Why life is better debt free

We are loving being debt free and the blessings it has brought into our lives. We are thankful for our journey to becoming debt free and hope that the lessons we have learned will stay with us throughout our lives (and prevent us getting into more debt). Today we are sharing some of the reasons why we are loving life so much now we are debt free. 

1. We can plan for our future
We are in a position now where we are able to plan for our futures. For us this involves getting our masters debt free and saving for a house deposit. Before when there was debt in the situation that had to be the priority of the focus and it detracted from our goals of the future. 

2. The burden is lighter
We don't have to worry about who we owe. We don't feel enslaved to a lender (Proverbs 22:7). We can live our lives as we want not bound by the constraints of another. The budget is able to be a little bit more relaxed and luxuries we cut out we can enjoy every now and again. The stress is considerably less, there is no worrying about going into overdrafts (incidentally C has now cancelling his overdraft when we got rid of the card). Less stress means less of a strain on our relationship. Rows about money just don't seem to happen anymore, we are on the same page and working towards the same goals. 

3. We can do things we enjoy
We can do activities or go on date nights without it being an issue. Since being debt free we can allocate more money to these areas of the budget (without going overboard). We are looking forward to visiting extended family over the Christmas holidays when we plan to go on a short road trip. These are treats that we can afford to include in the budget now we don't have to worry about paying down debt. 

4. We can give more generously
My family instilled in me the importance of giving to charity when you can and for many years sponsored children in less fortunate financial situations. When you live paycheck to paycheck there is little or no room in the budget to give. When we give we both give and receive blessings in our lives, being in a position to give is such a rewarding experience. Being able to pay it forward is such a wonderful way to make use of your money. 

What do you love about being debt free

1 simple tip to reduce food waste

Sometimes it can be hard to avoid food waste, even if you are diligent with your meal planning. You may have not needed as much as you expected, or unexpected been out of the house and not eaten a certain meal. But this shouldn't mean that we have to let good food go to waste. Today I'll share my favourite tip for avoiding food waste by turning leftovers into delicious meals. Granted this really only applies to vegetables (but for us this is where most of our food waste occurs).

Turn it into soup

Winter is coming and soups are a great dish for all the family. Plus put them in Tupperware and they store really well in the freezer. Soups are so simple to make and it doesnt matter if your food is no longer looking its best. They are great for pack-lunches and if you don't have a microwave at work/college then consider taking it in a thermos flask. Below I'm sharing one of my favourite recipes as we find carrots can be going off but are still great for in a soup. 

Simple carrot and coriander soup recipe

Ingredients
1lb of carrots
2 pint of stock
1-2 onions sliced
Coriander to season (fresh is preferable but not essential)
Little bit of butter/ oil

Method

1. Brown the onion in the butter oil for a few minutes.
2. Add the carrots and the stock and bring to the boil.
3. Allow to simmer until carrots are soft.
4. Blend the soup to the desired smoothness.
5. Add coriander to season.
6. N.B you can also use a slow cooker to cook the soup in. 

How to store your soup
- Store in an air tight container in the fridge for 2-3 days
- Store in tupperware in the freezer for up to a month
- For easy portioning pour into plastic cups and freeze. Then once frozen take out of the cups and put in a zip lock bag- I saw this idea on Pinterest a while ago and love it. This works even better with silicone cups as it means you can reuse them time and time again. 

How to reduce your water bill

The cost of utilities can feel like its spiralling out of control. But utilities bills are one of the easiest areas we can save money. Making a few simple changes to your habits can have a big impact on your bill. This tips are especially useful if you are on a meter bill rather than direct debits. Check out this tips to cut your water bill.

1. Hand-wash rather than using a dishwasher. Using a bowl of water uses considerably less water that washing using a dishwasher. Consider (depending on the size of your family) washing up every other day (or every few days) so that the water goes further and washes up more. Plus hand washing saves on the electric bill as well.
2. Shower rather than bath. Showers are much more efficient, and the shorter the shower the more efficient, try to keep them less than 4 minutes. We alternate shower days with 'strip-wash' days which use even less water and completely avoid filling the bath. 
3. Use your washing machine when it is full. Be efficient with your washing, putting it on when the load is full rather than doing lots of little loads. I find that if I'm going to run out of anything it is underwear so I will often hand wash this if I have run out. If you find it hard to get a full load try using a colour catcher so you can put both dark and light clothing in the same wash
4. Car wash with a bucket. Using a bucket and sponge rather than a hose when car washing is a much more efficient way of using water. Using a hose can use unto 140 gallons when washing your car, using a bucket is a fraction of this amount. If you can't use a bucket try getting an automatic shut off nozzle as this can save up to 70 gallons per wash.
5. Collect rain water. Using a water but to collect water for use in the garden and for washing your car isa  grey way to reduce you bill as these are activities that do not required sanitised water. What you are really paying for in you water bill is the cost of purifying and distributing the water so why not use the free stuff when you can. 
6. Flush efficiently. People used to put bricks in to displace water and reduce the amount being used when fluxed however nowadays you can get bags filled with silicon gel that do the same job, these bags save about 30% of the water per flush. However, if you have a newer toilet with a dual flush function be sure to use it. Though a little gross the 'if its yellow let it mellow' rule works quite well at night time and again reduces the amount of flushes. 

10 personal finance moves you should make in your 20s

It can feel like your going to be in the care-free twenties forever. But 30, is not far round the corner and there are a few personal finance goals to work towards before you hit the big 30. 

Emergency fund fully funded
This means you should have saved approximately 6 months of expenses (not income). Contribution to this should come after debts have been paid off. An emergency fund is such an important part of your financial portfolio and is really the gateway to a more financially comfortable lifestyle even when things get a little rocky. Make creating an emergency fund one of your financial priorities until it is fully funded. 

Regular contributions to retirement plan of 10-15%
Making consistent payments towards retirement throughout life is the sure fast way to having a care free retirement pot. Aim to contribute 10-15% and look for matched contributions by your employer.

Pay off student loan debt (and any other debt) 
So you've graduation nows the time to start paying off that debt you accumulated. Try to pay it off before making big financial commitments like buying a home so to allow you to have a clean slate to work from.Plus avoid accumulating any more debt.Just avoid debt, it really is that simple. If you are budgeting properly and have a fully funded emergency fund then this should be well within your ability. Work on prioritising how you spend your money to allow you to avoid debt. Stick to debit vs credit cards to allow control of how and when you spend you money. 

Have a debt free wedding
Weddings are very expensive the average wedding costs £18,000. When preparing for a wedding be conscious of the costs and look for opportunities to be frugal. Work within you budget and don't be afraid to haggle for a better price. 

Make regular automated savings
Making saving a priority and a regular occurrence means that you won't feel it and before not too long you will have a health savings pot. Set up a standing order to make automated savings from your current account. 

Be saving/ have saved for a deposit on a house of at 10% (20%+ is preferred)
Saving to put a deposit down is a big stage. It is important to save enough. Avoid the added costs of having too small a deposit. Aim for at least 20% but the higher the better. 

Take out life insurance 
If you have a spouse or dependents it is super important to take out life insurance incase of you sudden death. As you go through your twenties it becomes increasingly important to take out a policy and they can be for very little monthly payments. 

Buy a car, second-hand.
Cars depreciate in value very quickly, therefore it is better to invest your money in a second hand car where the rate of depreciation has began to slow down as most of the money is lost when you drive it off the forecourt. And most importantly buy it with cash!!

Prepare a will
You now have assets and possibly dependents, and you need to ensure that they are provided for in the case of your death. It is important and often overlooked by those in their 20s to prepare a will. It will make things a lot easier for everyone if you die. It is also important as it can help reduce the amount of inherence tax paid. 

Learn to enjoy money within your means
This is probably the biggest move as it is more about you attitude towards money and it is an attitude you will want to take with you for the rest of you life. Learning how to budget, and determine needs vs wants are key skills for being able to do this. Money, when managed well can bring great joy. But it is not the source of all happiness, it is a healthy relationship with money that will bring the most from it. 

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If you are new to our blog, we are all about finding new ways for students and millennials to make and save money. Here are some of our favourite sites and products to help you out:

• Start a blog. Blogging is our side-hustle just over a year ago we didn't think I would bring us any income . You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $3.49 per month plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial.
• Save money with gift cards Whether its for buying clothes, your weekly shop or dining out use Zeek to buy discounted gift cards to get more bang for your buck. 
• Use Swagbucks for your online searches. Swagbucks is a passive way to earn gift cards. Over the course of a year you could earn $500.  Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded “points called SB” for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. Receive $5 for signing up today.
• Try matched betting. Matched betting is a great way to may easy money online. Despite the name it is not gambling and could see you earn £500-£1000 a month for only a couple of hours work a day see here and here. For your free trial head to profit accumulator or join the Facebook 'getting started' group.  
• Sign up for a cashback site like Quidco. where you can earn CASH BACK for just spending like how you normally would online. The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link, you also receive a free £10 bonus!

We're Debt FREE

The big day has come and the credit card is finally paid off for good. Over the past 7 months C's paid off over £2400 (as a college student). As previously mentioned in my post about being engaged to someone with debt I personally have found this a very humbling experience. As someone has always prided herself on her financial sensibility to have to deal with debt has made me grow and become more considerate to others. Though it has been tough, especially in the beginning, C and I's relationship has grown much stronger for it and I am thankful for the challenges we have been given. 

For C the amount seems pretty overwhelming and difficult to cut down. However, once he realised that if broken down into monthly chunks of on average £350 it was much more manageable. By creating a plan with smaller term goals we were able to feel constant progress. C's credit card was 0% interest until this November (so it was essentially a free loan), so the challenge was initially to pay it off before interest kicks in. However, when we realised we could pay it off before the next academic year that was when the goal was set. Now in September 2014 (two weeks before class starts) we are able to say that the goal was met. 

Debt Kicking Changes
- We made paying the debt a priority. It is one of the first things to get paid after payday. Meaning the rest of the month revolves around how much we put towards debt. Rather than paying it at the end of the month where you can end up overspending in other areas because you forget about the payment.
- Making our own lunches. This is a simple way to save approx. £3 a day. We opt for pasta and a tomato sauce most days.
- Cutting down how often we eat out (and how much we spend eating out). Eating out is a big part of our social life and so it has been hard to cut back. Encouraging pot lucks, and having dinner at home with friends has been a great option so that we don't lose out on the social side. 
- C move job locations so that he could be contracted for more hours and pick up more overtime resulting a increase in his paycheque 
- We had a lodger in our lounge for 6 weeks. Though not intentionally a side hustle at first (rather just helping a friend out) it managed to bring in about £300.
- C sold some of his holiday (that he wasn't going to use) at work to get some extra cash raising about £200

In hindsight we probably could have had it paid of sooner. We had a holiday booked during this period before the decision was made to focus on becoming debt free. Had we not had taken would have cut the paying off time down by a few months. But as we were not battling with interest rates we were not feeling bound to be super 'gazelle intense'. However, this is very limited to our circumstances and not something I would generally advocate during a debt free process. 

Share your debt free journey with us below by commenting.

______________________________________________________

If you are new to our blog, we are all about finding new ways for students and millennials to make and save money. Here are some of our favourite sites and products to help you out:

• Start a blog. Blogging is our side-hustle just over a year ago we didn't think I would bring us any income . You can create your own blog here with my easy-to-use tutorial. You can start your blog for as low as $3.49 per month plus you get a free domain if you sign-up through my tutorial.
• Save money with gift cards Whether its for buying clothes, your weekly shop or dining out use Zeek to buy discounted gift cards to get more bang for your buck. 
• Use Swagbucks for your online searches. Swagbucks is a passive way to earn gift cards. Over the course of a year you could earn $500.  Swagbucks is just like using Google to do your online searches, except you get rewarded “points called SB” for the things you do through their website. Then, when you have enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. Receive $5 for signing up today.
• Try matched betting. Matched betting is a great way to may easy money online. Despite the name it is not gambling and could see you earn £500-£1000 a month for only a couple of hours work a day see here and here. For your free trial head to profit accumulator or join the Facebook 'getting started' group.  
• Sign up for a cashback site like Quidco. where you can earn CASH BACK for just spending like how you normally would online. The service is free too! Plus, when you sign up through my link, you also receive a free £10 bonus!