Self Help Debt Settlement - Steps to Help You Negotiate Your Own Debt (Part 3)

Budgeting: Putting food on the table for less

You got to eat, right? But, how do you eat healthy and well for less? Food costs are rising all over the planet and families have seen their food budget increase and eat up more and more of their disposable item.

Here are some tips to keep your family healthy and well-fed without straining the budget:

Grocery Shop with a list

It's amazing how many people grocery shop without a list, and end up running up their grocery amounts to excessive amounts. Before visiting the grocery store, go through their weekly flyer and make a list of the on sale items and plan to incorporate those items into your meals. Generally, the items that you need are on the outskirts of the store, so if you don't have to go down a grocery aisle, don't.

Don't be afraid of the discount bin

Don't be afraid to buy items from the discount bin even if the cans are dinged up. Just because the packaging is hurt doesn't mean the food is. You can often get items for half-priced that are close to their due date. Consider these items as well, as they will just need to get eaten first.

Buy in Bulk...Most of the Time

Any items that are likely to be used on a regular basis in your house, consider buying them in bulk. These items include things like sugar, flour, meats, etc. A word of caution though is that it's not necessary to buy items in bulk that you won't be able to eat before they go bad.

Grow a Garden

If eating healthy is important to you, consider growing your own garden. This will be extremely inexpensive. Make sure though, before you go ahead with growing a garden that you are prepared to handle to work, as if you aren't diligent your garden won't produce anything and your money will be wasted.

Learn to love leftovers

Try to keep using food that is leftover in other meals. There are a lot of websites that can help you utilize what you have, rather than making a trip to the grocery store every day.

Eat before leaving the house

A lot of people end up splurging at restaurants simply, because they haven't taken the time to eat at home in the morning. Eat a good breakfast, and bring a snack with you to work, and you'll save your snack money.

Money is not about how much you make, but how much value you can create from your dollars. Make a plan right now to watch your money your spending on food, and you'll find you wallet isn't starving anymore.

If you have been reading the articles in the series, you should have a good idea by now how being conscious of your spending habits can increase your ability to allocate funds towards resolving your debt. In my next article I will lay out how to use this budget to start negotiating with your creditors.

Ian Stanton
Director of Marketing
B-EZ Enterprises
(480) 278-3717
media@2settlemydebt.com

http://www.2settlemydebt.com