Tips like these helped us pay off $127K in debt. You can read our story in Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.
Welcome to 31 Debt Free Missions! A new feature this year on Queen of Free, during each day in January, I will provide 31 concrete missions or challenges for you to take on to #SlayDebt and take charge of your finances this year. Each mission will take you less than an hour (some will only require 15 minutes). Whereas, 31 Days to Kick Debt in the Teeth (which I’m reworking this year and reposting in January, too) focused on some of the philosophical changes you need to make in order to be successful with money, 31 Debt Free Missions are action steps to put into place after you have your thinking straight. Even better, during the month of January, I’m revisiting each of these challenges in order to sharpen my money saving and debt slaying skills.
Are you ready? Your mission is as follows:
Day 12: Stop Your Money Leaks
True confession: for the last 3-6 months we have had a tub that has leaked NAY poured water on a regular basis. At night it made me want to go all Edgar Allen Poe and dig up the floorboards like the Tell Tale Heart. The noise. It never stopped. AY YI YI. Last week, that little drip came to a head when the stopper on the tub quit working too (did I mention that I live in a 1950s house?). And it would not drain. Water drip (stream) + no drain = no bueno. So the King of Free did a quick duct tape fix (gotta love that stuff) and made the sure the tub would drain and we called a plumber to call the next day to fix both.
Water leaks are money leaks. Side note: I can’t wait to see if the water bill decreases this month or not. I geek out over things like this. But, there are plenty of other phantom expenses that you may have built into your spending habits over time. You need to stop the madness right now. Let’s think through where you might be leaking money and begin to stop that stuff to get you back on track with this debt free mission.
Dry Cleaning
This is tricky depending on your fashion and work attire needs, but if you can cut back on trips to the dry cleaning or eliminate it all together. The King of Free is super picky about buying wrinkle free fabric for his work attire and claims that a men’s suit really only needs cleaned about once a year (decreasing the amount you clean it will actually help the fabrics last longer). You do have to be intentional about immediately hanging up clothing after you take it off and avoid spraying fragrances on the clothing. Good *ahem* foundational garments can also prevent the clothes getting smelly (so would changing into other clothes as soon as you can).
Bottled Water
Believe it or not, this was actually something that was very difficult for us to give up during our debt slaying journey. We don’t drink soda (like ever). We don’t buy juice. I am the only one who drinks tea and the King and I love coffee. Water is our beverage of choice but we had a serious bottled water habit. First it was the individual bottles which sometimes go without being fully consumed and you pour out half of it. Next we moved on to filling gallons at the grocery store. And finally we purchased a Brita pitcher and quit the habit all together. You can drop a lot of coin on water which ironically is free. It might be time for you to give it up and get a good refillable bottle to carry.
Paper Goods
It never occurred to me that paper goods and plasticware weren’t a necessity until we began paying off debt. Maybe you’re much more savvy than I am or much more eco friendly but giving up paper goods was a sacrifice for us. I hate to do the dishes so frequently but we were able to trim back by completely eliminating some paper good purchases (don’t worry we still bought toilet paper but we did figure out how to save on it) and then setting limits for other purchases. For example, I bought two rolls of paper towels every week and then when they were gone, we had to use kitchen towels (we are hand washing freaks so we would run through it very quickly).
Hair/Nails/Tanning
So I didn’t get my hair cut for two years while we were paying off debt. I’m not a complete Debbie Downer but you need to set a realistic budget when it comes to your personal care and keep it fairly minimal. You don’t have to give up showering and deodorant but you do want to consider scaling back greatly on beauty products and services. Sometimes we begin habits like these and it can be literally painful to quit but your finances will thank you if you re-evaluate these expenses.
Gas Station Beverages
Oh the Polar Pop. Everybody seems to love it. Make it your job to grab a drink from home before you head out for the day so that you do not fall into this trap. I know, I know. It’s only $0.99. But you guys? $0.99 times 365 = some money I’d rather you have in your pocket or to pay off debt. This goes for overpriced vending machine snacks and quick drive thru trips, too.
You don’t have to choose to eliminate all of these problem areas in one day; however, it is a good idea to take an hour consider your spending in each unsuspected money guzzler and choose one to focus your attention upon.
In what other ways might we leak money? Help me think of some more and list them in the comments.
Now that you’ve received your mission, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Also, if you want to be sure you don’t miss a single update in this series, go ahead and subscribe! Updates will come to your inbox everyday at 5 PM.
Miss the other missions?
Read:
- 31 Debt Free Missions: The Restaurant Challenge
- 31 Debt Free Missions: Adjust Your Withholdings
- 31 Debt Free Missions: Quit Using Credit
- 31 Debt Free Missions: Go to the Library
- 31 Debt Free Missions: Cutting Cable
- 31 Debt Free Missions: Ditch Your Memberships
- 31 Debt Free Missions: Reorganize Your Pantry
- 31 Debt Free Missions: Make 3 Phone Calls
- 31 Debt Free Missions: Bank Field Trip
- 31 Debt Free Missions: Make Your Laundry Detergent
- 31 Debt Free Missions: Unsubscribe Now
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
So could pets & their expenses be considered money leaks? Have been feeling guilty over the cost going into feed for them.
Sigh so potentially yes if you’re going overboard. Loving your Dogs Without Losing Your Wallet might give you some ideas of how to save. Unfortunately, we don’t have pets so I’m not sure always how to answer questions but my friend Sara loves her fur babies and gives you some ideas. http://www.queenoffree.net/2014/02/budget-friendly-dog-tips/
Bottled water, although perceived as healthier than city water, is actually more dangerous. So glad you were able to stop the habit! Bottled water isn’t regulated like other forms of water. Plus so much more expensive! 😉
Great point. I also have less Eco guilt from ago of those plastic bottles!