by Trent Hamm
Available in 24 free installments
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45. Master the ten second rule. Whenever you pick up an item in order to add it to your cart or to take it to the checkout, stop for ten seconds and ask yourself why you're buying it and whether you actually need it or not [61] , If you can't find a good answer, put the item back. This keeps me from making impulse buys on a regular basis.
46. Rent out unused space in your home. Do you have an extra bedroom that's not being used? Rent it out. In our home, we could, if times were tough, rent out our entire
basement - it has a "living room," a bedroom, and a bathroom and has a stairwell right by the kitchen. If we found the right person, this would bring in a lot of extra money.
47. Create a visual reminder of your debt. Basically, just make a giant progress bar that starts with the amount of debt you have and ends with zero [62] , Each time you pay down a little bit, fill in a little more of that progress bar. Keep this reminder in a place where you'll see it often, and keep filling it in regularly. It keeps your eyes on the prize and leads you straight to debt freedom.
48. Get rid of unread magazine subscriptions. Do you have a pile of unread magazines sitting around your house? Likely, it's the result of a subscription that you're not reading. Not only should you not renew that magazine, you should give their subscription department a call and try to cancel for a refund - sometimes, they'll give you the prorated amount back. I've had to cull my subscriptions in the past, but I've never regretted it.
49. Eat breakfast. Eating a healthy breakfast fills you up with energy for the day and also decreases your desire to eat a big lunch in the middle of the day. Not only that, breakfast can be very healthy, quick, and inexpensive [63]. A bowl of oatmeal in the morning is often the one thing that keeps me from running out to eat an expensive lunch later in the day - and it keeps me peppy and full of energy for the entire morning instead of in a coffee-laced daze.
50. Swap babysitting with neighbors. We live in a neighborhood with an army of young children out and about. Because of that, there are a lot of parents out there who are quite willing to swap babysitting nights with us, saving you the money of hiring one for an evening out. A few families even take this to incredible extremes. Try to find another set of parents or two that you trust, and swap nights of babysitting with them. That way, you'll get occasional evenings free without the cost of a babysitter, saving you some scratch.
51. Don't fear leftovers - instead, jazz them up. Many people dread eating leftovers -they're just inferior rehashes of regular meals, not exactly enjoyable to the discerning palate. However, there's nothing cheaper than eating leftovers and with a few great techniques for making leftovers tasty [64] , you can often end up with something
surprising and quite delicious on the other end. My favorite technique? Chaining - using the leftovers as a basis for an all-new dish.
52. Go through your clothes - all of them. If you have a regular urge to buy clothes, go through everything that you have and see what you might find. Take the clothes at the back of the closet and bring them to the front and suddenly your wardrobe will feel completely different. Take the clothes buried in your dresser and pull them to the top. You'll feel like a brand new person who doesn't need to spend money on clothes right now.
53. Brown bag your lunch. Instead of going out to eat at work, take your own lunch. Lots of people think that this means "nasty lunch," but it doesn't. With some thoughtful preparation and just a few minutes of time [65] , you can create something quite enjoyable for your brown bag lunch - and save a fistful of cash each day, too.
54. Learn how to dress minimally. Buy clothes that mix and match well and you'll not need nearly as many clothes. If you have five pants, seven shirts, and seven ties that all go together, you have almost an endless wardrobe right there just by mixing and matching. This is exactly what I do in order to minimize clothes buying and still look
professional -1 just mix and remix what I wear by using utilitarian clothes options to begin with.
Day 57: Brown Baggin It. Photo by Brymo
55. Ask for help and encouragement from your inner circle. Sit down and talk to the people you love and care about the most and ask them for help. Tell them that you're trying to trim your spending and you'd love it if they offered any suggestions and support they might have - and pay attention to what they tell you. They might have some personal insights for your situation that will really help.
