10 Expensive Habits You Could Drop To Pay Your Debts

Are you struggling to see your debts go down each month? When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it can be tough to find wiggle room in your budget to put towards debt. In your frustration, you might be tempted to believe that it’s futile to even try, but don’t give up! Most of us have habits that rob us of our hard-earned cash. Here's a list of 10 expensive habits you could drop to pay your debts.

1. Eating Out

- If you live alone, it can seem like a big waste of time and effort to cook for just one person. But cutting down on eating out can drastically change your financial situation. Planning everyday meals can save you around $10 per person per meal. For a family of four that eats out twice a week, that's $320 a month that could be used towards paying off your debts.

2. Online Shopping

- Shopping online is deadly for anyone who struggles with impulse buying. With the click of a mouse, you can spend hundreds and thousands of dollars and not feel the financial impact for weeks. Cutting down on online shopping can be difficult. Some helpful advice is to give yourself a waiting period before you buy anything.

3. Buying Coffee

- Some specialty coffees can cost upwards of $5 per cup. If you're buying just one every weekday, that's $100 a month! You can save money by brewing your coffee at home.

4. Running Air Conditioning

- On a hot summer day, it feels great to walk into a refreshing blast of chilled air. The only problem is that you're paying an arm and a leg for that cold air. Try not turning on your air conditioner until it reaches a certain level of heat outside, and using alternative methods to cool yourself. Doing this could save you a significant enough amount of money to bring your debts down.

5. Ignoring Your Data Caps

- Whether it’s your mobile data or home internet, ignoring your data caps can lead to overage charges, which are usually astronomical. One strategy against this habit is to install apps that alert you when you're reaching your data limits. You may also want to consider increasing your data plan in you tend to go over a lot.

6. Making Late Payments

- Making late payments on your bills won't just hurt your credit score, it's also terrible for your wallet. Late payments cause accumulated interest and late fees. If you're not careful, you could end up paying way more than you need to. Ensure that you make all your payments on time. You can use features on your smartphone or utilize an app like Mint, to remind you of payment deadlines.

7. Carrying A Credit Card Balance

- It's never ideal to carry a balance on your credit card because you have to pay interest on it. The larger the balance, the more you pay. You can eliminate this expense altogether by making sure your card is paid off in full every month.

8. Using ATMs From Other Banks

- If you make frequent use of ATMs from other banks, you can accumulate a decent amount of ATM usage fees.

9. Going To The Movies

- In the age of home entertainment, there is less and less of a reason to spend money on a movie ticket and popcorn. Treating your family to the movies can cost upwards of $150. Prioritize your debts before your entertainment by popping corn at home and picking a movie on Netflix.

10. Not Checking Your Credit Statements

- Sometimes we sign up for things that we stop using down the line, but we forget we’re still paying for them. Cashiers can accidentally charge us twice, or people could find and use your credit card information. You can catch these things by frequently reviewing your statements. You'll also be able to see the big picture when it comes to your credit spending. This can be a huge motivator in cutting back your expenses.

Paying down your debts should be priority number one when it comes to bettering your credit score and financial situation. Cutting out some of these common spending habits will help you start saving enough to make an impact on the debt load you currently have!

What are some other habits that we can cut back on to save money? Let us know in the comments!