Drive Down Debt Blog

Turning yourself around when you're deep in debt isn't easy. As we've seen in previous posts, planning a debt consolidation program (carefully!) is the best way to put yourself on the road to recovery. However, consolidating is only the cure for the symptoms - you have to address the cause of your debt: overspending.

If you're in debt it's because you're living beyond your means. However, reducing expenditure doesn't necessarily mean making huge reductions in your standard of living. Sure, you need to spend less on "luxury" items like electronics and designer clothes. But you can go a long way to reducing debt by taking a few simple measures:

When you're grocery shopping, take advantage of two-for-one deals and special offers. Make an effort to eat healthily - wholefoods are much cheaper than processed ones.

Drive your car efficiently, reducing fuel costs - more advice on that here,

Save on bills by turning off lights when you're not in a room and not leaving the TV running and other appliances on standby.

Rather than cranking up the heating, wear warm clothes!

Take holidays and breaks closer to home.

All these are relatively minor savings, but if you add them up over a period of months and years you can save a massive amount of money - thousands of dollars. Combining them with a good debt consolidation loan and you can begin to cut your debts fast. Remember, you probably built up your debts by overspending little-by-little over a period of time. Beat them the same way!