Debt Free Destiny

Countless articles and blogs offer information about how to cut back expenses to save money.  From coupons to skipping the coffee shop latte, the idea is that all of these little expenses will eventually add up and save you enough money to pay your debts off faster.  Wouldn't it be easier to focus on saving money on your larger purchases and expenses than on chasing down the few cents you can save on the small stuff?

That doesn't mean you should never think about the small ticket items – it just means you can save more and faster if you concentrate on saving money on your higher cost expenses and purchases first.  Once you've created a habit to pay attention to your high-ticket items, you'll start saving and can devote some energy to the less expensive purchases if you still need to trim expenses.   Let your money work for you by concentrating money saving efforts on the areas in your budget where there is the most room to save – anything with three or four digits in the cost!

Interest Earnings and Investments

Are you using a checking account with no interest?  That's an incredible waste of your money.  There are a number of high-yield savings and checking accounts you can take advantage of to help your money earn more in interest.  Using online banks like ING Direct, lets you put all of your money into the higher-interest earning savings account, and simply transfer the money into the checking account when you need to write checks.  You can also write and mail checks for free through ING Direct – helping you save on postage and check costs.

If you're investing with mutual funds that have high management fees, take a look at what you might save by comparing what you currently have with similar investments with low-cost fund providers.  Estimate your earnings over a 10 year period to see if you can save more money by switching management companies.

Insurance

Raising your car insurance deductible from $500 to $1000 can save you about 15%.  Paying your full premium all at once is often cheaper than paying monthly – call your insurance provider to see how much you might save by paying your insurance premium in advance. You  may also save by switching insurance companies, or by carrying more than one line of insurance with the same provider.  For example, car and life insurance, or car and homeowners insurance.

Taxes

Do you generally get a refund from your income taxes?  The average refund is around $2,500.  Instead of giving the government an interest free loan with your money, adjust your withholdings now and get the extra money in your check each week rather than waiting for it to come at tax time.  You can use the additional money in your check to pay down debt or start your savings.