Hi everyone, I have recently paid off a HUGE debt of $50,000. I am a new graduate and this was my student loan. I did not have any consumer debt.
My main expenses were: RENT: $1000/month TRANSPORTATION/BUS: $100/month FITNESS: 500/YEAR FOR GYM MEMBERSHIP CELL PHONE - 30/MONTH INTERNET - GAVE UP INTERNET FOR 1 YEAR, SECOND YEAR WAS $50/MONTH
I also took 1 vacation a year spending about $1000 on each one.
So you might wonder how much I spent on all of the other important categories:
-GROCERIES -ENTERTAINMENT -PERSONAL CARE -GIFTS ETC.
Well this is exactly where I cut everything to the bone.
MY bi-weekly net income was $1300/month (I got paid bi-weekly, so therefore every 6 months there are 3 paychecks in a month) And I basically lived on one paycheque a month and put the rest towards debt.
I developed a method for keeping a budget where I was accountable for everything I bought. I have a lot of tricks and techniques for saving money in all the different categories. Some are very easy:
-Eliminate all banking fees immediately ($10/month) -Reduce grocery bill (I reduced mine to $130/month, from about $250) -Reduce cell phone bill (I pay 30, average person pays $70-80) -Give up some vices (I didn't have internet and saved about $700 for that year)
There are more things but even the ones I named already can save you - $3000/year.
Now that I am debt free, it is great to not sacrifice anymore. I was wondering if people are interested in this topic? I can share specific things I learned (especially the specific easy way I have a budget) but I am not sure if it makes sense because even if it helps one person not be stressed about debt I will be happy.
Best/
May 15, 2017 at 10:26AM
