Get out of debt fast!

I am not a financial advisor, but I will give you the best advice that I can, pulling from what I have learned in the past! With the New Year here, this is a great time to start this new resolution! I think everyone wants to be debt free.  Even those that have lots of debt can be free, with a little discipline and a few tricks I have learned!

First
Credit cards are the devil!

This seems to be one of the hardest things for people to wrap their heads around! I was lucky that I was told this young in my life and told often! However not everybody is aware of this!  I was just very surprised when I married into debt.

The problem with credit is that it's so very easy to use. When you need or want anything, you have a magic card that pays for it until you get your pay check. That is if you ever pay it back, by then there is always interest payments and other things you need to buy. It is a never ending cycle or so you think! This is just a quick example: you owe $3000  at 10 % interest rate (which is a really low rate for a credit card). You pay $100 towards it every month and $30 goes to interest! Basically you are throwing away more than $1000 in 3 years time! Credit Cards are designed to get you further in debt and make money for the credit company, not to help you!

Second

Interest rates make a huge difference!

Credit Card rates are usually higher than any other rates out there. My husband and I got rid of all his credit card debt by getting a new loan on our vehicles at 6.5% and using the extra money on the loan to pay off the credit cards. We now could easily pay off the credit cards that were at a ghastly 30% or so (this was just a few years ago when the credit card companies kept raising their rates for no reason). Most of the payments we made were going to interest only and by doing this, the opposite started to happen. It was fantastic! It really makes a huge difference what your rates are. Shop around to get the best possible deal for yourself. Consolidating your debt may help you as well. See what is best for you!

Third

Cut up the cards

That is right, cut them up! Even if you haven't already paid them off, get rid of them so you aren't tempted to use them! If you aren't adding to the balance then eventually you will pay them off! This may cause some discomfort at first, you will have to budget a little tighter. Once they are paid off, the money that usually goes to paying the credit cards will be in your pocket again. Be creative with new income ideas and on how to save money. Eventually you will be debt free!

Fourth

Pay Principle Only

Most loans you take out will allow you to make additional payments on principle only. I always ask before I take out a loan if they have any fees for paying the loan off early or paying principle only just in case, I haven't had a problem with it yet though. This takes discipline, but if you can pay any extra at any given time ask for the money to go as principle only! It will not count for the next month, but in the long run you will pay less interest during the whole term of the loan. This means shorter time for the loan and less paid out of pocket for interest.  

Fifth

The Roll Effect

This is a fantastic way to pay off loans! I just hope I don't lose you while I explain this! At the bottom of this section, there are two different websites that may help you if I lose you. Alright! If you can find a way to pay a little more toward your bills each month, this is a great way to get out of all your debt! I am going to use an example by using just $100 a month more! Lets say these are your loans below!  

1. car payment APR 6.5%  loan size $13,500 payment $264.14

2. visa APR 17% loan size $ 7,500 payment $186.39

3. Store Shop credit card 20% APR loan size $3500  $92.73

If these were your loans you usually pay $543.26 a month, by adding $100 more you will be paying  $643.26 until your loans are all paid off. This will not change for this example, but if it is too hard financially, just do what you can when you can. We are going to start by paying off the smallest payments first. In this case it would be the shop card. The extra $100 will be added to this loan payment every month, as principle only, until this is paid off. When we go to pay off the next loan we will have the $100 plus the shop card $92.73 to add to the visa card. Now we are adding $192.73 to the visa cards principle every month. Once this is paid off we have the $100 the $92.73 and the $186.39 from the visa card to put toward the car payment. We will be adding $379.12 to the principle of the car payment. This will pay it off shortly. When all of the payments are paid off that $643.26 that was paid every month will now be in your pocket to save, and to start buying things in cash with!

Just like a snow ball, you can pack a little snow together (the $100) and send it down the hill to pay off  a loan. As each loan gets paid off it makes the snow ball bigger and gives you more money to put toward the next loan.  After everything is paid off you will have a huge snowball, or a lot of cash, so you don't have to use loans anymore!

This really works and in case I am not making sense to you check this out!http://www.daveramsey.com/article/get-out-of-debt-with-the-debt-snowball-plan/ He uses a different approach but I am sure it works well to!

http://lds.org/ensign/2011/07/getting-out-of-debt-for-good?lang=eng This has a great visual with the example lists provided.  Read under "A Simple, Effective Method"

Sixth

Don't Buy New

I hope my husband learned his lesson here, I know I did! It was shiny and it looked oh so cool with all the added parts, chrome and all.  When I looked out the window of our apartment, I thought "there is a 700 dollar a month view. Too bad you cost even more for gas and insurance. Why didn't we just buy a house if we were going to spend that kind of money every month" as we would buckle our seat belt and drive off, away from our rented apartment. What I didn't understand is how we still owed 17k on a truck that was bought 5 years ago! I thought when you bought a car it was over a 5year period loan. I guess there are longer loans as well, when you get a loan from a dealer! As great as it was to have a super top of the line truck, with all the must haves and wants, it had its problems too. Not only the terrible payment we had to pay with an ugly dealer interest rate, but the truck had its problems. The lights constantly went out, the battery wouldn't hold a charge, the heater went out and boy was that expensive to fix. Other things that went wrong, the underside already started to rust, the DVD player hummed, recalls... etc... etc... When we finally paid it down enough that we could sale it, we couldn't count how much our losses were! We bought a little car for $500 from a friend, and put a couple hundred in fixing little things here and there. With a title in hand and savings of $900/month, we wore grins when we drove our little beater around! At the pump we were getting 30+ mpg. It may not be a shiny fancy truck, with chrome or a DVD player, but my little clunker got us everywhere we needed to go as we got out of debt. Get this... when we sold that little car after a year of pocketing $900/month... only putting $500 in parts the entire year... and paying $500 for it... we made $1500 on it! It sold 15 minutes after putting it in the classifieds for $2500!

Seventh

How to Stay Out of Debt

Keep yourself in check! Make goals to save money to buy something you want or need. Stay frugal with your money. Don't just buy things you want, because you have money in your pocket. Make long term goals to pay off your house, start on retirement, pay for your child/grandchild's college, and anything else worthwhile you might think of. You may enjoy finding fun ways to save money by couponing, shopping for the best prices, and through yard sales (both purging your treasures and finding someone else's). Check this blog often to get new ideas and to stay motivated!

Eighth

Refinance/ Consolidate

This is what I was referring to when talking about interest rates! When interest rates are as low as they are now, this could be a great option. This is tricky though, you have to weigh this one out to see if it is a good option or not. Consolidting on a credit card or similar loan may effect your credit in a poor way. The best way is how we did it, where we had a lower rate then a credit card and by using our vehicles it helped our credit.  We got hit pretty hard when the economy crashed. For us, it wasn't whether we would make the loan too long or if we would end up paying too much in interest by refinancing. We honestly could no longer pay all the bills from the debt my husband had previous to the marriage. We refinanced the new truck I talked about previously, since he had used a dealership and got a terrible interest rate on it. The credit union was very helpful letting us consolidate the credit card loans into our vehicles. They let us get a little extra added on the loan, for the truck, to help pay off the credit cards. We paid part cash for the the little affordable car (that I got a wonderful deal on) and got a small loan on it, to help my credit score. We were then able to get a much larger loan on it and paid most of those nasty credit cards off. Since we had even more credit card debt my husband had recurred, we needed an extra loan to pay this off. My husband had a motorcycle that was almost paid off, so we got a new loan on it as well. It was so nice to have all of our loans centered in one place. Whenever we had extra money we would put it toward the cars, until the cost on this was low enough to sell them. My husband had an old truck he drove after we sold his new fancy truck. After we sold my little car we bought another, from a friend, with cash.  My husband gave it a little tune up and it drove like a champ! Parts were cheap because we could get them from the junk yard! Once the cars were sold, we paid off the motorcycle quickly! In less than 3 years we have gotten out of $50,000 of debt! We are finally ready to look at homes now! You can do this too! It is so freeing to not have these bands of debt around our ankles!

Ninth

Set a Budget
This has been the hardest thing for us! My husband's work is not steady because he works for himself. This is the best way we found to make sure bills are paid and to stay out of debt: First, bills must be paid for the month with all the money we have. Second, we budget about $400 for food for the month. Third, bills need to be paid a month in advance, in case of a hard month. Fourth, extra payment on the loans principles only. Fifth, spending money ($100 or so very little). Sixth, any extra in savings. This may not be the best for you. However you decide to budget make sure you are getting out of debt and not adding to it. Knowing where your money is going every month can help you to find ways to tighten your budget in different categories.

Tenth

Add Job to Pay Debt

This may be selling crafts or baked goods, babysitting, yard sales, or cleaning houses.  Find an extra way to make a little money while you are getting out of debt. I found ways such as selling extra things around the house on a free classified site (pictures make a difference), I became quite good at this. We "pimped" out our Pomeranian stud and sold our female's puppies. Anything that could help us through this tough time!

Eleventh

Get Priorities Straight/Keeping Things in Perspective

Getting out of debt isn't easy, but you have to remember that you cannot let debt consume you and hurt your relationship. You and your partner need to work through the debt together, making sacrifices but focusing on what's important as well - your family and your relationship. Get a babysitter and make time to do something special with your spouse so you can remember why you fell in love. Set time aside to do group activities as a family to involve the kids as well. Don't let your debt get the best of you. Splurge on needs and pass on wants, when possible. By keeping your debt, family, and relationships your biggest priorities you can move into a less stressful part of your life and gain a stepping stone in your relationships. This has been a huge help in our marriage to get through this rough patch financially and it has brought us much closer.

Twelfth

Be Willing To Part With Toys

This was a huge sacrifice in our lives, but very worth while! I parted from my cute pink scooter and my little car that I loved. My husband made lots of sacrifices too. He sold his nice new truck, his snowmobile trailer, and recently 2 fishing boats (not in the best shape but none the less it was a sacrifice). You can do this by just not buying either! If there is one toy my husband loves it is a boat. If there is one toy that can really suck your money down, it is a boat. It is hard not to have a boat to him, but once we can buy a nice boat that doesn't need constant fixing in cash we might do so, in the future.

Thirteen

Get Organized

When it comes to working your way out of debt, it's all about organization -- believe it or not getting your documents organized can save you money!

Fourteen

Stop Eating Out

Eat in and save money, it is healthier and a great family activity. I promise eating at the table and discussing your day will bring your whole family closer! Even if it is just you and your significant other. If you aren't the best cook I can relate. When I first married, I thought a home cooked meal consisted of pouring dry noodles in boiling water and warming sauce from a can. With about 3 years experience, I now can my homemade sauce, make noodles from scratch, make home made french bread with garlic dipping sauce, and a toss salad for an every day meal.  A couple months ago we went to one of my favorite Italian restaurants for my birthday. It has been a long time since we have gone out so it was a big surprise when we hated our meals! My husband told me on the way home "I would rather stay home and eat your stuffed shells, honey". This was one of the best compliments I have ever received. Wow, I am not a so so cook anymore! It is so great to be able to cook better meals at a better price at home! Anyone can do it! My favorite site is allrecipes.com I pick what looks yummy and a 4 star or more. If you don't know what you are doing there are lots of tutorials on youtube.com so try that too!

Getting Out of Debt Doesn't Mean You Can't Ever Spend Again

Just make sure your splurges are not huge and won't compromise all the hard work you are doing to get out of debt!

Looking for cheap DIY gifts?

Here are some of my favorite gift ideas I came up with or found online!! Something for everyone!

I bought a kitchen for my little girl, spending $80 (on one of the cheaper ones) made me kind of sick, so I started a quest. I am still working on getting hers done, so this is the one that inspired me! To make it more affordable, try using something cheap/ free from classifieds or furniture you/ someone else is getting rid of! Try using spray paint like the $1 white/ black at Walmart, maybe even antique it?  Using wallpaper or print picture from online for a window to make it decorative. Try using an old bowl to mount as sink, the faucet could be made out of wood and nobs out of old dresser knobs. Have fun trying to think of things to make from around the house. There are more kitchens and ideas here http://betterafter.blogspot.com/2011/03/winner-and-hot-pink-and-zebras.html

No sew scarf! For the tutorial http://www.moredesignplease.com/moredesignplease/2011/1/19/no-sew-shirt-scarf-necklace.html

Super fun bowling set for active kids and kids at heart... All you need is 10 bottles with colored water (if you want use sand or anything else and decorate to desire) and a ball (check out local dollar stores or big lots etc)! Tag could read "knock them down this year!"

Try making this gift, decorating a mason jar with something silly and slimy inside! Silly Putty for teens kids and hubbies! here is a recipe for this funny stuff!http://www.theidearoom.net/2010/07/silly-putty.html

My husband would enjoy this! Did someone say CAR? and WASH? in the same sentence? You could add free car wash coupons for you or the kids to wash the car at anytime.

How about making that dress you no longer wear into a super cute apron for a chief or baker you know. Halter or tube top style dresses make the easiest aprons by just cutting the back out and hem it up (so it does not fray). Other dresses are simple, as well, just make sure it has a loop up top to hold it up and string to make a bow. If you are feeling super excited add pockets etc... using leftover fabric.

Make a magnet board from an oil drip pan!!  http://nicandkate09.blogspot.com/2011/08/alphabet-board.html

With kids growing so very fast, make a past dress into a skirt!! http://2littlehooligans.blogspot.com/2010/10/newborn-dress-turned-toddler-apron.html

Super cute mittens. Make them bigger and more neutral for a man or boy!

http://www.the36thavenue.com/2011/11/25-handmade-gifts-under-5.html

Great gift for a whole family! Ice cream sundae kit all they need is the ice cream. http://mixingbowlkids.typepad.com/family_bites/2011/06/diy-ice-cream-sundae-kit.html

Great sentimental gift for someone close!  http://www.millybee.com/mummy-daddy-p-110.html

Stocking-stuffer, just use those crayons they crumbled up over the year! 230 degrees for 15 minutes keep an eye on them!

Wallets! Wallets! Wallets! This one made out of bike inner-tube lots of other ideas on this page.http://www.instructables.com/id/Wallets/

Cuff-links made from coins. http://curiouslycrafty.wordpress.com/cufflinks/


Need more ideas? Check this out 25 gifts under $5! http://www.the36thavenue.com/2011/11/25-handmade-gifts-under-5.html

Reuse those old shirts for scarfs and little girl dress!

Last minute Christmas gift? get cutting! Super easy and I found this idea on another blog, so I am going to send you there. She has a really good tutorial! http://www.putapuredukes.com/2011/09/braided-scarf-tutorial.html


So what to do with the scraps? Make a dress!! How to make it? http://www.iammommahearmeroar.net/2010/11/upcycled-t-shirt-dress.html

NEW carters deals!

$5 tops and bottoms! Check it out there is a lot of cute stuff!

http://www.carters.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Carters-Site/default/Home-Show?id=carters&cm_mmc=ETCarters-_-campaign-_-Thanksgiving+PM+Active+Engaged+2011+11+24-_-Shop+Doorbusters&cm_em=dragon101088@yahoo.com

Carters $5 fleece coats and $8 pajamas

http://www.carters.com/carters/kid-girl-black-friday/carters-kid-girl-black-friday,default,sc.html

Carter's door buster's get them now, super cute! Everything in the store is half off plus an additional 20% off if you spend $40 code RTMNCARTERS or take this in to the nearest store http://image.e.carters.com/lib/fefe1671706100/m/1/carters_11-24-11PM_19.jpg?cm_mmc=ETCarters-_-campaign-_-Thanksgiving+PM+Active+Engaged+2011+11+24-_-Shop+Present+This+Coupon+Twenty+Percent+Off+Your+In+Store+Purchase+Of+Forty+Dollar+Or+More&cm_em=dragon101088@yahoo.com this is valid until the 30th hurry!!

Cricut Cake Machine save $400

Yes, that's right! I found the Cricut Cake Personal Cutter online for $49.95! Less then some cartridges! Free shipping! If your a baker like me this is the time to get this! Amazing gift to!

http://www.cricutmachine.com/product_info.php?products_id=441 

Sony Bravada 50" tv for $60? yep!

 So i just found this web site that gets the best deals on the online world. One of the past deals they have had was a Sony flat screen for $59.96! Now that is fantastic! Check often since the products change often! If you use the link below it will use me as a referral and i get points toward free things. Then you can do the same and get points. http://www.nomorerack.com/?cr=2635656

Delicious Pear Crisp

I bought a 3lb bag of pears the other day for $1.50.  They were finally ripe enough to eat today, after waiting what seemed like forever.  I used about half of them to make a pear crisp.  And it was awesome, totally made my day.

PEAR CRISP


6-7 medium size pears, peeled and cubed
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt

Stir pears, sugar, lemon juice, and salt together and pour into a greased baking dish.

1 1/2 C flour
3/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C pecans, chopped
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C butter, melted

Mix together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and dried cranberries.  Mix in the melted butter, stir until well combined.
Sprinkle the topping over the pears in the baking dish.  Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

We also used a couple of pears in our salad tonight for dinner.  Mix together romaine lettuce, sliced pears, a sprinkle of feta, a handful of dried cranberries, some fresh ground black pepper, and drizzle with Balsamic vinegar dressing.  Delicious!

My Free Tree and Dollar Store Decorations

I don't know if you have noticed that I love yard sales and dollar stores. My sister in law is a yard sale diva. She may even be a queen!. I told her a few years ago that I really wanted a tree and if she saw one I would pay here back. She went to a yard sale and they were done for the day, there was a tree. The lady said she could take it for free, since she was loading it up for donation. That is how I got a free fake tree! It is a smaller tree, which I don't mind since its cheaper to decorate and not as overwelming . The last couple years I have had some interesting crafts I decorated with on it. This year I wanted a nice tree! While I was at Honk's Dollar store I noticed they had 9 pack Christmas balls for $1. They happen to have the lime green I am trying to decorate my house with! Score! With a splurge on Led lights (that will save me in the long run), some glitter ornaments 5 for a dollar, some 2 for a dollar, 2 rolls of garland, and an angel for cheap at a thrift store. At Wal Mart they have 26 packs of the Christmas balls for $5, so I got some of those. I wrapped a fleece throw I got at Ikea for $3, as a tree skirt. So for about $40, half of that was the lights, here is my tree!

How to paint your house for cheap!

I got the green paint for this project from Glidden for free. The wall color is a bunch of miss tints that I mixed in a 5 gallon bucket 

I go to the local paint stores to check out miss tints. Recently, I mixed some whites and creams to make a color I love, its a tanish cream. Of course there is a down side to miss tints, you cant mix the same again, and they are premade. I however got super lucky and I got 7 gallons of high quality (usually $50 a gallon) for nothing. For projects this is a great way to go! Try looking at miss tints the next time you want to paint! There may just be an already mixed color you love! If you need more paint try mixing a couple similar colors to make more or add a white to stretch and lighten the paint.

Cute Pilgram Craft for Thanksgiving Decor

I found this cute craft on familyfun.go.com, there are a lot of other cute ideas. If you dont have all the materials, try using things you have around the house. I used cardstock instead of felt, yarn for the pipe cleaners, and foil in the stead of silver paper. They turned out cute and I didnt have to buy anything for the project!http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/holiday-seasonal-crafts/thanksgiving-craft-decorations/thanksgiving-table-decorations/pilgrim-pal-661833/

Antique mirror

I bought this mirror at a yard sale for $10, it was a dark green. With a $.96 can of white gloss spray paint from Wal Mart, some sand paper and elbow grease I made this piece my antique dream for $11! Just sand, blow the dust off, spray the paint on (I sprayed close to get an uneven bubble look in some areas), let it dry and sand to desired look! Super easy and a fraction of the price!

Shabby Chic Shelf for Cheap!

I got this plain white shelf from a friend for free, you could do this to anything it is super easy!  This color is spring  green from Glidden. The small can of paint was shipped to me completely free from allyou.com courtesy of Glidden paint.  There is plenty left for a side table and a couple of frames! yay! 

Double coats on the shelf and completely dry, I began to sand  to show wear.  

Roughed up edges giving it a vintage look

All decorated!

My Shabby chic shelf completely free!