Locating Extra Cash to Pay Down Debt

In my search for a few additional dollars to begin the process of paying down debt I started with my bills. Yes, I know that seems like a silly place, but in reality it is a very good place to start.

By reviewing my current bills, I found small changes that could result in savings each month. Going over my electric bill and the wonderful newsletter enclosed I found that over the next month by just air drying our clothes (not towels, we do like those fluffy!) I saved $50.00 on that bill. I plan to continue to do this on a regular basis.

I also reviewed my phone bill and found I was paying a monthly fee for a long distance service, as well as a small fee for the privilege of having a non-published number. In this day and age a non-published number is useless. Computers just automatically dial phone numbers sequentially for sales people. As for long distance, we rarely if ever call long distance. Another small savings of about $4.00 per month.

As a family, we also went over our budget. With a family of six, this can be a daunting task. Children often believe that non-essential items are a necessity. My husband and I quickly realized that with 3 children in school, hot lunches had to go. Hot lunches at our local schools with one each in elementary, middle and high school would average about $100.00 per month.

Each child tried to convince me why they should be entitled to have a hot lunch, but the savings quickly overwhelmed their objections. As a treat, I do plan on offering a hot lunch at school from time to time. Until then, teaching them the valuable lesson of packing a lunch is priceless as they grow into adulthood.

We plan to continue to spend this found cash. Instead of just using it for fun, we plan on applying it to one of our smaller debts until it is paid off! After the first debt is gone, we will add that payment and any additional found money to continue paying on the next debt. Using this approach, we hope to also have our home paid off and be debt free in ten years.