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.

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

Working towards the goal to eliminate debt doesn’t have to mean no traveling . Vacations can be an important part of a family’s life.  For that matter, many of us have to travel for non-vacation purposes, such as business and family needs. Travel can be expensive but there are some great ways to save money. Here are three:

1.  Try to fly the same airline every single time. Unless you are traveling weekly, if you use several airlines, you will probably not accumulate enough frequent flyer miles to do much good. It’s better to pick one airline and see those miles go up, up, up. I personally love Southwest. I have earned several free trips thanks to their generous frequent flyer policy. They are very customer-service oriented. One time, we were diverted overnight to another state and didn’t land at our destination until twelve hours later. This was caused by circumstances beyond their control (not weather). I was thrilled to get a letter from them a week later, explaining what happened and that, even though it wasn’t their fault, they were giving us a free round-trip ticket as an apology! As you can imagine, I was definitely impressed even more with them. Their prices are great and they are definitely a good choice offering many ways to save money while traveling.

2. Once you make your plane and car rental reservations, don’t stop there. Check the prices of each a couple of times before the trip. Several times, I have been able to change my reservations in order to take advantage of a price drop. I was able to do this with both Southwest, and a couple of car rental agencies. I’m not sure which other airlines allow this, although I believe there are at least a couple that do. Call the airline reservations desk to see what their policies are. On a trip I took last December, I saved over $150 with this simple travel solution.

3. AAA is a great resource to help you when your car breaks down while traveling . I occasionally have to drive long distances from my home, so I pay extra for their premium service, which means I will be able to have my car brought home even if I am far away when it breaks down. Not only do I save money using them for car travel, they also are a great resource for other types of travel. I have been able to take advantage of Hertz’ wonderful #1 Club Gold Membership for free because of my AAA Premier card. This saves me  time, stress, and money. I can also use my AAA card to get discounts at hotels, motels, and amusement parks.

These three travel solutions are very useful ways to save money. And think how fun it will be to for us to take the money we saved and apply it to a loan payment as we “travel on” towards our goal to eliminate debt .