Paying Off Your Debt for the Summerby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 30 Jun 2009 05:07 AM Whether you have a large mortgage payment or owe your best friend $50, paying off your debt can be satisfying, not only for your financial well being, but for your self esteem as well. But how can you pay off debt when you are overwhelmed? Summer is a great time to pay off some debt. Here are some tips. Go on lock down Stop adding to your debt and avoid spending money on anything new. Obviously, you will need food and shelter. Unless you are going around naked, new clothes are not a necessity. Stay home, cancel the gym membership and the cable, forget the sports camps, the trips to the movies, the kitchen gadgets and whatever else you spend money on (there are plenty of fun activities to be had for free). Go on lock down for the summer months. Divert your savings Instead of putting money into savings, use it to pay down your debt. Start with the small debts first. This will give you a sense of accomplishment. Plus, when the smallest debt is paid off, you will be able to apply the payments for that debt to the next debt and so on. And some point, you'll have the snowball effect, with greater payments going to erase your debt. Continue to make minimum payments on the larger debts so you won't fall behind. Apply frugal savings to debts Learn how to save money on the things that are necessities. For example, you could use coupons for groceries. If you reduce your grocery bill by $30 a month, then use that $30 for your debt. Did you save $10 this week by making your lunch instead of buying it? Add an extra $10 to your debt payment. It is tempting to reward yourself with a treat, but think of how much more rewarding it will be when your debt is paid off. You can read more blog posts by Mary Ann Romans here! Related Articles: Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags budget, debt, frugal living Discuss this article
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