How I Saved Money in Order to Viciously Pay Down Debt

Posted on March 5, 2013 by
Debt

The following is a guest post from Tony at We Only Do This Once. If you’re interested in doing a guest post, please see my guest posting policy and contact me.

 

I have never been a frugal person until a year-and-a-half ago when I found myself $120,000 in debt, I knew it was time to cut back on everything. While there is more I can cut out of my life, I’m pretty proud of where I am right now.  I mean, I owned a Porsche a year ago!

 

Twelve Ways I Save Money All Year Round

#1 – I cut my own hair. I bought a $20 buzzer, and it will last at least a year or two. I used to get a haircut every month, at a cost of $30 (including tip, not including gas money to get there and valuable time spent there). So I save the cost of about 12 haircuts a year. Annual savings: $360.

#2 – Basic Cable TV. We watch DVDs, or read.  I should cut out cable completely…I really should. I cut out $60/month from our bill. Annual savings: $720.

#3 - Budgeted our groceries.  We cut out hundreds of dollars from our monthly grocery bill by menu planning and budgeting.  My wife and I both eat like rabbits, so our monthly bill for a family of four is $800, down from about $1200.  Annual savings: $4800.

#4 – We don’t go to the movies. Last year we went out and spent $60 on a crappy movie. Never again!  We have Netflix streaming now for $7/month. Annual Savings: $630.

#5 – Wine at Trader Joe’s. If you don’t have a TJ’s I am really sorry! I drink a decent amount of wine (not quitting, people), and each bottle is about $10. TJs sells a case of 12 bottles for $40.  Annual Savings: $1200.

#6 – We barely go out anywhere. Call us boring, but not really. We hang with good friends at our home instead. Annual savings: easily $1000.

#7 – We don’t shop. We avoid the mall like the plague. We really hate it. Annual savings: easily $2,000.

#8 – I go home for lunch most days. My colleagues eat out every day, at a cost of $10-20 per lunch. I eat for less than $5. Annual savings: $1,800.

#9 - No magazine or newspaper subscriptions. I used to subscribe to 1-2 magazines and have the paper delivered. Now I read the Internet. Annual savings: $360.

#10 – We don’t buy new clothes. If we do, it’s off to the thrift store. Annual savings: at least $800.

#11 – No big vacations. When I am out of debt and my savings accounts are nice and healthy, we may go again. Others I know take at least one trip per year. Annual savings: $1,500.

#12 - No more expensive coffee. I used to go to Starbucks every day. At a cost of about $2-$4 per drink. Now I make my own coffee. Annual savings: about $1,000.

There are more little ways that I’ve learned to save, like turning off lights, buying used, cooking at home, and driving way less.

Estimated total savings: $16,000 that I put to debt payoff instead!

The numbers above may not apply to you. Keep in mind that I live in the Northeast where prices are high. However you look at it, I have done a complete 180 with my spending. I do not miss anything that I listed above, and I can sleep better knowing I am almost debt-free!

 

What things have you cut back on in order to help pay down debt or simply save more money?

 

Editor’s note: Kudos to Tony for the strides he has made in order to help him pay off debt. There are two things that can be taken away from this: getting out of debt IS possible and some simple changes can add up to savings that can help you knock down that debt or save more. I do some, not all, of these things as general practice in order to save money so it can be used on other things.

 

Photo courtesy of: Sanja Gjenero

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About the author:

I'm the founder of Frugal Rules, a Dad, husband and veteran of the financial services industry. I'm passionate about helping people learn from my mistakes so that they can enjoy the freedom that comes from living frugally. Follow him on Twitter / Facebook.

79 comments on “How I Saved Money in Order to Viciously Pay Down Debt”

  1. I do 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 on your list. Doing all that helps me reach my goal of saving at least 50% of my income.

    I refuse to cut my own hair. The reality is that I’m not very artsy and will probably screw it up. Better to just spend money at the barber.

    I’m currently trying to keep my alcohol consumption down. Both to cut out useless calories and to save money.
    My Financial Independence Journey recently posted..McDonald’s Corp (MCD) Dividend Stock AnalysisMy Profile

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  2. I do a handful of these myself as well. When I see a preview for a new movie that looks interesting, I save it to my Netflix queue so I don’t forget about it.

    My sister used to cut my hair for me, but now I go to a barber. It never occurred to me to factor in cost of the drive in my analysis to the overall price. I thought I was doing good at $20 per month, but it is far away and when you add in travel, that price jumps.
    Jon @ MoneySmartGuides recently posted..Can You Make Money Taking Surveys?My Profile

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  3. Impressive and sometimes radical changes Tony. I think it is neat that you have time to go home for lunch, when I had a job and a lunch hour I used to put a load of laundry or do a small chore too so the evenings were all mine. People who don’t have time to go home still can bring leftovers at work.
    pauline recently posted..Planning for financial successMy Profile

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  6. Planning out your meals and budgeting your groceries will make a huge impact. It’s so easy to spend on impulse food buys if you don’t have a plan. I also cut my own hair, considering I would need a haircut every 3 weeks those savings add up quick. I do have a few subscriptions but I get them for pretty cheap and turn off the auto renew so I can deal with that. Keep up the good work towards getting out of debt. That’s some amazing work. It’s surprising how when you cut that stuff how that you don’t really even miss it any more.
    JC @ Passive-Income-Pursuit recently posted..Income Update – February 2013My Profile

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  8. Excellent tips and we do all of them but one. We go for coffee each day, but not Starbucks, much cheaper place – $1.89 with unlimited refills. How about no cable TV? That’s really inexpensive!

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  10. I think you said it all there at the end. You don’t miss any of these things. We get into our habits that cost us money and just keep doing them over and over. Honestly, small changes can save huge amounts, especially going to the park instead of the stores when you’re bored. Often the cheaper options are better because they give us exercise or cause us to use our minds more creatively. At the mall, I just spend money and get crappy Chinese food!
    Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..What if I Can’t Pay My Income Taxes?My Profile

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  11. Holy Crap, Tony. I just realized I do all of this — the big ones for me are cutting my own hair (was $40/month down to $0), lunch (I developed a system to get me to about $1/day for lunch and breakfast), and driving (I drive a 2003 Honda hybrid that I nurse 49 mpg out of).

    Another big cost avoidance that I’ve discovered is small trades with some of my equally cheap (or, I mean uhhh… frugal) shipmates. For example: I have a small flock o’ chickens, and I trade eggs for homebrew (sorry ATF). I also have a large garden and am sponsored by my more urban buddies in a sort of micro CSA. We also do a community beef buy every couple of months or so from a couple in West Virginia who raises grass fed cattle. Because we buy bulk and throw it in my huge freezer, we get a really nice discount.

    Oh man, there’s tons of ways to stretch a dollar until it screams. But, Tony is the man! Thanks for keeping it real and honest, brother.

    pat
    Patrick recently posted..Can we please stop freaking out?My Profile

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  18. A case of wine for $40? Holy hell! We are total winos, so we need to look into that. Do you have any favorites you would recommend?

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  19. Good for you for making all of those changes!! Just like you, up until a year ago I was never a frugal person either. But we finally realized that our debt was way too high and needed to be dealt with. We now follow a monthly budget. Things in our city are very expensive too, so it took a lot of work to adjust to spending less. We rarely go shopping except for groceries. We haven’t done a nice vacation in about 4 years, we sold our house and save $750 a month by renting a quite similar home, we rarely go to restaurants and we only spend about $50 a month on gas.

    One thing we wouldn’t do is cut our own hair :-)
    Tackling Our Debt recently posted..How to Accomplish More in 24 HoursMy Profile

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  22. Congratulation on taking big steps (with little impact to your enjoyment of life) to eradicate your debt. Sometimes the littlest things can make the biggest difference. When I talk to people about reducing their debt (I’m a financial advisor) most have that normal initial fear of deprivation. The reality is there is so much excessive waste in most people’s lives that when they cut out the unnecessary stuff, they realize it wasn’t as painful as they thought. Often it’s very liberating to spend your money on what you want and not keeping up with the Joneses (who are these people anyway?). Big fan of TJ’s and meal planning. Great job and love your enthusiasm!
    Shannon Ryan @ The Heavy Purse recently posted..Meet Shannon Ryan: Financial Literacy AdvocateMy Profile

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  27. I do most of these things. No coffee, no cable, no tv, no magazines. I get a haircut about once a year and I plan on going to a beauty school. Sometimes I am bad at eating out for lunch, but have gotten better. I LOVE 2 buck chuck….for me, these things definitely help but are a necessity right now. I need to focus on making more to really pay off my debt!
    Do or Debt recently posted..Sunday WorshipMy Profile

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  28. We really should cut out our cable. We actually had the opportunity to yesterday. Our bill increased by $10 and it was the last straw. The lady talked me into saving $30 per month, but looking back I should’ve just cancelled it.
    Couponing and matching up with sales alone has saved us $3,000 per year off our grocery bill.
    Justin@TheFrugalPath recently posted..To Be Or Not To Be – FrugalMy Profile

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  30. Good for you Tony. The hardest part is making the change and sticking to it. I’ve talked to so many people that are knee deep in debt but not willing to cut or downsize cable, cell phones etc. There’s an excuse for everything. If someone truky wants out of consumer debt they will do whatever it takes, you’ve proven that. Keep up the great work mate. Mr.CBB
    Canadianbudgetbinder recently posted..The Grocery Game Challenge #10-Mar 4-10,2013-Road Trip To Target CanadaMy Profile

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  31. Great job Tony! We’re currently coaching a coworker to change her money habits to get out of debt. Although she’s very hesitant to change her lifestyle. She’s given up eating out, and that’s a good start for her. It all starts with a single step. Although taking big leaps like you gets you there sooner.
    Mandy @ MoneyMasterMom recently posted..Yearly Expenses for a Family of FiveMy Profile

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  32. Awesome life adjustments! We do a lot of these, too. We do take vacations, but they’re not lavish. We go places we can drive, mostly stay with friends and family, and find ways to have fun without going broke. We need that change of scenery every once in a while.

    And when we HAVE to go to a theater, we use gofobo. It’s amazing.
    femmefrugality recently posted..The Cost of Children: HealthMy Profile

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  35. So we do a lot on your list with the exception of wine at Trader Joes! We’ve been meaning to go there for their super cheap wine for some time but wind up getting the “cheap” 9.99 bottles which should only cost 5.99… yeesh! Problem is, we have to take quite a long subway ride just to get there and laziness always gets the best of us ;)
    Listen Money Matters recently posted..Build Credit Without A Credit CardMy Profile

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  37. I cut my own hair as well to help save money. I just recently spent $10 to purchase new blades for my clippers which I estimate lasting for 2 years. I figure that saves us around $250/year. I used to only pay $18 per cut. I will have to get my wife to look into the TJ for their cases of wine. We rarely go to the movies or buy new clothes. I am in my masters program so I use TV to relax since I am engrossed in textbooks but do have a friendly call with Comcast each year to get them to lower the price they charge. Right now for the same service I have had for several years I am getting about $70 off for complaining and threatening to leave or lower my service. One thing we do not closely budget is our grocery bills. If you can lower them that much maybe it is time to really look into it. Thanks for the article, good read.

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    • Thanks for your comment Alan! I cut my own hair as well and have done so for years and it does save a good bit of money over time. It sounds like you’re doing great, I would encourage you to look closer at your grocery budget…it’s amazing at how much you can save over time.

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  39. I spend only $150 per month on groceries for two people. We are both vegan so I don’t buy any animal products at all. I buy grains (rice, quinoa, millet, oats), dried beans, peas, lentils, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds and some pasta. I buy the 2-4-1 items at the more expensive stores and stock pile them. I buy produce from the farmers market and Aldi’s Supermarket. An example of Aldi’s prices are: five pounds of red potatoes .99cents, three pounds onions .99 cents, two pounds carrots .69 cents. I also buy some produce from Costco (six heads of romaine for $4). I make lots of soup, stew, salads and wraps/burritos. I also sprout seeds myself at home since they have a very high nutrition level. We drink water and homemade hot and iced tea. We live in Orlando, Florida.

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  40. I do a lot of things on your list, but I think that meal planning has really made a big difference for me. I find that I eat a lot better than most people I know and do it for cheaper. Also, the health benefits of eating fresh food instead of processed takeout might be counted towards medical care in the long run.

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