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 had a pretty good day yesterday. I had some fun at Target yesterday. I had a FREE $2 gift card from Shopkick that was due to expire, so I wanted to use it. I also had some fun earning “kicks” from Shopkick by scanning various products in the store. If you haven’t used Shopkick I urge you to give it a try. It’s kind of fun and it’s a new way to earn gift cards to your choice of a bunch of places including Target. I ended up getting 4 Ragu sauces, 2 Barilla pastas and a few El Paso items for $5.60 after coupons. I paid with a gift card from a previous deal, so no money out of pocket.
I made all meals at home. The girls are into packing lunches now, so I pack it every night for the next day. I made a big dinner. I had Weight Watchers and sadly gained 2 lbs. I’m sick of the Yo Yo-ing. I’l l just keep plugging away though. I’ve been getting the W-2′s in the mail. I’m hoping we get a little “somethin’ somethin’” back. Whatever it is will go into the emergency fund. I can’t wait to fully fund it so I can start hitting the mortgage even harder
I did 3 surveys last night and earned 42 Swagbucks. I also printed a few coupons that should help make the girl’s birthday party less expensive. My mom and dad offered to make them a cake (they make and decorate cakes as a hobby). Last year we did a big party at Bounce U. I had been toying with the idea of having a party somewhere, but decided to keep it simple this year. We have goals for goodness sake ~ ha ha. The important thing is that we’ll be together. I’m really trying to accomplish alot this year and every penny we save now will equal dollars years down the road
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 did my first major grocery shop in jan. last night. My printer has died do I wasn’t able to print the great q’s out right now, but I still saved 47%+$6 back in cats, spent $86.
If anyone stumbles on a good deal on a wireless printer I’d love to know! I really miss being able to print coupons!
Check out your local Staples store if you’ve got one. In Jan/Feb, it seems they always clearance out the tech. Last year we got a great computer for $400 that was clearanced down from $950, but most of the really good deals seem to only be in store.
Thanks! I’ll check it out!
I am so frustrated currently with being debt free, or paying down debt. I normally do not feel that we live paycheck to paycheck until today. After increasing taxes being taken from my husband’s check but ours bills staying the same or increasing, we are left with $16 today…um…hello freak out. I do not feel we live above our means, but there will be some serious changes. I do not subscribe to magazines or things that are “extras” so to speak, but I am going to be re-evaluating out cell plans, cable bill, etc. because that is crazy. I know some of it is from the holidays and birthdays and paying off credits cards, but that is still freak out mode. Sorry to vent. Needless to say, today will be a no spend day.
Yesterday I just bought milk and that’s it!!!! I went to the gas station the other day and paid at the pump, well well someone store my debit card number while there. I guess to my understanding they put a cc reader on the pump and got my number, so the bank called and stopped my debit card, so no debit card for a week or so. The thief tried to used the card to buy a big ticket item but it didn’t go through because we never keep that much money on that account. It made me so mad. We work hard for our money and some jerk decides he/she needs to get money the lazy and wrong way. No more posting at the pump for me. The last at the bank said people are doing this a lot these days. Anyways beware ladies. Hoping for light spend day today, got to go get the oldest a new pair of uniform pants for school. Have a great day.
I’m hearing the tax refunds are about as bad as the increase in taxes being taken out. Oh if only we all knew how big companies get away with using everything as a tax break so they pay no taxes. Anyhoo, I went to Kroger yesterday with no coupons but took advantage of the sale they have going on and even though I paid about $99 I still saved money. I seriously just do not have time for coupons anymore. Maybe someday I can get back to it. It is pretty nice though not having to deal with them, just go and shop. But I know they save money. I’m thinking maybe I can just go and buy in bulk when they are having these super sales and use coupons then. I guess I just need to get a good stock pile up and stop running from store to store, just shop at stores close to my home and keep it simple. Well I’ve rambled long enough. Hope everyone has a good day!
Yesterday was no spend, but I did make $20. I also got a birthday card with some money in it, so I’m taking it to the bank this morning to deposit and pay toward a credit card. Not so fun, but I promised myself I would do it.
Washer decided to start making a clanging noise in the drum–something metal is stuck, so I had to call for service. Luckily it’s all under warranty and even though the customer service people couldn’t get an appt until next Monday, I was able to call this morning to another company and someone is coming today. Thank God! I cloth diaper and being without my washer that long would stink, literally! Today should only be minor spend–out of milk (found out last night the last gallon was bad after I took a drink–gross!).
On an awesome note, my baby girl decided to start taking several steps, not just one or two. I was hoping she’d wait for Daddy, but this way, she may walk to him! It’s only 2 weeks anyway!
Had a good day yesterday. Worked 4 hours and then stopped by CVS, Walmart, Dollar Tree and Meijers. Spent a whopping $9.09 between all my stops and have a $5 ECB. CVS was especially kind to me. Received a $2 coupon off TRESemme from their coupon machine and combined it the B1G1 coupon from Sundays paper. The register took off $6 for the free item, making it a money maker. It isn’t my preferred brand of shampoo, but makes for a nice item to donate to the church pantry. Prayed for the finances of all ML2S readers.
Yesterday we only spent on gas and sugar I needed at the grocery store. Oh, and $60 for my son’s in inhaler! That’s a really drain on the finances, our prescriptions. And we have health insurance, too! This month will be an expensive one, as it’s my oldest son’s birthday, so between his birthday and his party, it will be a lot. We keep it simple and do a party at our house, but we have 30+ people, so pizza alone is $100! And, we have to register our boys for their next session of swim lessons, which is another $100! It goes so fast, even to necessities!!
Did you know that places like Sams and Costco often have cheaper medicines–and by federal law, you do not have to belong to the club in order to go to the pharmacy. All pharmacy services must be available to the public, without requiring a card that costs money. You might try checking them out for cheaper meds. Even with insurance, you sometimes get them cheaper there.
Another tip is to ask for samples at your doctors office. Even if it isn’t a new prescription, most doctors offices are more than happy to give these away just for the asking. If the script has a refill, you can also transfer it to another pharmacy offering a perk for doing so. Rite Aid and Walgreens frequently offer $25 for doing this.
Ran to CVS yesterday and got a few items. I came back with 6 jars of pb so that should last us a long while. I also cleaned out the pb, I had some in the cabinet from 09 so I figured it was time to let that go. I didn’t get the treseme coupon from the machine so I guess I won’t be getting that deal. I am going to head to the gym today because our tax appt got cancelled and I’ll probably stop at rite aid after, I have $12 in up+ to use there so hopefully it won’t be much oop. Dinner is already in the crockpot so that will not be an expense tonight.
I paid off a bill today which felt great. When we moved two years ago, we had to change some bed sizes to fit into the new house, so it was for mattresses and a couple of small things. It was zero interest for six months, but I just wanted to be done with it. Now I can take that money and put it somewhere else. It took most of my paycheck, but it feels good to be down one bill.
Also stopped by Kroger and found two clearanced packages of burgers (total of 20 or 5 meals for us) and the buns. Paid a total of $11.99, so a nice price for 5 meals. It will be nice to have those in the freezer to pull out as needed.
Can totally relate to getting less with my paycheck. I am a teacher (been teaching 13 years now) and I make less now than I did 2 years ago thanks to the new taxes being taken out and my insurance increasing all at the same time. My house isn’t paid off and won’t be for awhile now and that payment went up as well. I have started cutting back on things, but it is getting strained at times. I teach, tutor (two evenings a week), and I try to sell things online to help fund my emergency fund. It’s a work in progress, but at least I am trying something. Now to get my hubby to tighten his belt on the finances as well…sometimes we don’t necessarily see eye to eye on things.