Fix My Finances

I just read an interesting article (that directed me to an interesting website) all about extreme frugality. The author of the article and woman behind the site is putting her family on a debt crash diet in 2006, with the goal of paying off all the family debt and saving $12,000 by the end of the year.

The idea is that with no debt and a good little pile of savings, you could really follow your dreams, and you’d be working for now instead of the past.

It’s a great idea if your family really supports it. This family is giving up cable, eating out, magazine subscriptions, etc., as well as cutting the food budget in half.

Your family might not be able (or willing) to make such drastic cuts, but in this time of year when everyone seems to be thinking of the future, maybe you should give some thought to going on a little debt diet of your own. Could you give up eating out (or cut down to once a week)? Or cut out the trips to the convenience store for snacks? Maybe you could drop one tier of cable or resist the urge to upgrade your computer.

Whatever you do, stick to the plan and save all that money, either for paying down your personal debt or putting into a savings account if you don’t have debt you need to pay off.

Maybe a crash diet isn’t in order, but putting your budget through a workout can reap huge benefits.

Sarah White wrote this on December 1st, 2005 and filed it under Budgeting, Credit Card Debt, Debt, Fix My Finances, Saving, Simplify |