Debt Help Ideas

Do you like to go the movies? We sure do. It makes a fun date. My husband and I always tried to go out on a date once a week. Sometimes we only made it two times a month, but four was the best. We knew it was important for our relationship, which then benefited our children as well. We also liked to take our kids to the movies, sometimes as a one-on-one or two-on-one date. Sometimes all of us went. It was pricey then. Now I’m a widow, going to the movies with my grown-up kids and grandkids. It’s even more expensive now! Fortunately, we’ve found some great ways to save money that do help.

Matinees have always been a money saver help. They’re not as wonderfully priced as they used to be, but they’re still cheaper. They used to run about half the normal ticket, but they traditionally only went til mid-afternoon. Now they are about 2/3 of a ticket price, BUT many theaters do go later in the day. My favorite theater offers matinee prices til 6 pm on weekdays! That’s late enough for an early dinner and movie.

I love popcorn and soda at the theater but my waistline and my pocket book both hate it. For those days when I just can’t resist, two of my favorite theaters do have a money saver help for me. They offer a kid’s snack. For about half (or less) of the normal cost of a small popcorn and small soda, I get a smaller popcorn, smaller soda, and a candy. I usually skip the candy but thoroughly enjoy the rest.

Two of the three theaters in our area offer customer rewards cards. Just like with a grocery store customer rewards card, you show this for each purchase and you get rewarded periodically with special discount days, free snacks (like popcorn ), and even free movie tickets. We don’t go that often, so it does take awhile for the free tickets, but the free popcorn seems to pop up fairly often, which is one of the fun ways to save money. You can find these by checking online at your movie theater website, or call your local theater to see if they do offer these.

While you’re on the phone, call each of the theaters in the area. Many areas have at least one discount theater, where the price is half the cost of the main movie theaters, and where they are showing good movies, just not quite as soon. And of course, if you still have a drive-in in your area, those can save a ton with all the grandkids. Mine just went with their folks to their first drive-in and loved it! They got to play outside, sit in chairs on a lawn, and even get up a move a bit if they wanted to. It was great.

Well, there you have it, my four best tips to save money at the movies. It’s great to be able to have a special date with the special people in our lives, save money, and keep working 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.

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.

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. 

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!