There is nothing more daunting than a mountain of debt.
I just recently found myself at a crossroads with credit cards and loans, realizing that if something didn’t change, I’d be stuck in a spiral for years or even decades. Fortunately, I found a way out with the help of these four frugal tricks, and I’ve never been more confident about my ability to pay off debt.
Create a Detailed Budget and Stick to It
The first step in my journey to becoming debt-free was creating a detailed budget. I realized that without a clear understanding of my income and expenses, I was just throwing money around and hoping for the best.
The best obviously never came, so I had to do the hard work and build budgeting as a daily habit. This actually happened faster than I expected. YNAB (You Need a Budget) was an excellent tool for me, but you don’t need to spend money to create a good budget, either. There are many ways to do it, but you have to do it.
Cut Back
Okay, this isn’t a “trick” necessarily; it seems really obvious that you’d spend less to help pay off more debt. But the frugal finessing all boils down to how I did it. Budgeting helped me acknowledge areas where I needed to curb my spending.
Within these categories, I started making some tough choices. I cut coupons and became a smarter consumer. I became obsessed with finding deals for anything I needed and finding free alternatives to everything else. It didn’t always work, and I still let myself have fun and let loose. I was just more self-aware of the decisions I was making and got creative to prevent overspending.
Up Your Income
Saving money is much easier when you make more, so I started finding ways to make money in my spare time. It wasn’t necessarily a lot, but 100% of everything I made went to my debt. I also sold a lot of items that I didn’t use anymore, which had the added bonus of decluttering my space.
These tricks were the most impactful in helping me pay off debt, mostly because they didn’t require me to change my lifestyle too much. They only added to my income, so if you have the time and are willing to put in the effort, I can’t recommend this enough.
Be Consistent
The journey to paying down thousands of dollars of debt was long. Many of these changes didn’t happen overnight, and I had to find ways to keep myself motivated and be consistent. I did this by celebrating wins, no matter how small they were.
I kept track of my progress and would treat myself to something I was looking forward to. And yes, I budgeted for those things too. I knew that no matter what, I had to be my biggest cheerleader. But I’ll also shout out my friends and family who helped keep me accountable and inspired, and I highly recommend you talk with your loved ones so they can do the same.
