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 6: Ditch Your Memberships
We all love belonging. Personally, I think that a need for community is knitted tightly into our souls before we’re even born. We like having places where people know our names and we are comfortable. So many of us are drawn to joining and soon we find ourselves members at a variety of different places. Sometimes, belonging also requires dues, extra expenses, and a drive to keep up with other members. Today, let’s look at a few different places where you might need to ditch your membership in order to gain leverage to pay off debt.
Gym
I’m going to be a total Debbie Downer in the midst of New Year’s Resolution. You may need to nix your gym membership. Don’t read into this. I did NOT just give you permission to collapse on the couch into tears and a bag of potato chips. I actually think that paying off debt requires you to work out on a regular basis. However, you may need to re-think what that looks like. At a bare minimum, head to your customer service area at the gym and see if you can renegotiate your rate. Or, consider joining the YMCA (many times there’s a sliding scale based on your income), a church facility (we have two fabulous ones in our area), or the community center instead of the high sticker priced fancy gym. Or, start a workout regimen at home. I LOVE FitnessBlender.com for their incredible free online workouts that you can sort by intensity, style, and even length. Did I mention that they were free? I think it needs repeated, they are free. The kettle bell workouts are my fav. Also Kelly and Daniel (we’re totally on a first name basis now) are friendly, encouraging and don’t yell rude things at you like other workout DVDs I’ve done in the past.
Clubs or Civic Groups
Hear me well. I am not saying that you can never belong to another civic group or club again as long as you shall live. What I am saying is that it’s time to re-evaluate your membership. Is it possible to let your membership lapse for a year or two while you pursue a financial goal? Does your group have special hardship allowances or scholarships for those who are stretched financially. I know this might be a very difficult decision for some of you. I’m not lightly dismissing your passion for your group. I’m just asking you to reconsider for a moment. Pause and ponder what you might be able to do for your civic group or club if you had no debt. How would your financial situation allow you to lean into that treasured community?
Car Service Clubs
We’ve never been a member of a car service discount club. If you think that this is the best use of your money, investigate how much you gained from the membership in the prior year. If your services rendered actually outweigh your dues, you might need to keep it. Here’s the sticky wicket. You can’t count any discounts you received for entertainment (amusement park tickets, hotel stays, etc.) into that number because you’ll be cutting back on those things since you’re paying off debt.
Wholesale Stores
I’m asked fairly frequently if you can really save shopping at Wholesale stores. My rule is thumb is always just because it’s in the largest box, it doesn’t mean it has the cheapest unit price. Plus, if you go in to buy a jumbo bag of boneless skinless chicken and come out with a diamond ring and a big screen TV, you’ve defeated the purpose. So you have to be very careful with your wholesale store memberships. We have a membership through our employer that we love. You might be able to pick up a Groupon for a membership. But I would advise against any sort of platinum level or special bells and whistles if you do opt to keep or purchase a membership. Again, revisit your finances from the previous calendar year and weigh how much you actually shopped at that specific store and if it caused you to make unnecessary purchases.
Gas Stations
I’m always incredibly jealous of the “Member” prices on gas station signs. It seems like you could save a boatload with a program like that. However, if you purchase a membership, be sure you know exactly what it entails. Does it require a credit card? If so it’s a no-no, friends. Will you need to purchase a minimum amount? What is the fee? You also have to commit to purchasing gas there 100% of the time (except for extreme emergencies because DUH I don’t want you to run out of gas!).
You may decide to hang on to a few memberships. I won’t hate you. We all have our thing. However, don’t automatically push back and decide you can’t go without anything because it’s all 100% necessary because we all know that’s not true. We can all get along without a few things in this life.
What other memberships could you think about canceling? What should you consider before ditching it?
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!
