One of the biggest challenges that modern families face, is figuring out how to spend less money, without compromising on the fun things in life. You want to be able to enjoy a comfortable home, eat nice food, and even splash out on the occasional treat at times. However, it's difficult to make your wages stretch as far as you'd like every month.

Though there are many things that you can do to improve your current financial situation, few are more effective than cutting down what you owe. The less you have to pay back when it comes to debt and interest, the fewer monthly bills you'll need to worry about when you're trying to make the most of your salary. Here are a few ways that you can cut down on your family debt.

1. Compare Loans Before You Commit

The simplest way to make sure that you're spending as little as possible on your loans is to dedicate some time and effort to look for the right deal, to begin with. Go online and use a comparison website to check what kind of deals might be available to someone in your situation. This rule applies regardless of whether you're looking for a deal on a personal loan, or you want to save money on your mortgage.

Just like any other product, loans come in many different shapes and sizes. The more time you put into comparing your options, the better.

2. Refinance Expensive Loans

It's not just the new loans that you need to be careful with when you're trying to save money on your long-term expenses, your old loans can really have an impact on your bank account too. Often, as time passes by, you'll discover that there are various credit card loans and old student expenses that you could cut your costs on if you simply switched to a different personal loan.

Look into refinancing your automobile or home or think about whether it might be a good idea to consolidate some of your existing loans into a single debt that you can tackle more aggressively in the future.

3. Sign up for Automatic Debt Repayment Plans

Ultimately, the best way to reduce the amount of money you spend on debts will always be to pay back the cash you owe as quickly as possible. The quicker you can get rid of the credit card debts and overdrafts that are eating into your wages each month, the quicker you can start enjoying a budget with a little more freedom.

Some companies will be willing to provide you with a better interest rate if you're willing to sign up for a direct debit payment each month. However, even if you can't get a better deal that way, the direct debit payments will at least ensure that you don't miss out on any payments and risk penalties that could make your life more expensive.

4. Take Advantage of Balance Transfers

Similarly to refinancing your mortgage or consolidating expensive debts into a new personal loan, sometimes the best way to get out of debt faster is to escape a difficult situation. If you're carrying a credit card debt with a high-interest rate, for instance, you might be able to use a 0% interest balance transfer to move the money you owe over to a different card while you break down some of the money you offer. 0% deals can last for as long as eighteen months, and some also have additional rewards programs to tap into.

If you can take advantage of that 0% interest deal, you can pay off your debt without having to worry about interest for a while. Just make sure that you factor any balance transfer fees into your calculations.

5. Find Other Ways to Pay off What You Owe

Finally, if you're struggling to pay off your debts with nothing but your standard monthly income, and maybe a little help from your spouse too, then it's important to think about other ways that you might be able to pay off larger chunks of the cash you owe. For instance, you might be able to sell some items that you no longer want or need on sites like eBay.

On the other hand, if you have a creative side, you could consider selling things that you make on Etsy on the side. There are even part-time jobs that you can do entirely from home to supplement your income and pay off your debts even faster.