Ep #53 How to live on a budget without going scorched earth. If you haven’t heard of this term before, basically it means to remove all discretionary spending from your budget. So think of it as the only things in your budget are the money to support your four walls – shelter/utilities, food, transportation, and necessary clothing. So this means getting rid of all the extra spending in your budget – cable, dining out, any subscriptions, gym memberships, lattes, and anything else that would be considered as a non-essential expense. 

So we did this in the first 2 years of our debt-free journey. I was OBSESSED with finding every article and YouTube video that I could on how to live on practically nothing. In the first few months of doing this, it was kind of fun because it was like a challenge. Like oooh let’s see how many days I can go without spending any money. And I would read all of these articles and watch these You Tube videos of how people were walking to work, DIY’ing everything they could, learning how to cook recipes from their kitchen inventory, making their own laundry soap, and so forth. 

But as time went on, what happened is that my family and I were just miserable. I would feel so guilty everytime we left the house to do something fun because that meant using gas and spending money on going out to eat when I knew that the money should be going to our debt instead. 

It was only in that third year of our debt-free journey that I started to turn things upside down and that’s when life got really fun and I started to actually enjoy the debt-free journey instead of frantically wanting to be at the finish line. The end result was that we made so much progress in that third year of our debt-free journey, to the tune of paying off $41k in 12 months. 

So in today’s episode, I want to give you some tips on how you can also pay off a lot of debt but also enjoy the journey along the way. We’re always in such a rush to get to the finish line that we forget to be present and enjoy what’s happening around us. 

1.       The first tip is to make a list of what you want to keep in your budget. Most people start working on their budget the opposite way. They start slashing their budget to practically nothing only to burn out in the end. 

2.       Cut out everything else in your budget that is no longer a necessity or is draining your budget

3.       The last tip to living on a budget without going on a scorched earth budget is to find a side hustle that you love to increase your income. For us, it was mystery shopping. We wanted to find a way to have our cake and eat it too and mystery shopping allowed us to enjoy the debt-free journey. In that third year of our journey we discovered how we could get paid to shop and reimbursed for our purchases. If you’re interested in learning more, you can access the free on-demand training at https://www.budgetdivas.com/mysterytraining. This is a mini training that is an introduction to the mystery shopping course that I’ve put together if you’d like to become mystery shopper. 

 If you have enjoyed this episode and are getting value from the Budget Diva

You're Invited to a free LIVE training: How To Get Out of Debt Faster With Mystery Shopping. Register here: https://www.budgetdivas.com/faster

Mystery shopping? What's that got to do with my finances? Mystery shopping isn't just about scoring free meals or testing out luxury cars; it's a powerful tool that can turbocharge your journey to financial independence! Imagine paying off your student loans, credit card debt, or that pesky mortgage years ahead of schedule! Head over to www.budgetdivas.com/faster and secure your spot. Seats are limited, and you won't want to miss out on this life-changing event. It's time to take control of your financial future and unlock the potential within you.