Ways to Save Money
Every time I pick up a magazine or turn on the television, I’m reading or hearing about ways to save money. With the economy the way it is and so many people living in debt, it’s really not surprising that this is such a primary topic of conversation. In our family, we’re really having to plan things out carefully before doing anything, everything from having the exterior of the house painted to traveling to California for Thanksgiving, it all as to be planned out and budgeted for.
For many, budgeting comes to late and then, after accumulating too much debt, they need to consolidate debt and need options. Options include everything from debt management, debt settlement, or credit counseling to debt consolidation loans and mortgage refinancing. For us, we’re focused on saving. Saving includes everything from regular savings account to 401k’s.
Of course, saving money isn’t always that easy. There is a give and take. We can take a lot of little weekend vacations, or, we can put the money we’d spend on those weekend getaways into savings. We prefer to save it. Even when I traveled in July for 2 weeks, I had all that money saved up and paid cash for everything that we did. It’s so nice to come home and not have to think about credit card bills coming in after the fact.
In the past though, we have refinanced our mortgage to reduce debt. We have such a low interest rate now that I’m glad we don’t personally need to do that now, but it’s a smart option if you have a good credit rating, can afford the payment and have equity in your home.
What have you ever done to consolidate debt?
