With the cost of living increasing and the size of take home pay decreasing, saving money is on the minds of many people. Debt is becoming a constant fact of life. Take charge of your finances now and make some serious changes that result in some serious relief from debt.

The saying, reduce, reuse, and recycle, is not just for reducing trash. It can be used to reduce your debt too!

Reduce the amount of money you spend. Even if you only cut back one daily newspaper, one cup of premium coffee, one fast food lunch, and one DVD rental a week, you will have saved quite a bit of money.

Reuse things that you already own. Once you start brown bagging your lunch, you can actually invest in a reusable vinyl lunch bag.

Recycle items that you or a family member own rather than buying new. Swap books, exchange gloves and hats when you tire of them, or share evening attire such as, shawls and purses.

Whatever you decide to do, do it faithfully. A few ways to help reduce your debt are listed below.

Quick ways to lower your expenses:

Eliminate the extra features on your telephone service. You probably dont use them on a daily basis anyway.

Do away with premium channels for television viewing; or reduce the number of channels that you currently have. Now is a good time to start reading again or to start the exercise regimen that will get you back in shape.

Stay away from the malls. Temptation wont hit if you arent there to see it.

Purchase no frills brands in the supermarket.

Pay more than the minimum amount due on at least one credit card bill each month.

Check that you are receiving the proper discount on your insurance for safety features such as: security alarms or air bags.

Raise the deductible on your homeowners insurance policy.

Raise the deductible on your car insurance policy.

Do without the daily newspaper for a while.

Brown bag your lunch.

Have coffee at home rather than on the run.

Synchronize small errands so that you do all of your driving while you are already out.

If you dont need it, and you cant pay cash, dont buy it.

Write a letter instead of making that long-distance phone call.

Long-term ways to lower your expenses

Change your incandescent light bulbs to fluorescent.

Set up automatic payment from your checking account for utilities, cable, etc. to save on the cost of postage.

Clip coupons and use them at the supermarket.

Rent videos, DVDs, and CDs from the library at no charge.

Wait until something goes on sale before you buy it.

Use the proper water temperature setting for your laundry.

Lower the room temperature setting in the winter by 2 degrees while you are awake and five degrees during the night while you are sleeping.

Share a babysitter with a neighbor.

Share certain things with a neighbor or family member such as: power tools, snow blowers, paint sprayers, deck washers, etc.

Take used items that you no longer want to a consignment shop rather than throwing them away.

Check into better interest rates at different banks.

Purchase your checks through a mail in service rather than at the bank.

Turn off the lights when you are going to be out of the room for longer than five minutes.

Empty all unnecessary items from the car to save on fuel.

Purchase your produce from a farmers market instead of the supermarket.

There are many more ways that you can save money. The trick is to start somewhere and to continue looking for new ways to reduce your spending. Use the money you save to further reduce your debt by paying off credit cards. Start paying off the credit card with the highest interest rate first, even a few extra dollars will eventually make a difference.