“But I don’t spend much money on subscriptions!” you say. Really? 15 dollars a year for a lame magazine you never read, 69 dollars a month for Cable Tv, 45 dollars a month for a gym member ship you WISH you used, 15 a month for netflix, and 30 a month for internet.. Lets add this up.. 15+828+180+360+540=$$1,923..

It doesn’t seem like a lot of money when you are just feeding these companies your green Lettuce you worked so hard for. But it is a lot of dough you could have used for Debt, Saving, Investing, ect.

The best part is, it is super easy to stop this madness. Cut the subscriptions.

Cancel the magazine, buy only the issues you are really going to use. In my case, i like Offroad magazines, but i have an older vehicle and new articles do not always apply to my 4×4. So i buy only the issues jammed packed full of info for my Jeep (not many, they are all talking about the FJ Cruiser now. Lame) Thing is you will probably save money this way, when you go into a store to buy magazines you will have to shell out cash on the spot and will tend to not buy it.

Next off, Cut the Cable TV, if you are in debt Cable TV is your worst enemy. First off it is ridiculously expensive, secondly it really eats up your time. If you have scheduling issues, cutting TV is a sure way to get some of your life back. If you really like a show, buy episodes from iTunes for $2.99. If you want to get out of debt you can’t be living like a rock star.

Hitting the gym is great, if you are an avid gym goer, this is one you might consider keeping. Weigh the benefits. How many times a month do you use the gym? Does the gym have a daily rate you could pay? If you only go to the gym once a week, and the daily rate is 7 dollars, you will pay less than the 45 monthly gym fee. Use your brain on this one, and don’t become a lard ass.

Netflix.. Ahh targeting the laziness of Americans.. I consider myself an AVID movie watcher, and i think Netflix is too much. I hate contracts, i hate limits. So netflix does not get my approval. $13.99 a month for 2 movies out at the same time, and exchange them as often as you want. How many movies CAN one rent in a month? Unless you have TONS of free time, i would just stick to using a RedBox, you pay $1 for one night for new releases. Can’t beat that, oh and they are all over the place, mostly McDonald’s, so when you are cruising through the drive thru getting a lard Burger you can pick up a flick!

Internet! Please do not cancel your internet, that would be the equivalent of going up to the mountains and living under a rock. But what you can do, is find a better provider, who is cheaper, offers better plans, or is willing to negotiate.

Last but not least, most subscriptions method of payment is Credit Card.. So how do you expect to get out of debt if your card is being piled on each month by these worthless subscriptions?

I am huge on not having subscriptions. So huge that in my Gamer madness i sold my Xbox360 to avoid paying the $8 a month membership fee to play Online games, and bought a PS3 who’s online system is free. Yes i know that is not much money, but i am saving $100 a year.

I canceled my 10 a month gym membership because i was not using it, i work out at home, so i save $120 a year. I do not subscribe to magazines, Cable TV, Netflix, (or any online service for that matter),  gym, or Gaming System. I have my internet, and my web site domain. That is it.

Focus on the big savings at first, then get down to the small ones.

You would think your bank would want you to know all the rules they use right? Unfortunately it is the exact opposite. I was in my local credit union the other week, depositing a check and paying bills.(Yes my old employer is still in the stone age and does not offer direct deposit.) Because i was getting paid Bi-Weekly my paycheck had arrived the day after my credit card payment was due.

So i asked the kind Pawn working at the bank if a late fee would be incurred or if it would be reported to the Credit Agencies and affect my score. She answered, “We don’t charge late fees anymore, and we don’t report a late payment until 30 days after the due date.” hmmm this is strange, I do not remember being notified of a loan policy change. I didn’t receive an annoying automated phone call, letter in the mail, hell not even a robotic-ally constructed email.

I wonder why the credit union did not inform me of the change. Why the change to begin with?

Do you ever get hit with fees or something changes and you wonder where it states the bank has the authority to do that? A good place to look is your loan contract, but what if the ordeal has nothing to do with a loan? Where are the banking rules?

If you look at a loan contract you will see some guidelines. Note i called them guidelines. You will also see all over the page the words subject to change, and can be changed with or without notice. So in most cases the Contract is not a contract but a ill worded statement saying they can do what ever they want. They can change what they want. A few things have laws on them like Maximum APRs, but things like fees arn’t regulated (until Feb 2010).

I have been talking to more people lately about debt. It is a common subject among friends, co workers, strangers, or family.

When ever i mention i am getting out of debt, or i just got a new job that will make me more money and will allow me to pay off debt faster, I always get the same response. They say “I wish i could be out of debt.” News flash… You Can! Anyone can get out of debt.I am not a super hero, I am just determined.

It is not going to be easy, because if it was no one would be in debt! Everyone has the potential to be debt free. You need to apply yourself, educate yourself about how credit cards work. Admit that your debt is the consequence of bad spending habits. I admit that about my debt, read my Debt Confessional.

Try something different, make a change, that is the only way you will be debt free. Stop spending money, get a hold of yourself, sell some of your crap, start earning more, stop over drafting, stop making late payments, stop paying for cable TV, Stop subscribing to worthless magazines, and for gods sake stop eating out when you can’t afford it!!

I know some people who are fairly close to losing their house, they are using a debt consolidation agency after finding themselves over their heads in credit card payments they could not make. Collections called, they ignored. For some reason they still pay for premium cable, still go out to eat very frequently, and are making mild changes to their spending lifestyle. When the fact of the matter is they should be making DRASTIC changes.

Ok enough for the rant. I hope you learned something.