DIY -- debt sucks

Actually, that should be Debt Sucks.
It's part of the title of a book.
By a woman whose family paid down $48,000 in debt in less than three years.
She's not old.
She didn't crowdfund this.
She and her family went DIY for three years.
They threw out the premium cable and vacations.
They sold excess toys like TVs.

Here are other ideas.
Get rid of the gym membership.  Seriously, how often do you use it? 
DIY exercise includes mall-walking -- without your credit card -- and wall pushups.

Stay out of stores unless you can't live without it.  If every piece of clothing you own is ripped, and not because it's fashionable, THEN buy something new.
Otherwise you can live without it.

Stay out of restaurants unless you can save part of it.
All restaurants serve too much; if you have an office fridge, only eat half of it and take the rest home for a separate meal.
This will also help you lose weight DIY.

Don't buy chicken tenders.
Buy whole boneless breasts, or better yet, buy bone-in breasts.
You can roast some and take out the bones to make sandwiches.
You can soup some (see the Mirepoix recipe I posted earlier).

Don't use your phone as a grocery list.
The people who go to the store and then call home to see what they should get waste money two ways.
First, the conversations cost minutes on your phone.  If you do that every week, you're wasting money.
Second, it takes longer in the store.  You could be using that time to DIY something at home.
Third, the person on the other end of the phone isn't looking at the unit pricing of items.  They don't know which products are more economical.
Oh wait, that's three.  Well.
The two of you should make a list of what you're going to cook for the week,
THEN the ingredients, and these go on a shopping list.
Which should NOT be on your phone because that uses data minutes and wastes money.
Use the back of an envelope and hand-write the list.
If you can't find something that's on the list, you might not be able to make that  recipe but you can probably substitute.

Don't ignore debt.  Do something about it.  Read Ja'net Adams' book (IN THE LIBRARY) and get some inspiration.
© Patricia Jo Heil, 2013-2018 All Rights Reserved