Mr Beach Bum.com

A lot of Americans these days are up to their eyebrows in debt. Like many, I have had my share of debt in my time, but once I learned how to deal with debt I vowed never to let myself drown in it again. And one of the easiest things to do if you are trying to get rid of your debt is to look at where you can save money in order to use that money to pay off your other debt.

When people ask me what the best solution is for debt relief, I tell them that the biggest step is figuring out what you can cut down on from your own expenses. The fact is, saving money is the best way to make money - especially when you need to reduce debt.  You may ask, wouldn’t it be better to start a business that can make money for me and pay off my debt that way? The answer is no, not up front at least. You first need to look at any and all possible ways to reduce what you are paying out.  This doesn’t mean you have to cancel the cable, necessarily. But consider going to basic cable for a bit. The money you save can be tremendous and you may even find that you watch tv less - which gives you the time you need to get an online business strategy going (not to mention reading the Beach Bum Guides, of course!).

Another thing you might consider is taking a good hard look at your phone service. Are you still paying for a land line? It’s okay if you are, but ask yourself how much you really use it. One thing I did recently, and this is no lie, is I transferred my phone service to Vonage. I could kick myself for not doing this sooner. I was paying an evil empire phone service who shall remain nameless (cough, at&t, cough) roughly $50 a month for local and long distance. I say roughly, because if I made too many long distance calls that bill would easily go into the $55 or more range.  I didn’t even have caller ID, voicemail, or any services that are considered “extra” with the exception of caller ID block for my phone.

With Vonage, I have cut my bill, on average, in half! Vonage has a $24.95 a month (plus tax and fees of course) unlimited VOIP service. I save even more than that by paying for a full year in advance. What’s more is they provide the router.

 Now, before this becomes a big Vonage ad,  (okay, too late) my point is that even without having the need to reduce debt myself I still look at ways to cut down on expenses where I can. Call me a cheapskate but saving even just $25 a month on something like phone service is a no brainer.  So my advice to you is to look at even the little ways that you can save money on your expenses. It’s money that stays in your pocket, so it’s worth the effort!

Now for the Vonage ad (haha):