I know it is tough when you are working your way out of debt. The experts keep telling you to find more money to help pay them down more quickly. But, where in the world does this money come from?
After all, if you already had extra money, would you even be in debt? It feels like they tell you what to do, but they don’t really give you any help to make it work. Until now.
Read More:
- How to Create and Use the Envelope Method
- How to Use the Debt Paydown Form
- Getting Started Creating a Budget
My husband and I paid down more than $37,000 in debt in just about 2 1/2 years – on a single income. It was tough. I’m not going to lie. While we did work our budget to try to find extra cash, that was just not really possible for us either. That meant I had to get really creative. There had to be a way for us to have more money to use towards our debt.
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Then, I figured it out. This is my trick to finding money to pay off debt. Best of all – it works.
THE GROCERY GAME
When you budget for groceries, turn it into a game. See if you can spend 10 – 15% less than you budget. It can be a challenge, yes, but it can also be fun to see what you can do.
It may mean leaner meals or shopping at a different store. You may need to make sure you never leave home without coupons in hand. Perhaps you need to check out Pinterest for meals that go further for your family.
Once you do that, you will often find that you have money left over in your budget. Once that happens, turn around and immediately apply those savings directly towards your budget! Don’t take the extra money and blow it or just save it. Be smart with it.
WHY THIS WORKS
It is about psychology. When most people challenge themselves, they want to win.
However, what I love most about this concept is that you aren’t having to work hard to come up with extra money to pay down debts. You budgeted a set amount and just happened to be super smart (and savvy) and spent less than what was budgeted.
When you get ready to fill your envelope with cash for your next pay period, just pull out the amount that is left and make an extra debt payment. It is not money you will miss, is it? It is just a matter of “shifting” money from one thing to another.
The same can hold true with any budgeted amounts. If, at the end of your pay period, you have money left over, just use that to pay towards debts. If you are debt free, just put it into your savings account!!! If you budget $50 and spend only $40, that means you have $10 to put towards your debts!!
I know this may sound simple, and that is because it is! Anytime you save money, don’t spend that savings – use it for something important – like your debts!