home with a sibling. We have had to teach them to sacrafice and to look for sales/deals. We do most of the list, always have. We have never had debt, just mortgage and cars. We will not live beyond our means. It is hard for kids to see others get so much. Other families get help from relatives; we never have. Other families have credit card debt; we don’t. Other families are getting govt. aid; we don’t. We have never declared bankruptcy or walked away from a home; others have. Our kids don’t understand the significance of that. They just know we can’t afford smart phones for everyone. Teachers in schools are now demanding them; they want kids to take tests on their phones. There is always something/someone that requires money. As someone said, can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Angela says
You friends don’t say how they accrued this massive debt. If it was from medical expenses or someone lost a job, then I apologize in advance for the comments that follow. Reading between the lines, though, it seems they were consummate consumers (all that stuff they are selling off on Craigslist) and lived lavishly (restaurant meals, manicures, expensive haircuts, gym memberships). As other people have pointed out, many of us already live frugally out of necessity and from not wanting to get into debt in the first place. And while I applaud Gina and Josh for their tremendous achievement in paying off their debt, there are some things on this list with which I take issue. I earn a modest living writing books. I’m already expected to give my work away for free in libraries, and I’m okay with that. Libraries are noble institutions that encourage people to read and provide reading and research material to those who might otherwise not have access to it. But to suggest that people read a book by taking several trips to Barns and Nobles is encouraging them to not only steal from the store but to steal from writers like me. I also find the idea of asking your hairstylist for a cut price (albeit temporarily) off the mark. This is a person engaged in earning their own living and you are asking them to subsidize your debt. Finally, visiting the folks to get a free meal and leftovers. Really! Saying, well, they enjoy it is pretty darn patronizing. If you got into debt by overspending, you can get out of it by under-spending, but please, not by taking advantage of other people. Peace.
Traci says
Thank you! My thoughts exactly as I was reading this! I am a hair stylist and I, myself am doing the Dave Ramsey plan. If my clients came to me asking me to reduce my rates so they can pay off their debt, it would reduce MY ability to pay off mine. What would be the benefit to the stylist? I would rather lose a client who tried to guilt me into charging less than keep one who makes me earn less money, while doing the same amount of work.
Mindy says
Most all of these we are already doing, but paying down debt (of which we have only a mortgage & car payment) and saving for the future is still very difficult. Other ways we have cut down on costs, is to do away with all paper products. My husbands old undershirts are cut up and use in place of paper towels, clearance handkerchiefs are our nose tissues, clearance washrags are our bathroom tissues and baby wipes. All of these items are very small and do not add much to our wash load. Inexpensive cloth diapers in place of disposable diapers help a lot as well.
Fabi says
So proud of their effort. I did want to ask, how long did it take to pay this debt off?