5 Ways To Help Reduce Your Debt

Debt! It’s like a horde of locusts chewing through the greenery in your wallet. Not a pleasant thought, unless you’re an insect lover.  Here we have some great selections of ideas for reducing not only your monthly outgoings but also a selection of tips that could just save you skin if you find yourself swamped in debt.

You’ve no doubt read 1001 different ways to save money: using online discount codes to cut back on your monthly shopping bills, shopping around to find ways to cut back on your utility bills, etc. The question is, “How many of us take this advice?” – beyond using vouchers and coupons, not many. So it’s time to sit up and take action.

We lead busy lives, fact. Roll back 10 years and our options were limited. The internet was in its infancy and price comparison sites were non-existent so your only option was to phone around trying to get the best deal. But times have changed and we will in a connected world with all the information we need at our fingertips. The Yellow Pages ditty, ‘Let your fingers do the walking’, applies now, more than ever before.

I did a little digging on the internet and put together 5 ideas to help you cut down on your outgoings as a step towards managing your debt:

1. Zap Your Electricity Bills

Unless you plan on moving into a very sparsely furnished cave you will need an electricity supply. Every year, electricity bills go up but there ways to cut back on your annual bills. Wind turbines will cost from about £600 upwards. They’re not cheap but some models are capable of saving you that same £600 and, once you get your return on your investment, it’s plain sailing for the frugal shopper. http://www.windtrap.co.uk/ have a good selection of models to browse.

2. Heating

At the time of writing, we’re still in the depths of winter and it can get really cold. Keeping your house cosy and snug is not cheap. We all know that the simplest way to keep ourselves toasty in the cold weather is to make sure you home is properly insulated but most of us never get around to it. Here’s a motivator for you – think of the heat escaping from your house a £10 notes – it soon adds up.

3. Car Fuel

It’s February 2011 and there’s no let up on the price of vehicle fuel. With every day that goes by it seems like more and more is added to the price. The are a couple of (legal) options to consider: convert your car to run on gas. It’s expensive but it will save you money in the long run. Alternatively, you can the rapidly growing number of fuel price comparison sites out on the web.

4. Food Bills

Fact: we have to eat. Along with taxes and death, it’s one of the few constants in life. If you’re of the green fingered persuasion you could create your own vegetable plot in the garden. If you lack the space why not rent an allotment from the local council or try to find a local urban farming group?

5. Clothes

Before I leap into this tip, bear in mind that there are a lot of people out there who don’t have much money. Two words: charity shops! This idea might not appeal to some of you but there are huge savings to be found. If you take 10 minutes just to browse the rails you might be pretty surprised at what you can pick. A quick example; I visited three charity shops and flicked through their clothes and came up with a winner – 1 x Monsoon blouse with the label still on it going for £7! Easy pickings.

That’s it for now. Don’t just read these money saving tips – go out and use them. There’s a whole world of bargains waiting out there and, right now, I’m guessing that most of could could do with finding ways to saving a little more cash.