<prompt> Human: edited to address somr of thr most common comments i am getting :Clarity - I am in Canada not the USA. I am a female. Late 20s. Small rural community on an island. In my early 20s I made many foolish decisions financially. I grew up poor and didnt know anything about money. Now that I am in my later 20s I am paying the price. Literally. So I started working on ways to save money, make more money, make my life simpler, live within my means, and work towards eliminating a certain portion of my debt and possibly consolidating the rest in a debt counseling program.But mainly what this post is about are some simple ways to help people get started, or make a difference.Maybe you have thought of some already, maybe not, but if this helps anyone out even a little, then it is worth my time typing it up!In no particular order, these are some steps I have taken since the beginning of 2016. For clarity, I am a Canadian woman. switched to a no-fees bank account, that also pays interest. So I save money, and I make a little extra from the interest. Every dollar counts. My old bank was charging me 14.95month for my checking and savings account. No interest paid. Charged for checks, and charged for services such as a Stop Payment.My new bank Tangerine charges 0month for my checking and savings. They pay a small amount of interest on balances in checking and savings. First book of checks are free. 1 free stop payment a year.Overall this saves me about 200 a year give or take. And i am not sure what the interest will be but more than 0 so it is good.Called both of my credit card companies and asked for the lowest possible interest rate. Both were able to do so. Card 1 lowered my interest rate from 19 down to 11. Card 2 lowered my interest rate from 19 to 11.9 with a once yearly fee of 60. Just goes to show you it never hurts to ask. Communication is key. Most companies would rather help you, or make a payment agreement with you, than pursue your account and send it to collections --- they will lose money if they do this.Went meatless. Look its not that hard. It is so much less expensive. Fresh fruit and vegetables are cheaper than meat where I live. Yes I get more than enough protein and I am incredibly healthy and fit. I can make many delicious meals. You also tend to spend less going out to eat because there arent as many options. This is a good thing. Good for your health and your wallet. No fast food. No chain restaurants. I REALIZE THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYONE OK THANK YOU : but it can help some people.Sell items I dont need or want. 2 Lululemon hoodies. Dirtbike gear that I likely would not use again. Etc. Used the money for sensible things like groceries and my overdue credit card bill.Get a cheaper cell phone plan! Another one of those at least you can ask scenarios where your provider may give you a deal if youve been a customer for a long time. If they dont, shop around until you find a good deal. The BEST times of the year to do this are back to school late aug - late sept, or Black Friday this is usually a whole weekend of deals in store and online, and Christmas. Often 0 phone deals, good plans, extra data especially around back to school. You can also search online for deals.this one may not be for everyone but I needed a bed, and I did a lot of research... ended up buying a hammock and a stand instead of a mattress and frame. OK WAIT. I know it sounds odd but... the whole setup was 250, edit - i checked my receipts and it was 166.87 CAD. It saved me a lot of money. my back is fine thank you to the many commenter who were concerned about that. But there are entire countries where a hammock is normal for a bed and they all can still walk and function. I appreciate the concern however. Thank you all.take people up on their offers to help. Really, my friends and family have been great. They often offer help I dont mean give me money and I rarely take it. But this year I am trying to change my ways. A friend offered me a few months rent free in his apartment. Its fully furnished except the bedroom Id be in. I accepted and am eternally grateful. For my birthday my dad offered instead of a tangible gift I didnt want gifts anyways, and I am trying to cut down on stuff that he would pay off the remaining 500 on a student loan I took out in 2007 and had paid down from 10,000 down to 500 in 2016. That loan is now eliminated completely from my monthly bills. This also isnt for everyone.Cancel your gymyogapilateskarate memberships. You can do almost any workout at home using your computer and YouTube. Its free. Im assuming you have the internet of course, but most do You can also make a one time investment in a dvd or two if you dont want to use up data or youd rather use a TV and cant hook up your phone or laptop to it. You can fill old milk jugs with water and use them like kettlebells. You can do squats, lunges, jumping jacks, burpees, pushups, yoga, planks, and much more without any equipment at all. Maybe a mat and again that would be a 1 time investment. Sometimes if you cant cancel the agreement you can transfer it to someone else. I have done this in the past using Kijiji. This will save you on average 50month, or 600year. IF YOU ARE A GYM LOVER I GET IT OKAY : You dont have to do this - I hope to re open a member ship when I can. It is a temporary money saving tactic for me. Best of luck on your gainz.Assess your car insurance. I went in to renew my insurance and was able to get it from 140month to 109month. I could save even more 29 finance fee 2.5 interest if I purchased the insurance all at once, and didnt pay through monthly installments, but I do not have that much cash set aside unfortunately. This reinforces the often pointed out fact in Personal Finance threads that having personal savings is just as important as paying down debt.Get a 2nd part time job. I am working 2 jobs with strange hours right now. So I have applied for 2 jobs in the hopes of getting another 3rdone to supplement my income. One of the jobs is a part time overnight stock position - not terribly exciting or rewarding BUT it is not forever and it is extra money. The other job is only for 2 months but it pays well, working for the Federal Census big survey Canada does to discover info about demographics. Fingers crossed. If I get neither of these positions then I will continue to apply for other similar ones and work as much as I can in my original job as well. So I am trying to bring in extra money. change the way you give gifts. I am trying to give people less stuff... consume less. So I sometimes make a donation to the SPCA in the name of the gift recipient. Or to a cause close to that persons heart depending on their individual personalities and life experiences. Or I buy some groceries and we make a meal together. Or have an everyone bring 10 bucks party and order as much vegetarian take out we can get with the total. may have to adjust a bit depending on where you live but you get my drift this is also not for everyone I get that. My circle is ok with this. Not everyone will be in the same boat. make an honest budget. get out your calculator. Make all those columns and lines. Fill in every little thing. All your bills. All your vices. How much do you really spend on groceries? Hint - look back through 1 month of bank statements, you can do that on any banking app, any mobile website for your bank, any paper bank statement How much cash? where does it go? Gas stations for fuel? Get areal clear picture. It will help you. Remember, keep 10 minimum of every paycheck aside in a savings account for you - whichever one will give you the highest interest rate while still allowing you access to your funds and I always have a few rolls of loonies and a few 20s stashed as well just in case and incorporate that into your budget.consider seeing a non profit debt counselor. They can often help you lower or eliminate your interest and other fees, consolidate your debt into one monthly payment instead of spreading your money between all your debts and trying to just make the minimum payment on everything. Note - some debts, such as student loans, are not eligible for this service. Please do the appropriate research.stay away from shopping malls and TV. Malls make you want ot spend money. Dont go places where the temptation will be great. TV commercials make you want to spend money. They are designed to do so. You dont need any of that crap. It is not as important as what you are saving and working so hard for. Opening your own business. Taking a program at College. Going on a trip. Being debt free. All of these things are more important than a new shirt or the latest shoes or KFC or the latest cell phone...Walk more. I have a car. But I live within a reasonable walk to a Loblaws Superstore kind of like Wal Mart for those of you not in Canada a pet supply store for dog food. Save the gas. Save the wear tear on your car.if youre partnered, do free or very cheap dates. Fly kites somewhere cool. If you dont have a beach you might have a cliff or the roof of a bulding... flat roof... haha. Make a craft. Have a cook-off. Go for a walk where 1 of you is blindfolded and the other one has to guide you over obstacles. Do chin ups on the monkey bars. Go to an open mic night for music and atmosphere. Read aloud on the beach. Go for a drive somewhere to watch the sun set. Write down your goals and then burn them off a candle flame into the wind. You know just think outside of the box. I am single and not interested in dating for a while when Im sorting out my life so idk just suggestionsMost of all just dont give up and keep making changes in small ways and you will get there. I was so hopeless a year ago and now I am starting to feel better. Things are starting to look up. I am still in a huge amount of debt but now I have made a dent in it and have a plan to continue doing so. I am able to sleep better at night knowing I am really doing everything I can think of to make my situation better and I am constantly looking for new ways and new ideas. Like I said not everyone can do all of these things but everyone can do at least 1 or 2 of these things, even right now, today, after reading this, you can do some of these things right away. Dont procrastinate. And keep your chin up.edited - clarityhuge thank you to everyone who left supportive comments. I have been struggling for a long time and feeling very ashamed for getting so deep in debt. I apologize for not posting in rfrugal  <response>: Never cheap out on a mattress, shoes, or tires. Things that separate you from the ground are important. 