America is a consumer society, one of the major reasons why consumer debt is so much of a problem.  Before the credit collapse, a whole lot of people bought a whole lot of stuff they ended up never really using.

Now that it’s time to downsize, people feel (justifiably) guilty just throwing perfectly good stuff in the trash.  That’s where The Freecycle network comes in.

With Freecycle, individuals across the county give perfectly good clothes, furniture, electronics and other items to perfect strangers.  This builds community, keeps non-garbage out of landfills and may just help you score something that you would have otherwise paid cash for.

If you like the sound of that, visit Freecycle.org.  Sign up for free and see what you local group can do to help lower your spending.  And that’s money that you get out of debt.