Pay Off Debt In 2010 By Increasing Your Debt Snowball

debtpayoffAre you ready to pay off debt in 2010? If it is not one of your New Years resolutions, then you should take this opportunity to make it one now. Debt is not your friend, and if you are one of the many people out there that carry a balance from month to month, then you know what I am talking about.

Get rid of it! Get rid of the financial roadblock that is keeping you from experiencing financial peace. Being broke is no fun. Living paycheck to paycheck is stressful, so now it is time to make the changes necessary. You cannot just sit back and watch from a distance, it requires immediate and purposeful action. You have to want better for yourself and your family.

I have helped many people set up a budget, in most cases, the first budget ever. One of the things I ALWAYS hear is “I don’t have any extra money at the end of the month.” In some cases this is true but most of them learn that they really did all along, which is why doing a budget is just like getting a raise.

The other thing people often do is limit themselves by not realizing that there is more out there than just there day job. There are other ways to make additional money to save, pay off debt, and improve your financial situation. You just have to keep an open mind and be willing to think outside of the box. Your comfort zone is not doing you any favors.

Before you start paying your debt off there are some things you need to do first.

You are ready to pay off debt! Now what?

Now you are ready to start using the Debt Snowball method. Basically, you take ALL of your disposable income and use it to pay off your lowest debt first. (Rinse and repeat)

Now for those of you who are looking for ways to increase your debt snowball above what your current income can accomplish, I have some possible solutions. These are ways that I AM experienced in using, so I know they work.

Pizza Delivery -My buddy Jeff,ย  over at Deliver Away Debt, can vouch for this being an excellent source of additional income—as can I. He makes approximately an extra $1,500 a month, give or take. He works an extra 22 hours a week aside from his first job to do this. Kudos to Jeff for being so committed to delivering away his debt!

For those of you who like math that is potentially $18,000 of debt that will be paid off in one year—NOT including extra money from Jeff’s day job.

Ebay sales decemberEbayThere is LOTS and LOTS of money to be made on Ebay! My wife is really great at doing it too. She is the real mastermind behind this not me. As I have stated before, she buys things at yard sales, thrift stores, and auctions, and sells them on craigslist and Ebay. This takes some work, but if you are willing to do a little research before purchasing goods, you can do it too.

In the last 31 days my wife made an EXTRA $717.41! Minus the cost of these items and you have some real potential at making some good money.

Do It Yourself Side Jobs – No one is stopping you from providing a service to someone who needs it. Well OK, maybe you are stopping you, but I am here to tell you to GET OUT OF THE WAY! You don’t have to go out and apply for a job to provide someone something of value.

Are you good at something? Do you knit, crochet, paint, draw, design websites, teach music, make crafts, or provide services such as day care, pet sitting, leaf removal, lawn care, house sitting, maid services etc.?

Want to know what I do? I design graphics and logos for websites. My new blog is Logos4You.Net and it shows some real potential for making lots of extra money. I just started this so I do not have any numbers to crunch for you just yet but I assure you, I am already making money. You can too!

Now go increase your debt snowball and pay off the debt in your life once and for all! It’s something you will be so glad that you did.

Good Luck!

About Brad Chaffee

10 Responses to “Pay Off Debt In 2010 By Increasing Your Debt Snowball”

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  1. Ken says:

    2010 will be a year where we do more side jobs for sure….good suggestions!

  2. Jeff says:

    Great list Brad.

    To EOD readers: The EASIEST way to pay down your debt is to increase your income. You can only get so much from budgeting. If you’re like me when I first started, there wasn’t much if any left over to add to a snowball after working a budget. Yes it’s tough to have a 2nd job, but as our friend Dave Ramsey says:”Live like no one else, so later you can live like no one else.” My wife and I say this phase EVERYDAY! It’s the motivation that keeps us going.

    By way, I love my pizza job so much. I’m going to franchise with my employer after my debt is gone (with CASH or course). You just never know what could happen with a second job.

    I hope everyone has a great 2010, may you own your debt instead of your debt owning you.

    Good luck everyone.
    Jeff@deliverawaydebt

  3. Brandi says:

    I totally can vouch for the pizza delivery!! I did it all through college and it’s an AMAZING source of income. Especially if you can work the shifts no one else wants to (during big sporting events or new years eve etc) because those are the times that are the busiest and lets face it…drunk people tip better…

    I can also say that since being on Dave Ramsey’s plan (I just hit my one year anniversary 2 weeks ago!) I have managed to work about 5 different side jobs and it’s amazing how much those little checks can do!!

    I now teach 4 fitness classes a week ( I got certified in college) and those pay anywhere from $15 to $25 per class. I referee jr. high and rec league basketball and volleyball which is AMAZING money if you can handle being yelled at. Who can’t handle it for $40-$60 a game though? I am coaching rec league volleyball. At one point I worked landscaping which is a pretty way of saying I picked up trash, mowed lawns, and trimmed bushes.

    If you put your mind to it, you can do anything. And believe me. It is TOTALLY worth it!

  4. good post Brad, this year starting Jan 7th I have set my paycheck to auto deduct $575 per pay period. The money is going straight to my debt. This was the best way I could figure to set it and forget it (infomerical lol) Now all I have to do is budget whats left over which is that beans and rice, rice and beans!!

    should be fun considering my car just broke down lol, thank heavens for emergency funds!

  5. Money Funk says:

    Ebay is not my friend (always have some sort of issues – not my forte), but their cohort Half.com is good to me. As for setting up a clean budget this new year, I am also setting up a new snowball schedule. It is one of my goals to exceed my snowball budget guidelines this year. And I am fired up to go! Especially because I can’t let Jeff catch up to me. ๐Ÿ˜‰ Love a good challenge.

    How do I plan on exceeding…Hmmm… keep selling everything and maybe start a consult job of some sort. Oh ya, Overtime is going to be my friend in April. That will bring in a good chunk. I think its going to be a great year for those of us with a financial plan. I feel it!

  6. Pizza delivery girl was my very first side job! And I’ve always had at least one side job since then, back when I was 19. At first, the extra money was necessary, but now, it simply goes toward our savings account.

  7. Brad Chaffee says:

    Jeff that is pretty exciting stuff man! You are right too, a second job could lead to a first job. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Mikki, that sounds like a great goal! I am rooting for you to get that debt paid off!!

    Brandi, pizza delivery does rock indeed. ๐Ÿ˜€

    Money Funk, I have to side with you….kind of on the whole ebay thing. I say kind of because I know it can be done but agree that it is not for everyone. I happen to suck at it! My wife however rocks at it!! It is something that could be learned though, but I would recommend that if you don’t like doing it, find another way to earn that green. ๐Ÿ™‚ That’s what I did!

    Hooray for the pizza delivery folks stepping up. I would have never guessed there would be so many of you that have delivered before.

    Rainy Day Saver, do you still deliver on the side?

    • A month late on this reply, sorry! ๐Ÿ˜‰

      No, I don’t deliver on the side any more. I moved into doing a lot of writing/editing on the side to help us pad our savings account and pay off debt. I use a lot less gas just sitting in the “home office”!

  8. Abigail says:

    One thing I would advise those of you seeking delivery work: Technically you’re supposed to get delivery coverage through your auto insurance. Plenty of delivery drivers ignore this fact. And so long as you don’t get in an accident, that’s fine. But it is something to consider.

    I wish I could take up a second job. But first I’d have to be able to work a first job. For folks in my condition, things are a little more difficult. Still, there’s selling off items you no longer care for — we got rid of a lot of things when we moved.

    I do like mystery shopping. Often, it’s only a few dollars at a time. Still, it adds up. (I am finding it easier to do now that my husband can drive me around.) I find it’s also helpful to trick myself out of spending money. Any outlay for mystery shops, I grab from my budget. (We’re now trying to work exclusively with cash/debit.) That money would probably otherwise have been rationalized into a few small purchases. Instead, when the reimbursement arrives a month later, I take it and the payment for the shop and throw both at debt. It’s a little silly to have to play a trick on yourself, but it works.

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