Obtaining Financial Freedom

There are so many options to getting you on the road to the ultimate goal of financial freedom. Here are just a few ideas:

Pay off your mortgage. Easier said than done, right? Just think of all the extra money each month you will have once it is completely paid off. There are new programs available that will help you pay off your loan at a fraction of the usual time. What it does is used every spare and unused penny towards your mortgage payment. It also helps you figure out how long it will take to pay it off at that rate. United First Financial offers this program--which is called the money merge account. An early mortgage payoff can help you towards a stress-free and debt-free life.

Downgrade Services. Don't worry; this is only until you can get out of debt and you have loads of unused money floating around. Common services to downgrade are cable, internet, gym memberships, and phone. This may seem like a trivial amount to save each month, but it really adds up. The money that you save should be put toward paying off your debts.

Yard Sale: As simple and juvenile as they seem, you can put the entire amount to your monthly payments. That is money that is not coming out of your paycheck. And we all know we can use all the help we can get when it comes to getting out of debt.

Buy Off-Brands: When you go grocery shopping, you can save a great deal of money if you stop buying the expensive brands and go with the cheaper product. Not only will your grocery bill will be a lot less,but you will have peace of mind knowing that you have a little extra money in your checking account than normal--a little buffer.

Cutting back is a great way to save some money. And with that saved money, you can put it towards paying off your debt. It may seem trivial, but the money will add up quickly--getting you that much closer to financial freedom.

Downgrade:
This might be one that makes us groan in annoyance. But by downgrading multiple services--including cable, internet, and gym memberships--you can save yourself a hefty amount each month. And you can always upgrade those services once you get a handle on your debt.

Bring Your Lunch:
Just by bringing your lunch to work everyday can really save you some money. Think about it. Say, if your lunch costs about $5 a day (that is even on the low end), you can save $25 during a five day work week. You can save roughly $100 a month just by bringing your lunch instead of going out to eat.

Get Rid Of Non-Essentials:
If you are really serious about getting out of debt, you might consider getting rid of any services that are not essential. This could include movie rental clubs and so on--basically, any type of club that you have to pay fees. Give them the boot and put that money to better use until you can get out of debt.

Save on Utilities:
This one is pretty simple. Do things like take shorter showers, turn off the air conditioning or heater while you are gone at work for the day, wear a few more layers instead of turning the heat on full blast. You could even take showers at the gym, if you get desperate.

Buy Off-Brands:
I know that some of us are what they call "brand snobs". We will only buy certain brands--for whatever reason. But now is the time to start buying the off-brands. Most of the time, the off-brands are almost the same as the brand names--and at a better price. After you buy the off-brands, compare your receipts from previous shopping trips to see how much you will be saving.

Carpool:
With the price of gas, this is a good idea. A lot of our extra money is now going to fill our gas tanks so we can go about our normal, daily lives. Find someone who is willing to trade carpooling duties. You'll be surprised how much money you can save.

Public Transportation:
If you can't find someone to carpool with, consider taking some form of public transportation. I added it up for myself, and personally taking public transportation to work everyday would cost me half of what it normally does per month.

Transportation Alternatives:
Get a bicycle. And use that for trips to close places. If you are fortunate enough to live close enough to your job that you can just ride a bike, go for it. It can save you loads of money, and your heart will thank you later.

Discount Programs:
Especially when the economy is so bad, there are many companies offering discount programs. I've noticed a lot of gas stations that will sell discounted gas to those with their special savings cards. It is only a few cents per gallon that you will save, but it adds up quickly--especially now that gas prices are getting towards the $5 mark.

Trade Schools:
Go to training schools for haircuts, and other thins of that nature. If you ask for students who are about to graduate, you should get a pretty good haircut. They hardly charge anything at all because they need the experience. And remember, hair grows back, right? Let's face it: regular haircuts can get mighty expensive--namely for women.

Automatic Payments:
Sometimes companies will lower your interest rate if you sign up for automatic payments. My school loan is set up that way. Because I signed up for automatic monthly withdrawals, they lower it a few percentage points. That may not seem like a lot now, but it will really save me a lot of money over the length of the loan.