Luke 14:28-30 (The Message)

-John C. Maxwell

By getting your money sooner you can apply it to debt or invest right away. If you owe money, the longer you keep it the more time you have it to work for you.

I would like your suggestionsof the best ways you know to get out of debt. I have listed a few below to get the ideas flowing in your mind. Use the contact form above to submit your ideas. I will than put the ideas together and show them to you in a future post. So if you’ve arecommendation please submit it today.

• Stay out of Debt. Pay cash for all your purchases and do not take on any new debt accept for a home home.
• Spend less than you earn. Live below your income.
• When your debt is closed out, put 60% into savings and enjoy the remaining 40%,
• Know your liabilities. Create a spreadsheet showing exactly everything you owe, include monthly payments, interest, balances and a running total of all your balances. Update it monthly as you pay off debt. It is very motivating to watch the change.
• Only have one credit card. It must have a low limit and you must pay it off every month.
• Build your emergency fund. Any extra money, via tax return, birthday, raise, etc. put into your emergency fund. Once that’s built add it to your debt payoff.
• Cut up your credit cards and do not get any new ones.

Money is like a reputation for ability–more easily made than kept.
-Samuel Butler

The safest way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.
-Frank McKinney Hubbard

Money begets money.
-Italian Proverb

Anybody can make a fortune, it takes a genius to hold on to one.
-Jay Gould (attributed)

Money is flat and meant to be piled up.
-Scottish Proverb

Here are a few tips to save you money when you’re on heading out on vacation this summer.

Ask for a cheaper rate at a hotel/motel

Make sure that you’re talking to someone in authority such as a manager if you want to bargain. A good strategy is to call before you arrive and imply that you will only be staying there if their rates appease you.

Don’t pay for anything other than your room

Food, gifts, movies, whatever. Just about everything in the a motel/hotel are priced high so if you need something get it elsewhere.

Look at the great outdoors

On a week-long summer excursion to Glacier National Park, you’ll pay $12 per night for the right stay in the campgrounds. Those who lodge in the chalet 1/4 mile away will pay in excess of $100 per night. (prices may change so do not quote these, check them out for sureon the internet or by phone)

Run a full dishwasher and washing machine

You will do fewer loads and save water, you’ll use less energy to heat the water you do use. Wash your clothes in cool water whenever possible (hot water uses eight times as much energy as cold) and do not use the heater when drying dishes in the dishwasher. Let the dishes air dry when you can.

Get a hot water heater with a timer

You don’t need hot water at 3:30 in  the morning. With a timer on your hot water heater you can have it set for the times you really need it, but you will not use energy when you don’t.

Shutters and shades

In the summer, shutters or shades will keep a room cool by preventing the magnified rays of the sun from filtering through the windows. In the winter, open them up and let the sun assist in heating your home. Shutters and shades also protect windows from weather damage.

Plan a menu for the week, create a grocery list and stick to it. You can save five, ten, even twenty dollars or more a week doing this.

Put those extra dollars into your debt reduction payment for the month.

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In One Word: Conserve

Here are some common sense ideas to think about. Do you really care to light a room that no one is in? The lights, the television, the stereo, the computer, the heat and air conditioning. Turn them off if you are not using them. Don’t use them if you don’t have to.

Eight hours of TV casts nearly five dollars in energy, an air conditioner that is on frequently can cost over $100 a month or more. See if you can cut these figures in half, just by using a Littlecommon sense.

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