Debt Reduction No Spend Days
While there are many ways to come up with money each month to be
used for debt reduction, one that comes to mind is to decrease
discretionary spending. This is the money that is not really in
the budget, such as that candy bar or the bag of chips from the
vending machine. A $10 pair of shoes, purchased simply because it
was on sale, a bottle of water from the vending machine bought
because you got up too late and you were in too much of a hurry to
fill up a bottle from home, and similar items belong to
discretionary spending. Buying a new computer game when you do not
play the ones that you already have would also qualify.
One way to counter this issue is to schedule debt reduction zero
spending days. This is when you go through an entire day without
taking anything out of your wallet. No money, no debit cards, and
certainly no credit cards; you are after all trying to get out of
debt right?
Debt reduction no spend days go beyond stopping yourself from
making frivolous purchases. In order to truly have a debt
reduction zero spending day, you must go without even spending any
change. This means no quarters for a parking meter or a gumball
machine, no ordering anything that you will pay for later and no
signing up for anything that is not free as well.
An example would be ordering beauty products from Avon or Mary
Kay, girl scout cookies, flowers, magazines and such for school
fund raising events, signing up for a dance that will have a cover
charge or agreeing to participate in the office order out lunch
tomorrow. While the money won't leave your wallet today, it will
leave in the future and thus defeats the purpose of the debt
reduction no spend day.
It's not as easy as it sounds to truly escape an entire 24 hour
period without spending any money or agreeing to future spending.
If you are able to achieve perhaps just one such day per week or
maybe aim for five or six a month, you will free up a bit more
money to be added to your payment on your highest interest debt,
or whichever debt you are striving to clear first. If you are a
compulsive shopper, you will find the savings to be even greater
as you reduce debt in lieu buying more clothes, shoes,
accessories, CDs, or whatever your bane happens to be.
Adding a few zero spend days each month could be just the catalyst
that you need to get better control of your budget and start
paying off the accumulated debt. It's important that you not
simply spend more the rest of the month to make up for your zero
spend days. Once you can master this, you will have the discipline
required to focus the maximum amount of your resources toward, and
increase the effectiveness of, your debt reduction. Without the
discipline to maintain the lowest monthly budget that you
comfortably can, you're not truly committed to reducing your debt
at the quickest rate and increasing the total savings possible in
the amount of interest that you will pay.
Try adding a debt reduction zero spend day at least once a week,
or even better have a zero spend weekend. This can be made even
more effective if you curb the car and truly spend nothing - not
even a gallon of gas during the weekend. Adding the debt reduction
zero spend days to a few other budget reducing efforts (like
eating more cost effectively, turning off lights and electronics
that are not in use, etc.) can really overhaul you monthly
spending. This new lower budget will be beneficial even after you
are debt-free as this will enable your to spend a little more with
high interest rates out of the way and begin saving for your
future as well.
THIS CONTENT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS IN NO
WAY GIVING ANY LEGAL ADVICE OR REPRESENTATION. THE INFORMATION
CONTAINED HEREIN WAS COMPILED FROM VARIOUS ARTICLES. FOR ANY LEGAL
ADVICE OR REPRESENTATION SEEK YOUR OWN LEGAL COUNSEL.
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