Follow Me Out of Debt | Get out of debt and get into prosperity!

Have you tried shopping at Dollar Tree yet? If not, you may be spending a lot more money on many of the same items that you could be picking up at Dollar Tree for just a buck.

Whether that's holiday decorations, snacks, cleaning supplies, office supplies, back-to-school items, party supplies, or more - you won't be able to beat the price of $1.00 per item. The money savings alone makes this store one that you do not want to ignore. Clipping coupons won't save you nearly as much if you do this to shop at other stores, and what's more, Dollar Tree accepts coupons on many items, so the deals are even more exceptional!

If you live near a Dollar Tree or another dollar store, give it a shot and see how much shopping at this particular type of store can save you. Frugality is truly important not only when you're getting out of debt but also when you're getting into prosperity. God bless.

Does it seem like your budget is failing you sometimes? When it comes to budgeting, it can be easy for some and more difficult for others. There is a wide spectrum as far as that is concerned, and we've all likely experienced a month or two when the numbers don't calculate the way that we would like.

It's true. We've all been frustrated with our budgets at one time or another. What's important to note here is that our budgets play a crucial role and have the power to force us to face what's truly wrong. We simply can't bury our heads in the sand because the math doesn't lie, and that's the beauty of the budget.

The budget allows us to see when we have failed, and this isn't a bad thing. It's actually an opportunity for us to be able to improve our budgets for the following month. We can see when we've spent more than we had originally planned. If we never change our behaviors to correct this, our budgets will always reflect these bad habits.

The question is, how do we correct these bad habits? For one, we need to analyze the situation to see what's really going on. Can we reduce the amounts of certain budget line items? Should we be considering a part-time job to increase the amount of money that we have coming in month to month? Once the appropriate solutions have been implemented, the corresponding result will be shown to us right there in the budget itself.

Essentially, the budget is always there to teach us important lessons along the way and make us aware of problems when it comes to our personal finances. The budget truly is the cornerstone of personal finance and should be treated as such. Befriend your budget and let it work for you. God bless.

Adopting these top ten frugal habits can save you up to $1,000.00 in any given month (sometimes more). Now, this list isn't in any particular order of importance. I believe that they are all equally important, and the more that you are able to implement on this list, the more money you will save.

The first habit has to do with your morning routine. If you find yourself stopping by your local Starbucks on the way to work (or any other expensive coffee bistro, for that matter), simply stop. To be honest, even when I was a coffee drinker, I didn't care much for Starbucks, anyway. I know a lot of Starbucks fans out there aren't going to like hearing this, but I think that their coffee tastes way too strong. I recall ordering Starbucks coffee only on a handful of occasions, and I had determined that I simply don't like the taste. For the purposes of this show, it's less about taste preferences and more about the money that you'll save from avoiding expensive orders of coffee altogether. Your approximate total saved in one month if you avoid spending the bucks at the 'Bucks every day of the month would be around $120.00. Not too shabby, and really, quite eye-opening.

Number two on the list is magazine or newspaper subscriptions. More and more often, people's first reaction when they want to learn something is to reach for their cell phone or log on to their computer and do a Google search. You really can find almost anything that you want to find on the Internet, and while that does require paying for Internet access, if you really wanted to earn some bonus points for extreme frugality, don't bother paying for Internet access and do your research at your local library instead. Dumping subscriptions won't save you a fortune every month, but generally speaking, you'd be looking at around $30.00 savings on average each month, assuming that you would be subscribing to both magazines and your local newspaper.

To hear the remaining top ten frugal habits that could save you up to $1,000.00 each and every month, click on the play button to listen to the rest of today's show. As a special bonus, if you shop online, you'll want to check out http://slashhalf.com. I use this website frequently and find some really great deals by starting my search right from this website. It's just one more money-saving tool for your frugality arsenal. Check it out when you get a chance, and God bless!

Today you'll learn how you can actually become a better saver while you are in the process of paying off debt. It's not as difficult as you may think, but with that said, it will still take some focus and a little determination on your part to get this thing off of the ground.

Most of the time, when many of us come across a month where we're short on financial resources, we'll reach for the credit card in order to make up for the difference. Of course, this isn't a good thing if we're trying to get out of debt. Doing this repeatedly can easily get us into a bad habit where we're constantly taking two steps forward and five steps back. Understandably, we simply don't want this.

Instead, I started thinking about ways that I could somehow prevent this from happening by using a type of sinking fund (for lack of a better term). I decided to save up enough money to provide wiggle room from month to month for added expenses that didn't qualify as an emergency but still needed addressed. The emergency fund is still there, but this is for emergencies only. A shortage of funds in any given month isn't typically considered to be an emergency, and this is one of the main reasons that I knew that a different type of sinking fund needed to be established.

A great benefit of this strategy is that it has forced me to become a better saver. I had to temporarily put off more aggressive debt payoff strategies for a little bit while I was saving up for this new sinking fund. I knew that it was necessary to shift gears in order to get this sinking fund off of the ground. This was a good thing; I've already had to use the sinking fund and was happy that it was available.

Go ahead and give this a try. I can't say that this will work for everyone, but it is worth considering if you think that it may be beneficial to have an extended comfort zone while you're getting out of debt. It truly is a backup plan that gives you a little peace of mind and prevents you from continuing to use credit cards when expenses inevitably increase in the ebb and flow of life. God bless.

A support system is incredibly important when you are in the process of getting out of debt. Getting out of debt is a lofty goal, and it's difficult to go at it alone. Having other like-minded folks on your side to have your back when times get tough or to celebrate the wins with you is paramount.

What's amazing is when you are not doing this alone and have a support system in place, you will actually see yourself accomplishing your goals more quickly. A support person or team will not only cheer you on but also hold you accountable. You'll receive feedback that will help you to correct course if you're on the wrong path.

If you do not have a support system in place, take a few minutes and think of some friends or family members who will truly help you with achieving your goals. You'll be amazed at the sheer power of collaboration. God bless.

There is true freedom to experience in minimalism. Minimalism isn't exactly a new topic, but it is one that I prefer to revisit from time to time on this show because I do feel that it is an important lifestyle to consider. This is especially true if you are in the process of fixing your current financial situation. Truth be told, minimalism and getting out of debt and getting into prosperity highly compliment one another and help to make either journey that much easier.

The less that we feel that we need to surround ourselves with, the easier it will be to target our debt with our available financial resources. What's more, once we put a few dents in our debt (or get rid of it entirely), we will no longer desire the things that likely helped to get us into that horrible spot in the first place. Your continuing journey of getting into prosperity once the debt is gone forever will be more of a downhill path when you're paving the road beneath you with wisdom and minimalism.

If you haven't considered minimalism until now, you may be wondering where to start. The first plan of attack and battlefront is typically in our closets. Most of us truly don't need a ton of shoes or thirty different outfits. Instead, we could completely make it on a few articles of clothing that easily go together to change around as needed. We only need a few pairs of footwear. We could even purchase higher quality items in much smaller quantities that will end up lasting us for a very long time. It really is quality over quantity when it comes to minimalism, and that's actually a good thing.

We also need to realize and address the mental clutter in our lives. Social media isn't a bad thing, but it does have the potential to take up a lot more of our time and attention than we may even realize. We are constantly comparing our lives to others in these virtual worlds, and when we want to appear as though we're on top of things, it usually means buying more things and bragging about it on various social media platforms. This is the polar opposite of minimalism. Don't be that guy (or girl).

Give minimalism a try, and see where it gets you. Experience the true freedom that you'll likely get from leading this type of lifestyle, even if it's just for a little while. I'm pretty sure that once you start to experience the various freedoms that naturally come with minimalism, you'll never want to go back to your old ways. God bless.

Out of all of the budget line items that exist in your standard budget, the grocery budget line item is typically the most frustrating at times. We start out the month with the best intentions of sticking to our grocery budget, but for one reason or another, this particular category in our budget seems to have a way of getting out of line. We find ourselves either changing our budgeted amount for this category mid-month or simply going over budget.

Why is this? In most situations where you have a family to feed and several schedules to balance, grocery shopping may lack essential planning from the start. Unless we're sticking to a list and not deviating from that list except in very few circumstances, we run the risk of going over our allotted budget. What's more, if we have busy schedules and find ourselves eating out more frequently because we lack the time to prepare meals, certain food items that we have purchased may spoil or rot and end up in the trash.

While I do spend some time today discussing some common ways of how we may become frustrated with our grocery budget and what we can do about it to decrease those frustrations, I want to open up the discussion to hear from you. I know that some listeners of this show have some phenomenal ideas, and I would like to give you an opportunity to share your story and your advice.

Simply go to http://facebook.com/followmeoutofdebt and post your tips on how you keep your monthly grocery shopping budget in check. If your story is selected and featured on the show, you'll win a $25.00 Amazon gift card! God bless.

Have you ever caught yourself dreaming of becoming an author of a best-selling book or a director of an award-winning movie?

Maybe you have or maybe you haven't, but in today's episode, I'm going to be talking about how each and every one of us is able to write our own story.

We all come from different walks of life, and all of us have our own personal struggles. They're not always financial struggles, either. Sometimes we have health, relationship, or other struggles that coincide with our financial difficulties. Some of us may even find that by looking more closely, we can trace many of our current troubles back to financial difficulties. This makes us beg the question: What can we do?

The answer to this question is definitely not to sit and let life pass us by. What we need is a solid script, or a plan, to guide us to where we need to be. We have this unique opportunity here to write our own story, and we get to play the leading role. While we may not have control of where the story goes, we do have the ability to take an active role in creating our story through our actions. We can become what we've always wanted to be, and it's truly as simple as imagining ourselves as the author or director, while at the same time, playing the leading role. God bless.

I'm not a gambling man, but this is almost a sure thing. If we're in the process of getting out of debt and getting into prosperity, we're essentially betting against broke. Going down this road can be a bit scary at times, and we are likely going to come across road blocks, hurdles, and other problems. There's not much that we can do to avoid these things, but we can still persevere.

There are an almost unlimited amount of ways for us to go broke and very few ways for us to gain wealth. The odds are stacked against us in this journey of getting out of debt and getting into prosperity, but we have a unique weapon in all of this: our innate ability and desire to do what it takes to accomplish our goals. We're ready for the challenges. We're ready to meet and exceed our own expectations. We're ready to change our lives for the better from here on out.

This is why I say that this is a comfortable bet, even for someone like me who's not a gambling man. Betting against broke in a situation where we do have some control over the outcome puts us at a great advantage, even against incredible odds. God bless.

What are the things that are stopping you from earning more income? While the answers may vary for each of us, the majority of folks will find that they will come across some of the same roadblocks along the journey of getting out of debt and getting into prosperity.

First, you'll likely hear advice from well-meaning friends or family members on the subject of personal finance. Some of the advice is good, but a majority of it is questionable at best. You truly have to filter the advice given, but at the same time, you don't necessarily want to be rude. Simply listen to what they have to say but discern whether or not you should act on the advice given.

I also believe that buying stuff instead of investing in yourself is a definite way to prevent yourself from earning more income. We tend to place great importance on consuming and very little importance on self-improvement. If this sounds like you, do what you can to change this behavior as soon as possible so that you are spending dollars on that which will earn you dollars down the road.

The other thing that I often hear is the following misquoted Bible verse: money is the root of all evil. This is not accurate and likely one of the most misquoted Bible verses out there. For the love of money is the root of all evil (Timothy 6:10). That's the accurate verse, and it paints a much different picture of evil when you are walking away from your faith in order to get rich. God has never said that money is the root of all evil, so if you hear someone tell you this, keep in mind that this is grossly misquoted and know the correct verse.

I would also recommend to have more than one stream of income. Multiple streams of income will not only help you to get out of debt more quickly, but it will also help you when you are on your way to getting into prosperity. Multiple sources of income will always be a benefit to you, and the more ways that you can build multiple streams of income, the better.

Another item that you must be cautious about is becoming too comfortable when things start to go right. You don't want to miss out on certain opportunities because you haven't been paying attention or have been taking a break because you're seeing that things are finally headed in the right direction. Keep plowing through and don't stop until you've fully reached and realized those long-term goals.

Finally, pay attention to your health. Don't sacrifice your health because you're pursuing wealth. Get plenty of sleep, watch your diet, and exercise regularly. Being in debt naturally causes stress, and exercise and proper diet can help to combat stress. Your health is extremely critical, and you want to do everything that you can to keep yourself well.

If you've enjoyed today's episode and would like to help support this show, you can do so starting at just $1.00 a month. Head on over to http://followmeoutofdebt.com/support to show your support today! God bless!