Have overwhelming debt over your head? We’re not talking hundreds of dollars in debt but thousands of dollars in debt. Oh yes, this article is for you with the college or university student loans or person with a surprise child you weren’t expecting. You life is not over. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Yes, this calls for big changes in your life but the big changes are all little changes added together. First let’s start with changing your spending habits. We don’t like to change our habits. It’s called a habit for a reason. We might think we can’t change but that’s not true. Start with small little habits we have and changing these can have a snowball effect on the other habits we have.
1. Don’t buy new. Buy gently used items to replace items in your home that you need at a fraction of the cost. Some thrift stores even sell items like suits or shirts that have never been worn that have been donated at that shop.
2. Instead of buying, swap with others for things you need. There are many buy, sell, trade, or swap websites for each community. Getting familiar with those can lead to less spending and big savings. If you feel uncomfortable dealing with strangers, you can set a day during the year for you and your friends or family to have a swap or giveaway day where you can swap gently used clothing.
3. If you can grow your own vegetables, that would be ideal. There are many tutorials available online that show you how you can even garden indoors in pots. Instead of buying seeds, you can save the seeds from food you ate like peppers and avocados and grow them yourself. You can even grow vegetables from cuttings like carrots. Potatoes, if not eaten can start to grow seedlings. You can plant those in your garden or in big pots to produce more potatoes. By doing this, you can save on your grocery bill and you’ll have real organic food at your fingertips.
4. Be proactive at making money. To increase your funds, don’t just save. Try to make money as much as you can within reason. However, don’t abandon all other responsibilities in pursuit of money. Try doing side jobs like online work. You can buy, refurbish, then resell the refurbished furniture at three times the cost. Sometimes at yard sales or garage sales, people even give away old furniture. You can take those, repaint or refinish them, then resell them again online for a lot of money. People now love to buy chalk-painted and distressed furniture. It’s the trend this year in home furnishings. If you have the talent in knitting or crocheting, you can make custom made hats or clothing and sell those online or at weekly markets in your community. These are some of the many things you can do to increase the funds coming in.
5. Plan your meals well. Having meal ideas prepared for the week and the grocery list written for those meal ideas saves you from buying unecessary food items that you buy at the grocer’s on the spur of the moment. If you have vegetables and other food items you haven’t used up at the end of the week, make that day leftover day and you can try to be creative in making the meal that day with only the stuff you have left in your fridge or freezer. You can also freeze leftovers if not used right away.
6. Hire an accountant. Accountants like Accountancy Services in Australia can help you manage your funds and can advise you on how to manage your debt properly.
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