Debt Help Ideas

Father’s Day is coming up and we’re all busy trying to figure out a great gift for that special dad or grandpa that they will love but that won’t add to our unsecured debt load (translation – racking up charges on the credit card )

When we have a guy who loves his Harley Davidson motorcycle, that makes him pretty easy to shop for. We can use a great money saver tip by only going to one store – whichever of the Harley Davidson stores is closest to us.

Once there, I like to do my pocketbook a favor and start with the sales table. I can’t tell you how many goodies I’ve found there for a fraction of the cost. I’ve found cute Harley Davidson T-Shirts (ummm, for Father’s Day, guess I’d better say studly!), great looking belt buckles, and even Harley Davidson decals for the motorcycle or “the other vehicle.” So first I check that out and see if there are any great deals that will keep us within our budget and be something our special guy will like.

In case we didn’t succeed there, or not enough, now it’s time to check out the rest of the store. Some of the less expensive items I always like for gifts include:

• Harley Davidson T-Shirts – my all-time favorite, and my husband’s as well 
• Harley Davidson hats and caps
• Harley Davidson gloves – we use those year round and are always losing them. It gets cold at night in some areas!
• Cups with the Harley Davidson logos
• For that matter, anything usable and in the budget with the Harley Davidson logos 

Of course, as we continue on our path towards our goal to eliminate debt, our bills will eventually start getting smaller. Credit cards will get paid off, the home loan will go down, and things will get easier. As that happens, we can adjust our gift budgets a bit. We don’t want to go overboard, but a little splurge once in a while is nice. If that’s where the budget is now, a couple of other nice ideas would include a Harley Davidson watch (very practical, as they are generally very high quality) or maybe even a new Harley Davidson helmet. It never hurts to have a spare one for company and it’s always nice to have a change. And while I’m on the subject, remember that motorcycle helmets are an excellent money saver. In the event of an accident they can save on hospital bills up the wazoo!

Well, it’s been fun shopping with you. Have fun with the final decisions and Happy Harley Davidson Father’s Day to you and your family. 

Here’s some tips to save money that are also green friendly. The next time we have to give a gift, whether it’s Mother’s Day, a birthday, or even Christmas, we can wrap it uniquely in a reusable shopping bag. Whether we pick a favorite store or just go by whichever bag we think is cutest (I like Trader Joe’s bags), our recipient will end up with a sturdy reusable bag. Not only that, we will usually only have to spend 50 cents – 99 cents which is cheaper than most of the dollar stores around.

To dress it up, we can use white or colored shades of crumpled tissue paper. After they’ve “opened” their gift, we can carefully fold the tissue paper to re-use it for the next gift giving project. It will fold nicely and doesn’t take much space. Another fun idea is to save the kids’ colored construction paper after they finish a project that they did NOT want to save. Run the paper thru a paper shredder, then stuff it on top of the present in the bag. This could get a little messy though, so we’ll have to be sure to have the kids help clean it up after the present is opened.

This works for all holidays including Christmas. Target’s red bags are especially good for that holiday. I’ve also seen green bags that would work nicely. Kids birthdays are another great occasion to put to good use these ways to save money. They always love having cute bags to carry all their prized possessions in. A sturdy reusable bag would be right up their alley!

The really fun part will be tallying up all the money we save by not buying  bags, ribbons, paper, and bows. I know I’ve spent as much as $5 on gift wrap before. Applying the savings from these tips to save money towards our lowest bill’s next payment will take us a step closer towards our goal to eliminate debt AND we get the satisfaction of knowing we did it in a fun, frugal, and green way!