Save Money Frugal Tips

Today’s post is personal. I’m so overjoyed that I can’t NOT share the good news.

In just two short weeks, I will be completely FREE of debt! I paid off nearly $40,000 worth of debt in the past 10 years.

The bulk of my debt – all of it left over from my disastrous marriage – was medical bills. They were paid off early. In retrospect, I should have focused on paying off the credit cards my ex-husband opened in both our names first. A lesson learned about interest!

The best way to pay off debt:

1. Pay off things that are current (that way, they won’t negatively affect your credit score)
2. Pay off the highest interest debt first (put as much as  you can on that bill every month)
3. Snowball the payment from the first into the second highest interest debt next
4. Continue till you are debt free!

Another good tip is to negotiate with creditors or debt collection agencies. Some of them can be downright horrible. Simply send them a letter stating clearly that you will not accept any more contact by telephone and that you want all correspondence in writing. By law, they need to abide by that. It makes answering the phone much less stressful.

After that, come up with a payment plan you can actually afford. Mail the collection agency or creditor a letter stating you intend to pay X amount every  month until the debt is satisfied AND send the first payment.

Do not be afraid to renegotiate your debt. There are tons of “debt repair” companies ready to take your money to do this for you, but it is not that hard to do it yourself. You can also do it in writing, or call the collection agency yourself. If the debt is outstanding for long enough, the collection agency will be more than willing to negotiate a settlement amount.

I did this on my last credit card bill. I figure I still ended up paying quite a bit more than the money that was actually spent, but I paid a lot less than I would have if I did not negotiate a lower payment. Just one more payment… and I’m free! Yay!

Many people know one or two things they can do to save money, like cutting back on vacations and meals out, but beyond that, they?re stumped. When they look at their current lifestyle, they have no idea where they can trim the fat without sacrificing their quality of life.That?s exactly what this guide will do. It will help you identify small, painless changes you can make to your daily habits that can add up to big savings?while bringing you closer as a family. By grouping these money-saving tips into a room of the house or errand on a to-do list, you can immediately put your suddenly frugal plan into action?and instantly begin saving money.By pinpointing the dollar amount associated with each cost-saving step, financial whiz and mom Leah Ingram will inspire you to embrace?and enjoy?your new frugality.

About the Author

Leah Ingram (New Hope, PA) is the author of several lifestyle books and hundreds of newspaper, magazine, and web articles. (more…)

Top Three Excuses People Make to NOT Be Frugal

The most common thing that married couples complain about it money. And single people worry about finances as well. Still, adopting a completely frugal lifestyle is not as popular as you might think. The excuses people make to not be frugal range from convenience and quality to perceptions of societal acceptance. The following five excuses people make to not be frugal are common, and really quite silly if your goal is to spend less and save more.

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Feel like you’re trying to dig out from under a mountain of debt without a shovel? Tired of working your tail off just to break even? Is the high cost of living taking all the joy out of life? Unless you’re one of the top two percent of wealthiest Americans, all of the above should sound painfully familiar. While they’re trying to decide between the ski lodge in Telluride and the Tuscan villa, for the rest of us, it’s an endless litany of corporate lay-offs, stagnant wages, crushing credit card debt, skyrocketing medical costs, exorbitant utility bills, the high cost of higher education…. And they call this “the good life.” Is there a better way to live? Can you get what you need and what you want without killing yourself to get it? “Absolutely,” says frugal-living guru Deborah Taylor-Hough, and in Frugal Living For Dummies, she shows you how. In this warmhearted guide to living the good life on less, Deborah shows you how to live within your m (more…)