One of the biggest reasons for creating MommyLuvs2save was to create a community of moms and dads who want to help their family save money when buying essentials in order to free up money for debt repayment. My own family has paid off over $111,500 in consumer debt including credit cards, student loan debt and 2 vehicles. I am a teacher at heart. I want to use the skills that I have learned to help YOU ditch debt. I want to encourage each of you in your efforts so that one day you can feel the freedom of being debt free. I’m not quite there yet either (we still have a mortgage) so I need encouragement as well 
It can be very difficult to pay down debt. There are many temptations to spend money. We live in a culture that encourages debt and spending. In addition, expenses come up and there never seems to be any extra money for paying down debt. I want to urge each of you to participate in a challenge. Just leave a comment about one positive step you’ve taken for your family each day. Did you eat in instead of going out? Did you save money at the grocery store? Did you pay extra on your credit card? Leave a comment below and we will cheer one another on every day and every step of the way.
The challenge is to leave a comment about what YOU have done to work on getting debt free each day. One winner will be chosen to win a $50 Amazon gift card at the end of each month. To participate in the challenge you must comment on at least 10 posts during the month.
* I will also be sharing my progress from the day prior.
My Progress: I got an early start yesterday because Ro wasn’t feeling well, so I got up extra early to help him get off to work since he couldn’t call off. My really exciting news for the day was that the lawyer’s office called me to tell me that my check is ready to pick up. For those of you who don’t know on October 30th of 2011 we had a freak snowstorm and I had to go to a local hotel for a master’s class. Needless to say, they didn’t remove any of the ice out front and I fell pretty hard (as did 3 of my classmates). Apparently 2 of my classmates even complained to the front desk before I even got there and they didn’t put any salt down. I ended up missing over 3 months of work and nearly broke my ankle and I injured my knee pretty bad. It was awful. I’m not a letigious person, but they were seriously negligent and I didn’t think it was fair for me to lose months worth of wages when it wasn’t my fault. Well, anyway the check is at the lawyers office and Ro and I are going into the city a little later on to pick it up.
The check will be just enough to pay off our 2012 Toyota Sienna. That is our “responsible” plan for the money. We will then go back to being debt FREE except for the mortgage. Here’s the thing… It’s SO hard to do the smart thing isn’t it ? It’s so tempting to just say “Hey hon, let’s take the kids to Disney World. I know that wouldn’t be smart (especially with us being down to one income), but sheesh it’s tempting. Paying down debt is hard, hard work. You have to deny yourself so much and honestly we’ve never been anywhere as a family. I’m going to pay off the van before I change my mind. There may be a few hundred $ leftover (we’ll see), so I decided that whatever is left is going into a Disney fund. We haven’t decided whether we want to go to the park or go on othe cruise, but the girls are old enough now to really enjoy it. I ordered the Disney cruise DVD that I posted yesterday. It should be fun to watch with the girlies and maybe it will make me feel better about watching the bank account go UP and Down again all in the same day ~ ha ha!
5 reviews for Viepoints
What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the January winner be ? We’ll see…
I am so excited for you that your check is FINALLY available. You have waited so long. You deserve it! I admire you for putting it all toward the van. The Disney fund is a great idea. I know you’ll get there soon enough and be able to enjoy it that much more. And the older the girls are when they go, the more they’ll remember it.
Yesterday the only money I spent was 53 dollars to fill up my gas tank. That gives me over 400 miles, so should last awhile. I still HATE paying for gas, though. For me, it’s kind of like dusting…I HATE dusting because the visible difference of all your work isn’t much…to me, it’s much more rewarding to spend money and bring home a bag of food or bag of anything or clean and see piles of laundry folded. Ok, you all probably think I’ll crazy so I’ll stop for now. Have a great weekend everyone! Today is my birthday and my husband and I are going on a date tomorrow–we haven’t been on a date away from the kids in a year, so we are really looking forward to it!
Happy Birthday Liz! Had to chuckle about your dusting comment. We heat our house primarily with wood (saves us thousands!) so dust is an endless battle during the winter months. My hubby often tells me I have OCD when it comes to keeping a clean house….which is not a good combo with a wood burner. lol
Happy Birthday Liz! Hope you and your hubby have a wonderful time! Congrats to you too Karen! That would be a very difficult decision to make. I could only wish to be as strong as you
Spent money on our puppy yesterday for shots and next week we are getting him neutered, so that money wasn’t really planned but I feel it needs to be done now. Going grocery shopping today so I am keeping my fingers crossed I can still get some good deals at the store. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
Spent money on formula and meds and thats it. A friend of mine sent me her baby food makes and a lot more baby goodie, FREE!!!!!! She also sent me some g diapers. So far, so good. Hoping that will save up on reg diapers and food. I am sending her a GC for giving me the things. I wanted to pay her but she said she was happy to give it a new home. Today is grocery day so I am only hoping to spend 50. Mailing more items I have sold then back home before I find something I NEED.
Yesterday was a no spend day. Had planned on asking hubby about going out for dinner, but he surprised me by having dinner ready when I got home from work. Sent an additional $200 to our debt. Prayed for the finances of all those on the prayer chain. This has really helped me stay focused with my own finances.
Congrats on finally getting your check Karen!
Yea!!! for the check and the van being paid off. Seems that you would feel guilty/disappointed in yourself if you took off to Disneyland and you wouldnt enjoy it as much as a paid off van and a saved trip. Your girls still have some time.
Well, my grocery bill has an explanation..I took my boys for their annual physicals..One boy grew 6 inches and gained 30 lbs, the other boy grew 4 inches and gained 20. Whew.
We got our heating bill, it was $525..less than we expected.
Got a few 75% off toys from Target for upcoming birthdays. Made venison stew for dinner.
Doesn’t it always seem boys never stop growing! I just spent a ton on clothes for my son 3 mos ago, now his jeans hit his ankles and he looks goofy. I may have to get a 2nd mortgage just to feed him when he’s a teenager.
I had to pay the mortgage yesterday and then I also purchsed plane tickets that I needed to get. Luckily Alaska airlines was having a flash sale and I got the tickets for $64 each way. So much cheaper than I have seen in a very LONG time, I did move money into the emergency fund and allocated some for grocery shopping this weekend.
Karen I am so happy for you that the legal issue is resolved and you can pay off the van. That will hopefully ease your budget a bit each month with not having that payment. I am looking forward to the day that my student loan payment is no longer a part of my budget. It looks like I will be getting a tax return this year and much of that will be put towards the SL the rest will go into savings for my daughter’s upcoming kindergarten tuition.
Karen I was just wondering about your legal dilema the other night. I had a dream that they gave you enough money to pay everything off and you were debt free! A girl can dream for you cant she! A no spend day here so far. I may make a run to the Dollar Tree with my coupons but havent decided yet.
We are having Chicken wings for dinner and salad. Hubby is mounting microwave over stove and taking truck to see if he can sell to Dealership. That would free up monthly money and pay off a debt and the extra money we make we also pay off so old bills and put money into the emergency fund.
Karen, the girls have time to enjoy a cruise or Disneyworld or land whichever it is is near you. It will be more enjoyable knowing that you dont have the debt waiting on you when you get home so you can really enjoy yourself.
I hope Ro is feeling better.
Happy Birthday Liz!! I agree with dusting and gas!
Yesterday was a pretty calm day–spent most of it at home with my princess and watching my friend’s son. Worked on cleaning up the tornado that still remained from playgroup. I did get gas and decided to pay to wash my car since it wasn’t expensive and would be easier on me than trying to diy…pointless. Within 2 hours, my car was covered with yellow pollen. It looks so awful. Oh well. Made $60 this week watching the extra little dude, so that was helpful. Also found out that my son’s school offers scholarships to those who may need it, so I’m doing the application and trying to figure out what to put in a personal letter from me…I have no idea. Any suggestions? I mean, I thought to put in there that we are working very hard to pay down our debt and don’t want our son missing out on school because of it, but I simply don’t know what to put.
No spend day. Having to go into town only once a week (our jobs mean both of us can work from home 4 out of 5 days a week) really saves on gas; we have not filled the tank in 10 days.
I may be the only dessenter (sp?) on this issue, but my question is why you would waste the money on Disneyworld rather than put it toward your mortgage? Putting something like $200 down toward the principal means you save a lot more than that in the long run (if you have a 15 or 30 year mortgage, due to the interest). Your kids are still so young the chances are they will not remember much; I had ajob tht included travel to England. We took our kids when they were 6 and again when they were 11. They remember almost nothing from the first trip, but quite a bit from the second. And think how light hearted you will feel when you have no mortgage—why not make it the trip you take when you are done with your mortgage. I do recognize that I am very hard core when it comes to any debt, but the idea of that expensive fun when you have so many things you can do locally with little kids is not something I understand. Places like Disney trade on the emotions, not on the logic of getting out of any debt before pleasure. (Especially when only one of you is working. If your husband is injured on the job, would you rather have the mortgage paid off or have a file of photos from trips you took instead of planning for any possible emergency?) I don’t mean to offend you, so I hope I have not—but it concerned me to see people cheering you when it does not make sense to me at all.
Don’t worry Ledith I don’t offend that easily ha ha ! I can see your points and honestly I’m torn. We are only 1 year into a 15 year mortgage and even though I was able to put a chunk on the mortgage when we sold the old house, it will still be a number of years before it’s paid in full. I know the girls won’t remember all of the details of a Disney vacation, but they are really into the princesses and all of that stuff now and I don’t imagine they still will be at 11 for example ?
It’s so hard to balance fun and debt repayment. I’ve had us in “deny ourselves” mode since before the girls were born and when do you draw the line and splurge on a little family fun? Ro and I have never even been on a honeymoon. Our family has never so much as stayed overnight in a hotel at the shore. We have stayed overnight in Pittsburgh for a night every 6 months to a year in order to see Ro’s family, but that seriously has been IT.
I guess I just struggle with not wanting to have regrets later on. I don’t want to be so super intense that I lose out on family memories. Rest assured I’ve not made any plans. I’m just getting the “itch” to do a family vacay. Whenever it happens, it will be paid for in cash. Also, the $$ that I got today will 100% pay off the 2012 Sienna, so we shouldn’t need another vehicle in awhile (I’m going to drive it until the wheels fall off). It is true that if my hubby lost his job I’d rather have a paid off mortgage than a file box of pics. It’s also true that any one of us could be hit by a bus tomorrow and I would have wished we had done a trip together. I also admit that Disney is way overpriced and gimmicky. It’s so hard to be so practical 100% of the time isn’t it ?!
You have me intrigued when you say you are “hard core” in regards to debt repayment. What do you mean by that specifically? I love to learn from other debt repayers (ha ha), so I would love to hear some of your methods and I would love to hear about your journey and how much you’ve paid off etc…
Here’s another emotional perspective,I believe the memories you make with your children are priceless. Even if they need a photo to remember, so many get taken before we get everything lined up to
Go on our dream vacations. Go back a read more of Karens history she deserves an account toward some fun, guilt free money. No offense just a different perpspective.
I guess I believe that you can make priceless memories without spending the kind of money it takes to go to Disneyland. The stuff I remember about my family has more to do with family rituals and loving gestures than with big vacations.
I totally agree with you about that. Some of our most treasured memories are from things we’ve done fore FREE like going to look at Christmas lights every night this past Christmas. I know that the girls and I have a very special relationship because of all of the love we share and that a pricey vacation won’t make us love one another any more than we do already.
Please share your progress and story with us. Also, don’t forget the other recipes. I really would love to have your yogurt recipe.
I see both points but I think that debt repayment & fun are like the work/life balance that employees battle every day. We all want to do a great job, be respected & know that our coworkers trust & count on us to do a great job yet we know that our families, friends & hobbies help us stay happy so that we come to work in a good mood and don’t get burned out. So we want to be debt free so that we can have more fun but if you only focus on debt repayment, you will get burned out & fall off the debt repayment train.
I used part of my blow $ to get my eyebrows waxed (my guilty pleasure thanks to my hairy eyebrows that inherited from my dad). Will be working overtime this weekend & the $ will go to our adoption savings account. Hubby is still sick but I’m going to buy groceries tomorrow so that I get the smart ones deal. ($2/each with $4/10 coupon & you get a $5 gift card if you buy so it works out to $1.10/each when you buy 10). I eat them every day during tax season so I’ll probably buy 20 since I can put some in the deep freeze.
I totally agree with needing to keep a healthy balance. Life is a journey and many of us forget to “stop and smell the roses” from time to time. Taking a dream vacation may delay paying off her house by a few months, but knowing Karen, she will still pay it off early.
I’m also interested in hearing more about your “hard core” approach. I love reading what others are doing to tackle their debt.
I got a SUPER deal on clothing today! I had received a $25 freebie coupon for a clothing store that I have been ccollecting points at for years. It expires Jan 31 so I thought I’d better get in there and use it. When I walked in, three quarters of the store was empty … they are changing ownership! So anything with an orange clearance tag was going to be 50% off the last sale price! I got a pair of teal jean capri pants that started at $49.99 for $7.00. I got a teal striped shirt (originally $39.99) for $9 and 2 pairs of fancy undies for $4.50 each (originally $9 each) With tax, and after my coupon, I paid $1.27 for my 4 items which would have cost around $108 with their original prices! This is one of my best deals EVER! Sooooo exciting!