Since we received so many great ideas, we decided to feature another set. Here are 5 more ways some of you are finding success limiting debt.

“Shop at Aldi or some other generic brand grocery store. HUGE money savings!”
-Rich K

“In previous years, one of the largest sources of spending for me was clothing, until I recently discovered a “gold mine”. There has been a stigma associated with thrift stores (i.e. Goodwill, Salvation Army, ect…) but I will tell you, that has been my biggest savior. My 3 kids are all outgrowing their clothes and I just spent $38 for probably $400 worth of clothes. They are all brand name and in EXCELLENT condition. One thing that most people probably don’t know is that a lot of local retail stores donate their unsold merchandise to these charities. I have purchased multiple items of clothing that were brand new for pennies on the dollar. (Oh, and the thrift stores won’t ask you if you want to open a credit card with this purchase! )”
-Shanna B

There you have it… a total of 10 great ideas for saving money and limiting debt!
Checkout the other money management tips from eBillme–and if you have any additional tips of your own to add to this list, leave us a comment and share!

* Another great way to save money: Enter our free contest giveaway every Wednesday and Thursday, for a chance to win great prizes from eBillme and our retailers.

“I put 5 dollars a week in my savings account that way I don’t see it or miss it”
- Kerri R.

“I make a list of everything I need when I go to the grocery/department store. I only buy what I NEED on the list and take a certain amount of money with me. (The more you have, the more you spend) I am forced to stick within by budget.”
- Diane

Thank you to everyone who shared their secrets to success! Hope this helps to make you think about areas in your own life where you can cut back and be more frugal to save you from the financial repercussions in the long-run.

Check back soon for Part 2 of our Debt-Free Living Tips where we will feature 5 more of our favorites!

For other tips on living debt free and shopping safe online, please visit the eBillme tips section.

Living without credit cards is a lifestyle change. The ‘pay later’ mentality is replaced with spending money you actually have available. But of course the first step towards debt-free living is paying down existing debt.

Last week we gave away $100 cash to help reduce someone’s credit card debt. We got great feedback about the giveaway and over 200+ people shared their stories about credit card debt, sky high interest rates, and regret of charging purchases in the first place.

This week we want to hear about your best tips for living debt-free. Maybe it’s how you are not using your credit card anymore or maybe it’s a way you found to save money at the grocery store or increase your savings to pay down your credit card balance. This week’s prize is just in time for tax season – you can win a copy of TurboTax! In addition to the contest prize, the eBillme team will also select the top 10 tips and feature them right here on our blog. We could all use some new ideas when it comes to better managing money and limiting debt!

Click here to enter the contest – don’t delay, this week’s eBillme Shop Debt Free contest closes Thurs. March 11 @ 3pm.

Overwhelmingly, the majority of you have a lot of regrets when it comes to using your credit cards. We heard about car purchases, overusing credit cards in college, purchases that you just shouldn’t have made in the first place and times when the credit card was needed as a bailout for emergency circumstances. When it comes to the credit card reform, most agree that the change towards full disclosure including how long it will take to pay off your debt is a good thing and might just be the wake-up call that people need. However, there is still concern about interest and fees and many don’t believe these changes will do enough to really help those people who are struggling with debt.

Some of you also shared how you have stopped using credit cards altogether or only put something on your credit card if you have the cash to pay it off. We commend you for that!

So who got the cash?
Our winner was Sarah A from Chicago!
Here’s what Sarah had to say about credit cards:

“I relied heavily on credit cards during college and right afterwards. I was paying my own way through school and didn’t have any money left over to eat. But the worst was right out of school when I needed work clothes. I got kind of spend happy with my “free money.” Fast forward several years later when I maxed out my first card. I do regret the choices I made. On the other hand, I was very young and naive and at the mercy of the temptation of a credit card representative hanging out applications on my college campus. If anything, I’ve learned I will need to better educate my own children on financial responsibility so they avoid the same fate.

I am so relieved that these reforms are finally coming into effect. My available credit was almost halved, but at least I don’t feel like there’s this unlimited supply of funds out there with my name on it.”

You can read all the comments here.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our contest! We will be continuing to follow the impact of the credit card reform and are always interested in hearing your opinions!

Credit card companies will now be offering full disclosure when it comes to your debt and how long it will take to pay it off. Even if you prefer being in the dark about this information, it will now be part of your statement whether you like it or not…right there in black and white. Every monthly statement will now indicate how long it will take to pay of your balance if you only make the minimum payments and the total you will pay including the interest and principal. So you can finally see how much that new flat screen TV will really end up costing you.

Check out this article over at Lifehacker to see an example of what these changes will look like on your credit card statement.

Have you received your new statement yet? Tell us your reactions to the new disclosures and the credit card reform. And if you are willing to admit, how long does your credit card company have you in the debt trap for?

Gambling laws prevent companies from charging you for entry, so most contests don’t even require you to purchase anything. All you have to do is fill in a little bit of information, and that tiny hassle is enough to turn most people off of entering, myself included.

Recent events have forced me to change my mind though. A friend asked if I wanted to go to a movie not too long ago. When I asked him which one and he wanted to see, he answered that it had to be this one specific movie, because he’d won free tickets to an advance screening. As it happens it wasn’t the first time he’d won free movie tickets, nor would it be the last either—he had made a habit of always entering his name whenever the local newspaper held a contest. Moreover, he’d won a lot of other cool stuff too. He won so often that the people working the reception desk at the paper recognized him when he showed up to pick up his prize.

It turns out that few enough people enter these contests that the same people who enter regularly win the majority of the prizes! It changed my mind about the way I looked at the hassle of entering contests. It doesn’t cost anything, and the more you enter: the greater your odds of eventually winning something.

So, this year I made one of my New Year’s resolution was to enter more contests. Why don’t you do the same and go enter the first contest you see!

If you thought men were the only ones adrift at sea when it comes to buying Valentines Gifts, the numbers are closer than you think! 50% of men aren’t sure what to buy for women, compared to 45% of women who aren’t sure of what to buy for men.

Surprisingly, of all the people who were unsure of what to get, married people or people living with their partners were the least sure!

If you’re one of those poor souls who’s totally at a loss you should check out these sections: we’ve separated these gift ideas into easy to browse categories for just about anyone on your list.

Luckily, it seems like Grandpa was right all along: some things do get better with age. Consumers 65 years of age and older were more certain about what they were going to buy than younger consumers. If you ask me, buying a Valentines Day gift that you’re confidant about is something we can all look forward to!

How do Retailers Get Customers to Pay Full Price?
And What Promotions will Payoff When They Won’t?

On Thursday February 11, join eBillme and Lauren Freedman, president of the e-tailing group, for an interactive, live webinar focused on the bottom line:

Getting Your Customers to Pay Full Price.

Topics include:
- Quicker, faster, cheaper. Delivering for today’s demanding customer.
- Promotional ploys that please the customer and the bottom line.
- Creative twists on traditional promotional tactics that inspire purchasing.
- Highlights from propriety e-tailing group’s “just released” Annual Mystery Shopping Study.
- Shopping cart best practices that ensure efficient customer checkout.
- Boosting your business with alternative payment options in cash-strapped economies.

Register now for this free webinar and find out how you can maximize ROI and increase sales.
Thurs. Feb 11, 1 pm EST.

Due to Valentines Day’s murky backstory (is it a religious holiday? Pagan? Hallmark?) you shouldn’t feel bad about taking matters into your own hands and doing things your way: there’s no right way to do Valentines Day.

So, this year take back February 14th! Just don’t forget to take advantage of this holiday’s abundance of chocolates, and Valentines Day sales.

By applying different variables like distance between holidays, weather, lack of daylight, lapsing of New Year’s resolutions and the arrival of Christmas bills to come up with the third Monday in January as the most depressing day of the year! Hooray.

This winter it’s particularly easy to feel the mid-winter blues with the pictures from the earthquake in Haiti on the news to add to the crummy weather outside.

Here’s a suggestion, why don’t you do something to make yourself feel better. The help Haiti initiative that we’re running is a good opportunity to help others and make you feel better: when you shop at one of these participating stores, we will donate $10 dollars to Red Cross for every order over $50 by using a special coupon code, you’ll also save $10.

It’s an easy way for everyone to take part in helping Haiti on what is sure to be a long and difficult road to recovery.