Hi all,

I've done it before, I'm doing it now, and I'll do it again if I have too...here's the deal:
in 97, we had to sell out & we had NO income, just savings to live on. We got 200 out per week, and that was what we bought everything with..(didn't include rent & bills) NO credit cards. So I did all kinds of things for friends, and was gifted in return with what I needed. Fast forward to economic crisis 2007.
I had to cut down my TV programming this summer. It was actually over 100 per month!!! I cut out HDTV (it didn't make much difference) and saved over 60 per month from that alone!!! If my husband would give it up, I would cancel the whole thing & get all my news online.
Now, thank God, I have a small home based business (had it for about 3 years). Find something that you absolutely HAVE to have (in my case, its these capsules that have raw fruits and veggies in them - for my families health)...I HAD to have them, so I joined the company, and with a 50 investment to join, I get 60 back just with my own orders...SO, doesn't take a too many brains to figure out thats a 20% return on my investment BEFORE I MAKE ANY SALES AT ALL. So, I spread the word about good health & wallah, I make between 250 and 450 every month...a few minutes on the phone here and there, a few brochures and CDs or DVDs later...it's just a personal thing, find something that you are passionate about. NOW, for the future? I've decided being in debt sucks, won't do that again, and I don't care what happens, I WILL NOT go there. If I have to live in a small trailer, or rent again, or build my own house, I'll do what I need to do (I've done it all before after all)...

The key is this: If you ARE NOT happy where you are RIGHT NOW THIS MINUTE, with all your problems and everything....YOU WILL NOT BE happy when you get those problems solved, because by then, there will be others to deal with and etc etc...LOVE yourself, and your family, because that is what counts...

Take care everyone - Deborah - Merry Christmas!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolphinsrsmart Hi all, I've done it before, I'm doing it now, and I'll do it again if I have too...here's the deal: in 97, we had to sell out & we had NO income, just savings to live on. We got 200 out per week, and that was what we bought everything with..(didn't include rent & bills) NO credit cards. So I did all kinds of things for friends, and was gifted in return with what I needed. Fast forward to economic crisis 2007. I had to cut down my TV programming this summer. It was actually over 100 per month!!! I cut out HDTV (it didn't make much difference) and saved over 60 per month from that alone!!! If my husband would give it up, I would cancel the whole thing & get all my news online. Now, thank God, I have a small home based business (had it for about 3 years). Find something that you absolutely HAVE to have (in my case, its these capsules that have raw fruits and veggies in them - for my families health)...I HAD to have them, so I joined the company, and with a 50 investment to join, I get 60 back just with my own orders...SO, doesn't take a too many brains to figure out thats a 20% return on my investment BEFORE I MAKE ANY SALES AT ALL. So, I spread the word about good health & wallah, I make between 250 and 450 every month...a few minutes on the phone here and there, a few brochures and CDs or DVDs later...it's just a personal thing, find something that you are passionate about. NOW, for the future? I've decided being in debt sucks, won't do that again, and I don't care what happens, I WILL NOT go there. If I have to live in a small trailer, or rent again, or build my own house, I'll do what I need to do (I've done it all before after all)... The key is this: If you ARE NOT happy where you are RIGHT NOW THIS MINUTE, with all your problems and everything....YOU WILL NOT BE happy when you get those problems solved, because by then, there will be others to deal with and etc etc...LOVE yourself, and your family, because that is what counts... Take care everyone - Deborah - Merry Christmas!

I've gotta say... you are an aspiration to us who need to get out of debt! I enjoyed your comment, and hope to learn from this.
Reading this thread got me thinking... all the things we have that we say they are a need. NO! We convince ourselves that we cant live with out them, like our cell phones, internet, cable TV, HDTV, dining out, wine, etc. the list can go on and on! YES!! We can cut down to come up with the extra $$$$!

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We try to use our wood burner quite a bit in the winter. As long as we have wood it works great. We live in western PA and don't turn our furnace on till sometime in November. We save about $150+ a month by using the wood burner.

Janiace

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mom to Eddie 15, Natalya 11

Yes we can, I just had to do it. For the last 3 months the army screwed up our pay and we got not even a third of our regular paycheck. And our savings were pretty empty because we just moved.
I cut out everything we didn't need to survive (Netflix... ) and made sure we ate really cheap meals. Nothing extra, no take out food ... It was pretty hard but we made it and it is good to know that we can survive on so much less...

This is what I have done for our family to help out:

Get rid of land line $45 month
No cable $16 month
Consolidate my DH business garbage & home $18 month
Started using vinegar & bleach to clean $20 month
Bought a clothesline and drying rack $?

Things we should do more often to cut back and work on debt snowball
Not eat out as much $100 month
Take brown bag lunches $100 month
Stick closer to my grocery list $100 month
Quit drinking pop $100 month

It is amazing to see where you can cut more expenses when you list them out. I would love to be debt free, it is just getting DH to suffer through for a while!