Reduce The Cost of Your Phone Line

Many have rid themselves of the monthly expense of a land-line phone - you know the ones you plug into the wall at home...... If you don't need one, it's a great cost savings to just use your cell phone. Many people still utilize this service, including me. It might be due to your cell not working in your house, or that you want it for emergency - just in case.

I'm provided with a cell phone by the company that employs me, and they pay the bill. Therefore, I like having a land-line - just in case I suddenly become unemployed, or the cell towers go down. Well, I checked my bill and this month all my bonus discounts have expired. What used to be around $15 a month is now $36.75 for the line, plus $4.66 for long distance. That totals up to $41.41 - most of which is Taxes and Fees - but I still have to pay them.

I've decided that's way too much for a phone line that I rarely use so I place a call to AT&T. I explain that I want a POTS line - no frills. (POTS is an acronym for Plain Old Telephone Service) So the line is going to cost between $6 and $9 instead of the original $17.50, plus I dropped the caller ID package that was $7.77. I also killed the long distance plan, saving me another $4.66. So my $40 charge is going to be reduced to around $17. That freed up an additional $20+ a month to pay towards debt!

I had the option to remove the long distance, which would prohibit any long distance call from being made. I decided against this, since I might send a FAX or need it for an emergency. The prices range from 19-35 cents a minute, so a 10 minute call would only be $1.90 or $3.50 - still cheaper than the $4.66 I was paying for a 7 cents a minute plan. You may choose to leave off the long distance if you don't have responsible people in your household, or small children that may dial away on the phone as if it was a toy.

So, call your phone company and downgrade your land-line. That will put an extra $200-$300 a year in your pocket, depending on your situation.

Where do I start? -- Part I - The Budget

Ok, so you pulled out your bills and went into shock. After you regained consciousness, you're scared, frustrated, or maybe just really hacked off. You're overwhelmed. It's OK. Sit down, relax, and let's get started.

First, You can do this! Second - Getting out of debt will be hard.

I'm not going to lie. It's pretty easy to swim in debt, but no one likes to get out of the pool. But let's take it slow - we need a plan. It's time for a budget. I know - I said the "B" word. But it's not as hard as you think. Grab a paper and a pen - I'm not asking you to be an accountant here! If you're married, get your spouse involved.

On the left side of your paper list the total household income. This is everything coming in. No secret stashes, no lying here. You only hurt yourself if you do.

On the right you list your expenses. Start with the necessities first, then list your debts from smallest to largest. The order of the listing is going to be the order these get paid. Example categories are Food, Shelter, Clothing, Gas, Car Payment, Credit Card #1 , etc. Also include a category for yourself - Entertainment or fun money. If you don't reward yourself, you encourage failure. Just make sure you put it in the budget.

Start totaling. If your expenses outweigh your income, you're going to have to trim something, or someone's not getting paid. Make sure your categories aren't out of hand. If you're single - $300 is way too much for food. On the other hand, a family of four will need much more than that. So budget accordingly.

That's it. Now all you do is tweak your categories and see where you can save. I'll post some tips for trimming the budget in the next article.

Introduction

Congrats to being one of the first people to read my blog.

First, this isn't one of those, "Oh crap I'm a bagillion dollars in debt, watch me pay it off" blogs. It going to be more focused on tips and advice to help you pay off your own debt.

Why do you care about my advice? Ha! - Maybe you shouldn't. But seeing as you're here anyway, you might as well read something to stimulate that brain of yours. But I do know a little something about debt.....I graduated from college in debt, and have owed my soul to many a credit card since. I can't even remember what it felt like to be debt free.

So anyway, I decided last year that enough was enough and I've been plowing my way through debt ever since. I'm working hard to pay it off and decided I wanted to help the vast group of others who are swimming in debt. Hopefully you will find this blog helpful, insightful, and maybe a bit encouraging.