How to Drastically Cut Expenses

drastically cut expenses.” src=”https://mymoneychronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/How-to-Drastically-Cut-Expenses-640×960.png” alt=”” width=”640″ height=”960″ />What’s going on everyone? I hope all is well with you. Things are going pretty well on my end. As you know I’ve been working on eliminating my debt for a few years now. Since I’ve been on this journey to debt freedom, I’ve done two things. They are looking for ways to increase income and working on how to drastically cut expenses. These are things that everyone can do. You just have to want to change. Let’s get started with the first thing.

Get Rid of Your Car Note

Eliminate your car note. You will save so much money each month by not having one. I currently have $1100 to go and my car note will be history. At one point, I didn’t have a car note for 3 years. It was a hell of a time. I was able to use that money for some of my other debts. Once the car is paid off this time, I’m putting the majority of that money on my student loans.

If you have a car note, you can do a couple of things to get rid of it. You can do some side hustles like I’m doing and use every dollar to help you pay it off. You can also downsize or sell it. That’s not an option for everyone and I understand. Depending on where you live, you can use public transportation. You can also walk or ride a bike. There’s a lot of different opportunities out there. Look at your situation and figure out what the best option is for you.

Low Rent

I live in a city literally two minutes from Atlanta. I caught a steal when I moved into my one-bedroom apartment. Believe it or not, I only pay $775 per month. Water and gas are included. This is perfect for someone like me who is paying down their debt. My apartment seems like it’s getting smaller because I’m buying more items to sell on eBay. I eventually plan on moving into something bigger, but for right now I have to continue the sacrifice.

Depending on where you live, you may not be as lucky to find a place that cheap. Some cities do have cheap rent, but it may be in the hood. Most people wouldn’t want to move to the hood for safety reasons. I totally understand. The next thing on the how to drastically cut expenses is for you.

Get a Roommate

Getting a roommate can help you save a lot of money. You have someone to go half with the rent and utilities. You can’t beat that. Some cultures thrive by having roommates, while others shun the idea. At the end of the day, who cares what anyone thinks. The name of the game is to cut these expenses. Depending on your situation, a roommate can help you with that.

When it comes to finding a roommate, make sure you live with someone that you can tolerate. You’ll be sharing spaces with this person, so it will be to your advantage to get along with them. Try not to room with your best friend. Doing that can work, but I’ve also seen relationships suffer because the people became roommates. I had a situation where I moved in with one of my old best friends. It was a trainwreck. Our relationship was never the same after that.

Unplug Things

This might be a little crazy to some people, but I don’t care. I unplug certain things like TVs, the toaster, and phone chargers when I’m not using them. That saves me a little money. For the last year, my Georgia Power bill averaged $52 per month. I’ll take that any day. I’ve had months where I only had to pay $29. You can’t beat that. If you’ve considered unplugging some things, do it. It’s not doing too much, it’s saving you money.

No DVR

I still have cable. Honestly, I don’t see myself getting rid of it anytime soon. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I LOVE my sports. I’m not into streaming sports every day. Sometimes the signal isn’t the best, and it also lags. With cable, I don’t have to worry about those problems. One thing I never purchased and probably never will is a DVR. There’s nothing that I’d want to record. In my opinion, a DVR is a waste of money. If there’s a show or something that you miss, you could probably find it online within a week or two.

Cable & Internet

I don’t bundle my cable and internet, but I still get great deals. I’m paying under $130 for both of them combined. Every six months, I call them and ask if they have any discounts or anything. Since I’ve been a long time customer, they are able to knock a little bit off of my bill. If they say no, I threaten to go to a competitor. These companies don’t want to lose business. They will give you a discount. If you aren’t the type to negotiate deals with the cable or internet companies, try Billshark. They will do the work for you. Click on the link below for more info.

Get more info about Billshark today.

Clothing

I don’t spend that much on clothing and shoes. At one point of my life, I was getting new shoes every few months. Every once in a while, I may get a shirt or some jeans. I do need a couple of new items, but I’m focused on getting rid of this debt. The clothes can wait. If you do want to buy some clothes shop at stores like TJ Maxx and Ross. You can also visit thrift stores as well. Doing that will allow you to get new or gently used items and save money.

Cook

Next up on the list on how to drastically cut expenses is to cook food at home. Back in the day, I used to go out to eat several times per week. Some days I’d go out for lunch and dinner. Now, I cook a lot more. It’s saved me a lot of cash over the past few years. I take my lunch to work on most days, so I’m not spending $20 – $30 per week like I used to.

This is something that’s pretty easy for you to do as well. You can come up with a list and meal prep every week if you have the time. You can also use the Ibotta app. It will help you save money on items when you are at the store.

Sign up for Ibotta today!

Get Out of Debt

You probably hear this all the time, but it’s the truth. Getting out of debt is one of the best things that you can do if you are really asking how to drastically cut expenses. Not having a lot of debt can make things so much better for you. It will release your stress and allow you to do more things with your money.

Check this post out that has 40+ side hustle ideas that will help you get out of debt.

Free Stuff

We all love to have fun in this thing called life. You don’t have to go broke doing it. There are so many free things that you can do. You can go to the park and walk or you could find free events in your city. The post below also has some other ideas.

35+ Productive Things to Do When Bored

If you are looking for a list of ten ways on how to drastically cut your expenses, then this list was for you. These are things that anybody can do. They are not difficult at all. I’m currently doing or have done many of them myself. They have worked for me for a few years now. If you incorporate a couple of them, they may work for you as well.

What are some ways you keep your expenses low?