Is getting out of debt on your goal list?  Maybe it has been on your goal list for years.  Do not be discouraged by that.  I get it that often times we do not actively work on our goals and so we do not achieve the results we are looking for.  I wanted to encourage you no matter the amount, no matter how many years getting out of debt has been on your goal list don't give up, you can do it!

Last year in 2020 we paid off over $25,000 in debt! Here are ten practical ways to attack your debt, these are the things that helped us.

1) Face the Numbers - It can be scary to face the numbers, I get it.  This is your first step, crunch the numbers and face the facts.  Write down ALL of your debt.  There are many free forms you can download, you can also total up the number and put it on a sticky note, don't overthink it.  That is what we did, we crunched the numbers, and wrote the total on a sticky note that we kept on our refrigerator. This way we saw the total we were focused on paying off. Don't avoid the fact that you are in debt, avoiding and ignoring the number is not going to make it go away. Call on old debts and list all of it in one place.  

2) Look Over Every Bill/Statement - This is important, often times there are extra fees, that don't even belong to you, but you just pay because you never look over your statements and just pay the monthly payment.  There have been many times when I have called and inquired about a fee and it has been taken off, just by me calling. Also ask for discounts, you'll be surprised at how much you can save just by asking.  Don't take no for an answer, ask to talk to a supervisor.  Practice asking and continuing to ask!  This is another way to find extra ways to cut your monthly expenses, you know those monthly subscriptions you "meant" to cancel after a free trial. When you see that monthly statement charge, you'll make the time to call and cancel.  When you receive your bills and statements rather than just clicking pay be sure to go over each line item.

3) Staying Home - With the stay at home order, we did so much less shopping, while our on-line Amazon orders did go up some, all other shopping was pretty much eliminated. We reduced our shopping trips immensely even when things started to open back up.  Before the stay at home order, I went to Target weekly, Walmart weekly, Ross, Hobby Lobby, just miscellaneous stops "just to look" which equals spending.  Staying Home is definitely a money saver!

4) Cooking More at Home - I did not realize how much we ate out.  With running kids to and from school, to soccer practice and everything else, we were in the habit of eating out, and even sometimes it wasn't necessarily meals and dinner, but stopping for smoothies, Slurpee's, ice cream, just miscellaneous stops that add up quickly. You will save money by cooking more at home, a key to this though is menu planning and using what you already have in your cupboards.  Even when trying a new recipe, improvise, you may need to swap out an ingredient for what you have on hand, to ensure eliminating extra spending. 

5) Accountability - We attended on-line Zoom "Debt Free Meetings", our church had these daily for a season.  We encouraged each other on ways to eliminate debt, calling our debtors, settling medical debts, ways to negotiate, and walking through how to call for reductions.  We prayed together and encouraged one another, we did debt free financial confessions which you can find on our church website.  Your words have power, say these confessions.

6) Celebrating Christmas Wisely - We had a family meeting with our kids and explained that since we have been working on paying off debt we were going to keep Christmas low key and cut out extra spending.  We still bought them gifts, each child a book, a new pajama set, I had some previous items I had found on clearance, that I saved for Christmas from last year, we also had some gift cards, that we used for gift purchases.  We also filled their stockings with candy, and snacks from the Dollar Store. This way they still had presents to unwrap, and we still stayed committed to not going into debt for Christmas. 

Christmas is eleven months away, and although in January that may seem far, if you plan now you can have an AMAZING Christmas while still being frugal and working towards debt freedom. Save gift cards you win or randomly receive for Christmas, shop the clearance deals, but don't just buy everything, buy quality, buy what you will actually use as a gift.  Also think and plan ahead for homemade gifts, Christmas gifts should be about the thoughtfulness of the gift and not the amount.  Don't be embarrassed to share with your friends and family that you are not participating in the annual gift exchange, that you are working on paying off debt, own it.  You are not in the place to make purchases and that is okay, but really own it don't make this an annual occurrence, part of obtaining debt freedom is so that you can be a blessing to others.  

7) Lowering Monthly Expenses - With my husband working from home, his company paid for our monthly internet bill, helping to lower our monthly expenses.  If you are working from home, ask your company if they will pay for your internet, it is a business expense and most companies are willing to cover that cost for you. Look over what you "think you need" compared to what you want. Cancel Netflix, cancel monthly expenses that are truly not needs. Be creative and open to ways you can lower your monthly expenses. 

8) Call and Shop Around - Remember the art of negotiation, we routinely do this for Insurance, we went with a new auto insurance which lowered our monthly bill.  This is something you should do annually, shop around services that you use and see if you can get it lower.  Cable, Phone, Internet, Insurance, etc. 

9) No Spend Challenge - I know I mentioned staying at home and how it helps curb spending, have you tried a "NO SPEND MONTH"? How about start with a no spend week.  Where you use what you already have in your pantry, and eliminate all spending, just try it, you will be amazed of how much money you can put towards debt retirement.

10)  Faith/Prayer - I am a believer in faith and prayer.  Now I don't believe in just wishful thinking, there is a difference between intentional prayer and wishful thinking.  I really believe when we pray with purpose and we align our actions with our prayer request, things start to line up to help us receive our answered prayer.  We received a miracle blessing in September of an unexpected check of $14,000 which we put towards debt, with this we were able to pay off all of our credit cards.  I am so grateful to God, it was a huge weight lifted off of us, we could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, to be honest at the beginning of 2020 with over $60,000 of debt staring you in the face, debt freedom seemed pretty impossible.  With God NOTHING is impossible, do your part and lean into God to help with the rest.  

We only have our vehicles left and we are actively working on putting extra towards complete debt freedom.  

Having the accountability was the biggest key, phone a friend that is also working on getting out of debt, ask them to be your accountability partner.  You can encourage each other, discuss who you are going to call this week to negotiate lower rates. This is so key in all areas, having a buddy to spur each other on, and help remind you to get back on track when you slip.  Let's make 2021 our best year yet, paying off debt and living our best life!

Thank you for reading if you've enjoyed the content you've read above please share with your friends.  I would love to hear from you, I would be happy to e-mail you debt tracking forms that I used and follow your debt freedom journey.  You can e-mail me at theblogaboutitall@gmail.com.