Some tips for cutting costs, saving money etc.

[OMGWhatHaveIdone]

There were times when I was having difficulty making payments on loans. The first thing I did was call the OC and explain the situation before it got way out of hand. They were willing to work with me and they adjusted the payments on a temporary basis until I was able to get in a better financial situation. Unfortunately, because I couldn't continue on the lesser payment plan, I was taken off of it. They allowed me to skip a few payments, but those were tacked onto the back of the loan. They couldn't keep doing that forever. And while they tried hard to work with me, eventually my lack of income led to the downfall of my credit being ruined.

As long as I remained in contact with them, they were willing to work with me. Not every creditor will be this nice or this patient, but the thing is, is when you start having financial problems, do NOT run from them. Avoiding the first calls from an OC can set you up for bigger problems down the road. That's a hard lesson that I have had to learn.

Your mortgage company doesn't want your house back. They want to work with you. If you start getting behind, contact them immediately. They might be able to offer you some solutions that you didn't know existed. They might have programs that you would qualify for. Be diligent in looking for ways to improve your situation.

1. If money is tight - go through your house. See what you can sell to come up with the extra cash to help you out until your situation improves. Your material possessions aren't as important as keeping that roof over your family's head.

2. Call your utility companies. They may have programs to put you on a budget billing cycle. You may qualify for a CAP program.

3. Stop using the credit cards to "get you by". Remember - that $4.00 gallon of milk you put on your card, will cost more because of the interest that you are paying on the card. Put the cards in a drawer and forget about them.

4. People facing a financial hardship often suffer depression. Depression leads to inpulse purchases because it's a "temporary feel-good" and lets you forget about your troubles for all of ten minutes. It's just not a good idea to spend money on things that will make the situation worse down the road. Think of it as a snow-ball effect. If you can avoid that viscious circle before you get sucked into it, then you'll be better off.

5. Put yourself on a strict budget. McDonald's is convenient, but don't make it a way of providing daily meals for your family. The money you spend on eating out, will stretch farther in a grocery store.

6. If you have school-aged children, see if you qualify for free or reduced meals at the school.

7. Learn how to make better food choices and take advantage of the coupons you can get for free online. I shave $50 off of my grocery bill each time I go to the store, simply because I use coupons. Buy the store brand versions of things you normally eat. What people don't know is that most of the time, the store brands are made by the same companies that make the major brands.

8. Buy things in bulk. If you have the freezer space, buy freezer paper and divide your bulk meats into sizes you can make into meals. I always do this. I get ten pounds of ground beef and divide it into one pound portions, freeze it, mark and date it and then use it as I need it. Only make what you and your family will actually eat. How many times do you end up throwing out left overs because no one wants them?

9. If you have to temporarily go without the better internet service and make due with dial-up, then so be it. Paying $9.95 per month for a cheap dial-up service is better than nothing. Broadband/cable can be as high as $40 a month. You can save $30.00 a month which works out to a yearly savings of $360 a year.

10. If you have to give up the cable tv for a while, then do it. No one in the family is going to die because they can't watch their favorite cable shows. This is good if you think your kids are spending way too much time in front of the tv anyway. Tell them to find something else to do. Play a game, read a book etc.

11. Be aware of the amount of electricity you are using up in your home. Have 4 tv's? Are they all on and no one is watching them? Turn off computers if you are not using them. Letting things run when not in use, uses up more electricity than necessary.

12. Consider looking into a weatherization program to help cut heating and air conditioning costs.

[crzy2]

Hey, thanks OMG for the great tips!

I already do some of them and they are making a difference. For instance, buying meats and other things in bulk. I also have gotten into the habit and planning my meals ahead of time so I know exactly what I need to buy at the grocery store.

Last month I went over my phone bill and found I was paying for features I didn't need, changed plans and will save at least $20 a month. We got rid of the cell phone this month, went to a cheaper plan for internet service (we can only get dial-up but was paying the higher fee plan).

We consolidate our trips into town. We are retired and don't work (at the moment) and going into town is 12 miles one way. We try to go grocery shopping only twice a month, one of those trips includes the drug store for monthly prescriptions and any other business in town. We are saving on gas this way.

I've learned (since joining this forum by the way) to pay my bills on line and save stamps and trips to the post office too.

We also sold some gold jewelry at a local store. We have some items around the house too that we can sell if we can find anyone interested. I'm thinking of putting a free ad in "craigslist" or usfreeads.com for that stuff.

[OMGWhatHaveIdone]

Keep up the good work! Sounds like you've gotten into some great habits. I live in a rural area, but fortunately, I am within walking distance to two major grocery stores, three different banks, and a host of other stores. In the summer, during times when my kids aren't here, I will often walk where ever I can. When I ride my bike, I usually take my dog with me so he can pull me up the hills. He's big enough and full of energy so he can do it LOL!

We're even within walking distance from the post office. Being out in the country, I am on a first name basis with the employees there and they will often go out of their way to help anyone that needs it. I had to mail a few letters last year and didn't put enough postage on one envelope. They paid it then put a small envelope in my mail box letting me know how much was due. I put change in there and handed it to the mail carrier the next day. She brings supplies if I need them from the P.O. as well. I've given her checks for stamps before. She always carries stamps with her so you write a check to the post office, hand it to the carrier, she gives you your stamps and your mail and off she goes.

Sometimes living in the country pays off.

[jezter6]

Just to follow the theme - I'm doing this as well.

1) Cut my cell phone rate plan. I was on an $85/mo cell plan (blackberry) for my personal phone leftover from an old job but I have a new blackberry for my new job. So I went and changed my plan down to the lowest plan they have, saves me close to $40/mo

2) Cut out the unneccesary monthly subscriptions. Netflix is my killer. I haven't rented new movies in weeks (read: months) and I'm spending $18 for NOTHING. I am also cancelling my TrueCredit account as I realize I don't NEED to be so on top of my credit. Things happen slowly, and the $10-12 a month that costs is causing me to obsess over logging in and trying to see if I have any new changes.

3) Con my roommate into driving when he suggests we go somewhere. If it's not MY trip that I want to take - I'm not driving.

4) Buying at costco whenever possible.

5) Going to the bar less. I make my own beer, no need to spend $3-4 on a beer when I have my own beer for under $1 a beer.

6) Putting on an extra blanket at night instead of turning up the heat

[scorch]

A few things I do and don't:

1. Turn off stuff when I'm not using it.
   
2. Don't buy stuff I can't afford.
   
3. Got with a cheaper cell phone plan.
   
4. Go to the store for food or beer instead of going out to a bar or restaurant.
   
5. Use public transportation.
   
6. Keep track of money coming in and going out.
   
7. Don't use a debit card, use an ATM card instead and carry cash.
   

[jezter6]

A few things I do and don't:

1. Don't use a debit card, use an ATM card instead and carry cash.
   

Not that I'm good with money - but this is one thing I will disagree on. Using cash allows you to spend freely without any record of the transaction and where you spent your money. At least with a debit card you have that bank record of how much you spent and where to go back at the end of the month to see where you spent your money.

Using cash means you don't know where $100 of the $300 you pulled out of the ATM went unless you get a receipt (and save it) for everything.

[scorch]

Not that I'm good with money - but this is one thing I will disagree on. Using cash allows you to spend freely without any record of the transaction and where you spent your money. At least with a debit card you have that bank record of how much you spent and where to go back at the end of the month to see where you spent your money.

Using cash means you don't know where $100 of the $300 you pulled out of the ATM went unless you get a receipt (and save it) for everything.

Well it works for me. It is not where the money went that I particularly look at, it is the dollar amount. I used to use a debit card, but it made it too easy to actually use it everywhere so I decided to use an ATM card instead. I'll usually only take out maybe $20 - $40 every once in a while and each to their own of course.

[Chester P. Dexter]

You guys should sign up for Mint.com. Then pay for everything with some kind of card (not cash, I mean.) Credit card or ATM, either one is fine.

Every day when you log in, you will see new transactions. I look at them every day because sometimes they are miscategorized like when they thought Sam's Club was a doctor or Texaco was a restaurant. You just fix it with a click.

But the point is, you will be forced to confront your spending. Example: If you went out to Friendly's (ice cream joint, for those outside of this region) you'll see, "$34.99 Friendly's - food and dining - restaurants" and you'll feel stupid for spending that money on some greasy sandwiches and whipped cream sundaes if you really should have put that toward paying down a bill. Of you can harangue your spouse for all the knickknacks and gadgets they buy, like, "Honey, what did you buy on Ebay this week? $25 today and $50 yesterday?!?!"

Also, Mint will say, "You spent $259.65 on restaurant dining this month," or whatever, and you'll feel like an a$$. Personally, I like being forced to look at my spending. I find myself thinking twice before buying because I know I'll have to reconcile it the next day in Mint and I don't know if I want, for example, my "fast food" category total to be embarrassingly high.

[matthewscott]

You guys should sign up for Mint.com.

That's interesting. How much does it cost?

[Chester P. Dexter]

It's free. You just have to get over the fear (if you have this fear) of the site using your logins and passwords to access all of your accounts. They say the passwords are not stored there, blah blah blah. At first I was wary of it but now I login there several times per day to see if any surprise money came in to any of my accounts.

[Denita]

It's free. You just have to get over the fear (if you have this fear) of the site using your logins and passwords to access all of your accounts. They say the passwords are not stored there, blah blah blah. At first I was wary of it but now I login there several times per day to see if any surprise money came in to any of my accounts.

Wow! How do I sign up for suprise money coming into my accounts??? Does that come with the mint membership?

[Chester P. Dexter]

Mint is great! I love it.

I had posted previously that it could not handle my margin investment accounts. They said the fixed the problem, and sure enough, today I was able to add those accounts and they are showing up properly.

I am hooked on Mint and can't live without it.

[Dre]

I need to check my Mint account more often. I'm sure it get's crazy addicting once you get to know the site better.

[debtmamma]

Make inexpensive but takes a long time to cook food ahead of time. Beans, rice, wheat berries and barely can be made in a crockpot (I boil and drain beans first and then use fresh water in the crockpot) and then stored in the fridge.

Whole chickens are usually the best deal on meat as far as the cost for each gram of protien.

Beef knuckles & leftover veggies make a really good soup base, they are so inexpensive! I freeze it and then add it to our meals.

[CASD]

I found this page that is free but you have to sign in... Power Pay https://powerpay.org/login.php

It lets you enter your bills and lets you see they different ways to pay everything off sooner.. Highest int. , or Snowball or your way or .. it's quite the eye opener