One of the first steps in getting control of your money, finances and debt is to set up a budget and to track your spending.  You need to write down every monthly bill you have and the amount of it.  Also write down when they are due every month so you know how to plan out your bill payments.  Another thing to do is keep track of your spending.  It helps to write down all that you spend and keep a running tally as you pay bills and buy other things.  The more you keep track of it the more in control of your spending you are.  If it is wrote down you wont be thinking where did that $20 from last week go?  So write it down and plan out your bill payments.  These two things will help you a lot and feeling like you are in a lot more control of your money!

Always remember you ARE NOT alone in the debt pool.  According to USA Today2/3 of Americans in their 20’s are in some type of debt.  You may be in student loan, credit card, or some other type of debt if not all three.  But you are not alone.  Why am I telling you this?  Because knowing that you are not the only person in debt and struggling with your debt takes some of the load off.  Other people struggle too and it is not just you.  Read the USA Today Article about debt and remember not to get down about your debt.  Hold your head up, work hard, and pay your debt off.  You can do it but you do have to start.

How do you pay your bills?  A lot of bills you have to mail off a payment for with a check, credit card, or money order.  In some cases though like loans, local bills, mortgage payments and more you can pay in person without fee’s.  My advice is to pay in person if you can and they DO NOT charge a payment fee.  Especially if you do not keep a lot of money in your checking account you can be in danger of your checks bouncing.  Every time you bounce a check rather its with a bank or a credit union you will be charged a fee.  Fee’s are defiantly something you want to avoid and the more fee’s you can avoid rather its bounced checks or other bank fee’s the more money you have to pay bills or save with.  So if you can pay cash and avoid writing a check then do it.  That way the payment is done and you do not have to worry about it.  Always though make sure you get and keep a receipt proving you paid the bill.

Do you like going to the movies where you live?  It can be fun to go to the movies with a friend, on a date, to get away for a while, or to take your kids out.  Around where I live most standard movie prices are $7.50 or so.  Some movie theater’s (not many) are up to $10 per ticket.  I know in the north east and large cities movie theaters can be expensive.  A good thing is though that a lot of movie theaters give a student discount.  Most theaters around here charge $6.00 on student tickets saving you $1.50 per movie ticket.  So if you are a student, your kids are a student or your date is a student it is a good way to save money.   They may ask you for a student ID to give you the discount, depending on the theater or the person working.  Some are strict about this discount and some are not.

Ok, so how many credit cards do you have?  Take them out of your wallet and put them somewhere.  I’m not talking about your debit card, I mean actual credit cards that you can buy things with and pay later.  The fact of having a credit card with you allows your to impulse spend.  If you really have to have something and don’t have cash on you or in the bank you can always go home and get the card and go back and buy it.  But the fact of you having to put forth that effort and having to think about the purchase you are less likely to use your credit card to buy something.  In order to get rid of debt you have to stop building debt.  Credit card debt can be the worst kind of debt with the highest interest rates.  I personally took all of my credit cards out of my wallet and put them in the same place I keep payed bills,check books and other financial items.  Once I did that I stopped impulse buying that DVD , CD or anything else it is so easy to just whip out the credit card and buy.

I first would like to say hello to you and thank you for reading my new website/blog Good Bye Debt, Hello Money.  I want to invite you to share your input, questions and answers to anything posted on the website.  I myself am in debt and realize it.  That is why I am working to get out of my personal debt and on my way to wealth.  I want this website to help you and others do the same also.