Debt Help Ideas

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.

Twenty years ago, my next-door neighbors had a Pit Bull, which they had raised from a pup. They were always telling me how sweet he was, how gentle, and how much they loved him. I was a bit leery because I’d heard a tale or two about Pit Bulls. Then again, I loved the English Bull dog another neighbor used to have, so I just ignored the occasional growls that sometimes came my way.

One day, they asked if I could come over to help them with their computer. Of course I said yes, and we headed into their house – my neighbor, her husband, their sweet dog, and me. Since they kept the computer in their bedroom, they gave me the chair, while the two of them and the pooch plopped onto the bed to watch me. All was fairly quiet for five minutes as I worked on the computer. I kept explaining what I was doing, and they’d ask questions, and that was about it. Then, out of the blue, with NOTHING having changed, their sweet dog turned into a terrifying dog, barking at me like he hated my guts and trying to lunge at me, as the owners held him back. They escorted him out of the room, as he kept barking furiously. They came back in, apologized profusely, and again told me what a sweet dog he was. I’ve read of dog attacks before but never come so close to experiencing one!All I could do was pray hard silently for the new little grandbaby that was due any day and who would be over often.

You may wonder what all this has to do with ways to save money and our goal to eliminate debt. Some of you who love Pit Bulls may have decided to never read my blog again. I understand, but I encourage you to please finish reading before you quit, for your own sake.

I learned, through researching information for a rental I owned, that many insurance companies specifically exclude certain breeds of dogs, including Pit Bulls. If we don’t ask, they might not mention it. It might be in one of the huge, long documents they send us after we get our insurance. I’m sure you read that cover to cover, right? Yup, same here.  Whether we knew it or not, though, we are still going to be in for a rude shock if we own one of the excluded breed of dogs and they hurt someone! Whether that someone is a meter reader, a next-door neighbor, or even our own child, if our dog is excluded, they will not pay for the damages, nor for any lawsuit awards!

I can’t begin to imagine spending years working to eliminate debt, putting into practice all the ways to save money we can find, and then having our dog bite someone! Then to think about that someone suing us and winning a large settlement! Not only will we not be able to eliminate debt any time soon, we could actually be paying off that judgment for the rest of our life!

Now that I’ve gloomed and doomed us, and scared us to pieces, what can we do? I would start by calling our insurance company ASAP and ask what their specific policy is. If our dog is excluded, we’ll need to find out what our options are. We also would need to find a third party insurance company that can cover us and our dog. From what I’ve seen, there is dog insurance for all breeds available, though I doubt it is the cheapest pet insurance! If we haven’t yet bought a dog, it would be best to call our insurance company and find out what are excluded breeds. My company has a list of about 5-6. Then we could go look for a dog we liked that wasn’t on that list.

In addition, one of the best tips to save money in this situation may be to spend money by shoring up the fencing. We can make sure it is solid, and that a dog can’t get over it, under it, or through it. We can also check to be sure the gates are locked so that someone can’t inadvertently let our dog out. We can also talk to the utility company about options if the meter is inside the yard. They should be able to give us a schedule of visits so we can keep our dog inside on those days.

My grandparents had the sweetest German Shepherd. He really was sweet! When I had to stay with my aging grandma, while my parents went out of town, my mom warned me to put the dog in the house if the meter reader came. I laughed, thinking George would never hurt a fly. Let me tell you, a week later I heard massive barking coming from a dog I barely recognized. George, along with my neighbor’s Pit Bull, took his job of protecting his owners so seriously, he didn’t want to let anyone but family into the yard. I took my parents’ dog advice more seriously after that!

Many dogs have the capacity to be very sweet, yet too protective of their families. That’s a wonderful thing if a burglar is trying to break in. That can be a very expensive thing if our dog thinks a neighbor is the burglar. Simple and wise precautions are some of the best ways to save money. We just need to plan ahead, do our homework, make sure we have good dog insurance and good fencing, and then we can keep working towards our goal to eliminate debt and still enjoy our family pet.

As a full-fledged member of the Baby Boomer Generation, my metabolism has changed dramatically from 30 years ago. Remember the ultra-slim model from the 60s, Twiggy? Back in my 20s, I could have shared her nickname. Now, not so much! I have to eat carefully and watch my calories a bit. Even so, I tend to go up and down the scale about 10 pounds in any given month, thanks to water weight gain and other fun things. Menopause probably doesn’t help either. Then again, many of my younger friends say they experience the same thing, even though they are in their 20s and 30s.

Does make it tricky with pants, doesn’t it? Even for someone like me who lives in her blue jeans. (Just call me the Blue Jean Boomer!) For awhile, I tried having two sets of pant sizes. But one size was always too big or too small. Not to mention the fact of that being a bit pricey even if I do only buy my pants on great sales! Then I discovered one of my favorite little tips to save money on clothes. Did you know that you can go to a fabric store, like Joanne’s Fabrics, and buy buttons for jeans? Not only that, for this non-sewing grandma, they DON’T require sewing. HOORAY!

All you need is a hammer and a firm surface. Take the jeans (or any other pair of pants), follow the directions, and bang your stress away. I wouldn’t recommend doing it when people are sleeping, especially in an apartment.   Play around a bit to see what works. Then just button which ever one that feels the most comfy on any given day. Some days I get to exult when it’s the tightest. Other days I breath a sigh of relief when it’s the loosest. And the best part, they only cost a couple of dollars. These buttons are definitely easy ways to save money! And if this keeps you from buying another pair or two of pants, why not take that money, pay off your lowest loan, and give yourself a high five for being that much closer to your goal to eliminate debt.

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!

Since I have to travel fairly often, I am always on the lookout for helpful travel solutions, especially when they offer ways to save money. Here’s four that have helped me:

If you are flying my favorite airline, Southwest, and want to have a snack on the plane but don’t care for peanuts, or worse yet, are allergic to them, just ask the flight attendant. They almost always have pretzels available as well, even if they don’t mention them. I would ask for them right away though, as they do occasionally run out of them, especially on long flights.

And by the way, if you are allergic to peanuts, I would strongly encourage you to bring your own snack. I read the small print on each of the six different snacks I got from them and three out of six of the packages mentioned they had been packaged in the same plant as peanuts. The other three didn’t have any comment either way. If it was me, I wouldn’t want to take any chances! Even though it definitely saves money to use their snacks, it’s not worth it if it could cause a health problem!

If you are trying vainly to open any kind of package on the plane – pretzels, peanuts, etc. – try using your pen. Just carefully stab it into the top corner, then use the hole it makes to successfully open that irritating yet tasty little treat.

If I am flying for several hours, I always sit in an aisle seat in the back so I have easy access to the restrooms. If I am on a short hop or have to make a connector flight with not much time to get to it, I try to sit in an aisle seat close to the front. For those trips, I make sure my carryon is small enough to fit under the seat in front of me. If I have to get it from the top luggage bins, I’ve found it slows me down and makes me feel totally awkward as well due to all the other travelers who are in a rush and not always patient at waiting for me. That definitely makes for a more frustrating flying experience. By having my carryon in front of me, it’s much easier to just pull it out and plop it in the aisle all ready for me to hop out and head out the plane to the airport. By sitting close to the front, I ensure that I make my connections on time which probably makes it one of the best ways to save money in the long run!

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!

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!

Do you love to give and receive flowers? I know I do! Especially roses. They aren’t cheap though, are they? A great frugal investment we can make is to purchase and plant rose bushes and other perennial flowers around our house. Granted, there is an up-front cost involved, but in the long run this is definitely one of those multi-tasking tips to save money.

One thing I learned to do after buying a house that left me cash poor was to watch for sales at places like Rite Aid and Walgreens. They often get a big batch of plants in for spring, then put them on sale in mid-summer once most of them are gone.

Depending on the area we might even be safe buying plants looking a bit wilted. When I lived in Northern California I bought many roses for a fraction of their original cost because they looked like they were almost dead – wilted leaves, no flowers. With some careful pruning and great compost, they perked up wonderfully. The East Coast has not been as kind to me, but I’ve also had less time to try.

If we are able to do this, we can buy these plants for pennies on the dollar and then enjoy many years of gorgeous, wonderfully scented flowers in our homes as well as use some as gifts for others. I love ways to save money that smell good! Not only that, they add value to our homes, so when we go to sell them, we might actually get a higher price because of all the flowers growing! Now you know what I meant when I told you this was one of those multi-tasking tips to save money

In addition, I love applying the money I saved to my loan with the lowest balance as we march on together towards our goal to eliminate debt!

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!