Most people out there carry at least one credit card, and few pay off their entire balance at the end of every month. The best way to gain control of your debt if to spend less money so that you are able to put more cash toward paying off your credit cards every month. Spending less isn’t easy, but there are a few fairly simple tips you can use to help get it under control. Individually, these tips won’t help you save much, but added together, the amount is substantial.

1. Take your lunch to work every day instead of purchasing lunch at a restaurant. You’ll cut your lunch costs in half with this one tip.
2. Commute to work with friends to save money on gas. You can also start a school carpool with other parents.
3. Don’t go overboard on the afterschool activities, which are usually associated with registration fees, uniform costs, and more. Allow your child to choose one or two; spend the rest of your days enjoying time together as a family.
4. Make a list before you go grocery shopping. That way, you don’t overspend on items you don’t need or forget items and have to spend the gas to travel to the store again.
5. Enroll in online easy bill paying for accounts that offer it. You’ll save on stamps and envelopes.
6. Get a library card instead of purchasing books. You can also sell back books you’ve already read to used stores – you won’t get much, but it will also help you declutter your house.
7. Consider canceling your cable and instead subscribe to Hulu Plus and/or Netflix.
8. Have your car serviced regularly. Yes, this costs money, but if you maintain your car well, it is less likely to break down and you’ll catch problems when they are still minor and inexpensive to fix.
9. Make coffee at home instead of stopping at Starbucks for your daily fix.
10. Propose to your friends and family that you do a Secret Santa gift exchange rather than everyone purchasing gifts for everyone else, which gets expensive in a hurry.
11. Talk to other parents in your community about a babysitting exchange. Take turns hosting sleepovers so that everyone can have a few nights a month for date night without the expense of a babysitter.
12. Check out local salons instead of getting your hair done at the mall. When you shop around, you might find that you can cut your costs for a cut and color significantly.

Remember, the less you spend every month, the more you’ll be able to put toward paying off your debts, and you’ll also stop seeing your credit card debt increase, since you won’t be adding more charges. Getting out of debt is tough, but making these changes will help you slowly build good credit once again and get back on the right track financially.

This guest post is from Allison with CreditScore.net, where you can go for a free credit score guide and more information about getting out of debt.