Debt Help Ideas

Woohoo! Remember the post I wrote, Sam’s Club Chicken Saves the Day? As you can tell from that article, I have a high opinion of Sams wholesale club which is well deserved, as shopping there is always one of my favorite ways to save money.

After I wrote that article, I found an interesting post by Paula Ebbin with some great tips to save money at all three of the various Warehouse Clubs – Sams wholesale club, BJs wholesale club, and Costco. 6 Ways To Save Money At Warehouse Clubs had several excellent tips and ideas that were new to me, and I thought you would find them useful as well.

I knew that one of the best ways to save money is to buy in bulk, but did you know that one warehouse club even accepts coupons? Or that each wholesale club marks their price tags in such a way as to let you know if it’s at its lowest price? I didn’t either!

So pop over and read this fascinating article. Then I’d love it if you’d pop back here and let us know which idea you liked best.

Coughs and colds wait for no man, woman, or child. They don’t wait for seasons either! It’s the middle of summer, but according to the treatment nurse my friend talked to today, there’s several irritating viruses going around. Nope, I’m not talking swine flu. Just your normal, garden variety coughs, colds, and other assorted bugs!

I was reminded today, as I picked up some cough syrup for her, of some great ways to save money that we had missed out on. She paid more, but you won’t have to.

1. Always keep a good supply of your favorite cough syrup, pain reliever, and decongestant in the house. Keep a close eye on the stock. If you notice the expiration dates are getting too close, give the medicine away to someone who can use it now. You might even want to set up a trading system with a friend so they do the same. Also, each time you go the grocery store, check your supply to see what needs replenishing. That way, if a bug catches you off guard, you won’t have to drag yourself out feeling miserable, only to grab the first available medicine at the most expensive store, just because you feel so awful. You can purchase the medicines on sale or at your local Target or Walmart and pay less for them.
2. Make sure to clean your vaporizer or humidifier after each cold/virus ends, and store it carefully. If you notice it isn’t working well, and cleaning it doesn’t resolve the problem, it’s time to find a new one. Start watching for sales and pick up just the one you want for a great price BEFORE you need it, instead of being stuck buying whatever is in stock at the store you run to.
3. Keep a good supply of comfort foods on hand. My favorites include Lipton’s Noodle Soup and Chicken Pot Pies. Then, when you don’t feel good, you don’t have to try to make something. You can easily pull those together to feed yourself fairly healthily, in order to help fight off the virus.

These simple pre-preparation steps can save you time, money, and energy when the nasty bug strikes. They are all great ways to save money and that always helps make us feel better, doesn’t it. Not to mention that it also helps us work towards our goal to eliminate debt! 

It’s just as important to be careful with our church’s money as it is for us to be careful with our own money. We can help contribute more to our church by looking for the best ways to save money at home, and we can put the same good habits to work if we have to shop for a church ministry.

At the same time, it’s important not to be “penny-wise and pound foolish!” If we are involved with a food ministry at church, such as serving coffee before or after services, it’s important for us to have plenty of coffee, sugar, and cream available for everyone. I would also suggest tea bags and hot water. I prefer too much over too little, and I think we have an excellent example of that in the Bible. When Jesus multiplied the little boy’s fish and loaves, they wound up with 12 BASKETS LEFT OVER!

If we are so over cautious with these relatively inexpensive items, we could wind up having to turn people away or making them feel unwanted. That can leave a bad taste in a person’s mouth (pun unintended but definitely appropriate). I realize that not getting a cup of coffee is not a good reason for a person to quit coming to church. On the other hand, losing a chance to share God’s extravagant love with a non-Christian over the cost of a cup of coffee would really be sad.

This is a great time to make sure we have plenty of goodies to share with all, and that we are giving joyously to our Lord and Savior through the church. And isn’t if fun to get to be used by Him as a wondrous part of His extravagant ministry.

I love how the Message Bible puts Ephesians 5:2:

Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with Him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to us. Love like that.

The New American Standard Bible says it wonderfully as well:

Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma

Here’s one of my easier tips to save money. When we are planning a fun night out with friends, we need to be honest about our finances. If we are invited out to a restaurant, we could say, “I’d love to, but we’re working hard towards a goal to eliminate debt, so my budget doesn’t have eating out in it this week. Would it be OK if we join you for dessert instead?” Or, “How about if we meet for coffee or sodas instead? I’m on an “eliminate debt”money diet so I’m working hard to find ways to save money.”

I know I’m always pleasantly surprised to discover how many friends feel the same way saying, “I thought I was the only one!”

I shared this tip with a 20-something friend of mine recently and she was so relieved. She commented, “I love to go out with friends, but so often they pick a more expensive restaurant than I can afford.” I suggested she just order dessert, with or without the explanation and she was thrilled. “They have the best desserts!” she said. “That and the great company will make it a terrific night out without messing up my budget for the week.”

In this economy, we’re sure to find plenty of company in our search for ways to save money. Even if we don’t, not to worry. Odds are, in ten years, many of our friends will be WISHING they’d joined us in our “eliminate debt” money diet.

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The housing market is down, the cost of food is up. Recession, depression, high debt – unsecured debt, credit card debt, tax debt, you-name-it-debt – is up, jobs are gone! Listening to the news can definitely be depressing these days! I make sure I balance it with a healthy dose of God’s Good News, complete with His promises of provision!

Over the years, I’ve learned that provision can come in many forms , depending on our particular needs at the moment. One means of provision that is readily available is all the great money saver websites and newsletters available to help us get the most bang for our bucks, save as much as possible, which then lets us have a bit more to apply to our loan payments. Of course, that then brings us one step closer to our goal to eliminate debt!

If you spend $3 on a dozen eggs and I spend $1 on a dozen eggs because I checked for sales that day, I’ve made an excellent “return on investment” (ROI), wouldn’t you say? The best part, I don’t have to pay any taxes on that $3 because it’s savings! 

Here are four of my favorite sites to learn creative tips to save money on everything including eggs  :

Cheapskate Monthly – lots of valuable information plus she has written several great books including ones to use for teaching your kids how to be frugal.

Clark Howard – great resource in a wide variety of areas. He also has a radio show which you can listen to online.

Living on a Dime – I love her cookbooks. They have yummy money saver recipes for tiny budgets. Right now, if you sign up for a free subscription, she has a great free e-book for you as well

Refund Cents – This is my favorite, I must admit. There is a subscription cost for this one but I’ve always saved way more than the cost making it well worth it! They offer a print magazine OR an online-only option which is what I use. It’s well organized, well-run, and great! I’ve been a member for years. Sometimes I use it a lot, sometimes a little, but it’s always a big help! Talk about excellent money saving ideas, it’s got thousands. It offers a list of all the coupons every week, and ways to match those coupons to sales at Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, etc. to make even bigger savings. Plus they do offer a free email newsletter for anyone, even non-subscribers

Well, time to go. I’ll find more for a future article, but these are great sites to get started on! Between them we can find plenty of great money saver tips, pay off all that unsecured debt, and keep working towards our goal to live debt free!

Blog Carnival FUN! Debt Help Ideas is participating in its very first blog carnival – The Festival of Frugality! What a lot of fun for me, and what a lot of great tips to save money for you. The Festival of Frugality Blog Carnival is being hosted by Always the Planner , a kindred spirit who is also seeking to save money along life’s journey and share the process with her readers. I hope you’ll check it out and would love it if you’d come back and share your favorite tip with us when you’re done

Two articles I especially enjoyed reading:

Ginger Beat has a delicious recipe for a yummy salad along with a great way to prepare it so you can make it in the morning and take it to work with you. And it’ll stay fresh all day! Great idea and great way to save money!

Improve the Quality has an interesting article about saving money and NOT ending eating out. Being one who has to eat out a lot due to outside needs, I appreciated the good tips and think you will too. Be sure to read the comments as well as you’ll find some good tips there too.

Last, but hopefully not least , there’s an article about saving money with green frugal gift wrap from Debt Help Ideas .  

What to do with all the money we’ll save from all these great ideas? Apply it to our lowest balance loan and keep on heading towards our goal to eliminate debt, of course! How fun!

If you send books, CDs, and/or DVDs to friends or relatives (great ideas for long distance grandkids or elderly shut-ins), you are eligible for one of the best ways to save money on snail mail. And saving money is a great way to work towards our goal to eliminate debt!

Media Mail is ultra cheap and quite easy. Just package up the books, CDs, and/or DVDs in a sturdy box. Don’t include anything else, especially not magazines or personal letters. The post office does do regular spot checks and if you accidentally include those, your package might take a lot longer and will cost a whole lot more! Wrap the package and address it. I usually write Media Mail in big letters on both sides of the package.

Take the package to the post office and request that it be sent via Media Mail. As an example of the savings you will see:

2 pound package from the West Coast to the East coast

Parcel Post would cost $6.97 whereas Media Mail is only $2.58

For a 7 pound package:

Parcel Post would run $12.81 while Media Mail is only $4.33

That’s definitely a great way to save money and work on our debt problem!

Debt Consolidation. You know what I mean. Taking all that unsecured debt and lumping it all together into one loan so you only have one payment. It seems so logical, so easy, so wonderful! We thought so too. Then we discovered the dark side of this option.

It’s just too easy to borrow more. Those paid off credit cards will be calling your name, begging you to use them. Needs will arise like you wouldn’t believe. Before you know it, your unsecured debt will have doubled and you will be miserable!

You’ll be a lot happier and a lot better off if you sit down and make a plan to eliminate debt safely and sanely, one bill at a time. I like the “debt snowball” idea that many financial counselors recommend. You start with the lowest bill and pay it off using any extra money you can. That’s where all the great ways to save money that you will find on this site will come in handy. Pay as much as you can on the bill, not just the minimum. Once it’s paid off, take all the money you were paying towards it and add it to the payment you are sending for the next lowest bill. Before you know it, your unsecured debt will be gone, and you will have gotten so much closer to your goal to eliminate debt!

As a Christian, one of my top goals is to eliminate debt. I take Romans 13:8, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law,” very seriously.

I have heard a couple of pastors, who I trust and respect, explain that passage refers to unsecured debt such as credit cards. They believe that careful debt on real estate property is acceptable as it is a business transaction. I pretty much agree with them, however in light of the current economic turmoil I am seriously rethinking that policy!

Unsecured debt is definitely one of the worst types of debt to have, though. Credit cards can be great tools if used wisely, with much self-control. You can actually save money with a free, frequent-flyer credit card if you pay off the debt each month.

If you don’t pay it off monthly and instead have to pay interest charges on the monthly balance, I would encourage you to put the card in a plastic container full of water and pop it into the freezer. You’ll still have it for emergencies but it will make you slow down and think through whether you really need what you want to buy.

This is one of many great tips that can help you eliminate debt!