Directions: |
Directions:Regarding thrifty living.......... I've honestly learned a lot from John. Sometimes quirky things but in the end, our house is paid off 9 years early and now it's all going into savings. First rule, research and plan out everything. Take your time and don't let your emotions and excitement get the better of you. Also, I have BOOKS that I used to follow and of course, I'm organized and that always helps.
Another rule is to pay CASH. Except of course the cars and house. Everything else was cash unless we intended to completely PAY OFF the credit card with the next paycheck. Another thing was "same as cash" deals but ALWAYS check to see if there's a penalty if you pay off early. I bought both my serger sewing machine and my Bernina that way... It was same as cash for 6 months and I paid them off just before the 6 month deadline. If you can't pay the same as cash things off, they stick it to you. Also, roll your credit cards onto one low interest card and STOP charging. Get rid of those cards that you rolled from. Always pay more than is due or you'll NEVER get out of debt. Don't do a consolidation loan. Don't do any home improvement loan of any kind. SAVE or use your taxes. The trick with the house (after checking to see that there wouldn't be a penalty) was if I made an over payment (which I did a lot after the car was paid off), was to MAIL the payment in with instruction to pay the over payment directly onto the principle. If I was able to make two payments in a month, I made sure that one went entirely to principle. If we couldn't pay CASH for something, we normally didn't buy it. We waited till we had the cash saved. Bartering is also a MUST if you find something you want and can do an exchange. In my case, at least 3 years of group ballet classes, private ballet classes, jazz classes and summer intensive classes were all paid through me cleaning the studio and babysitting for Evette and Giselle. The savings from bartering were astronomical because the group ballet classes alone were $138 per month! We also buy on e-bay. We buy USED CD's, DVD's, and books. We ALWAYS turn off the lights and fans in rooms we're not using. We don't let the dishwasher do a dry cycle. I use liquid fabric softener and powdered laundry detergent. |
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