3 easy ways to save money and pay off debt

Don't have the cash? Then don't buy it!

Work and play, earn and spend -It's the way the economy survives, but what about your survival? If you're having trouble saving money, don't have a dedicated savings account or just don't know how to stop spending, you may have a problem.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Huffington Post has offered several money-saving ideas to help cut costs in and around the home. None of the following methods are particularly difficult, the hardest part is showing some restraint in certain areas. It may hurt at first, but your wallet and savings account will thank you in the end.

1. Eat at Home
Do you have a habit of picking up fast and convenient meals from drive-thru windows, quick trips to the grocery store at the last minute or rely on restaurant pickup services?

Well stop it.

Restaurants and other food establishments earn their money by adding up the cost of the meals they serve and raise that price up to 2.5 times! 

Packing lunches for work, making our own coffee and buying simple ingredients to fast and easy meals -which can be found online- can save hundreds of dollars each month! If you like to eat out but don't believe you're overspending, just look into your bank account spending history or read your credit card bills. How much are you spending every month on fast food?

2. Pay off Debt
Speaking of credit card bills, debt can really leave a dent in your wallet. Interest fees alone hold you back and prevent you from paying off credit cards or loans in a timely manner. Many people max out credit cards, sometimes resulting in constant calls from debt collectors and banks. 
Paying the minimum payment doesn't help. Consider consolidating loans with a much smaller interest rate and shuffle your spending a bit so you can pay it off as quickly as possible. 

An easy way to keep your head above water is to think of spending this way: If you don't have the cash to purchase something, don't buy it.

Simple, right? In theory, yes but in practice, several of us struggle with wanting the latest tech or struggle with paying for gas and groceries between paydays. What do you do then?

3. Downsize
Above all, the best way to cut expenses and prevent debt is to live simply. We can save more when we stop subscribing to "premium" versions of things we don't need. Cable and telephone bills can be cut down by choosing the lower cost plans.

Do your children really need phones with data plans? Are those magazine subscriptions necessary? Are you paying for cable, Hulu, Amazon Prime AND Netflix? Do you absolutely need to?

On a grander scale you can always consider whether you need a large home that requires higher utility bills, may or may not require housing fees, a gardener and a variety of costly repairs.

The bottom line is that you need discipline to save money. You need to determine what is necessary and what isn't. Once that has been decided, you will notice you have more money between checks and can still live comfortably.

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