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 spent about $12 yesterday. My parents called and asked if the girls and I could meet them and the girl’s cousins at Chick fil a for lunch. I didn’t have any coupons, so it was a splurge for sure. They had a good time their cousins, so I guess it was worth it. After lunch we ran to Walgreens and I did the Balance Bars deal. I got 12 Balance Bars for $2 and I didn’t buy anything else. My last stop before heading home was to Papa Johns. I was able to pick up a totally FREE large pizza for dinner. I think it was the football promotion. I got an email with a code for it = woo hoo.
The rest of my afternoon was spent organizing my kitchen and my new coupon filing cabinet. I also organized a big set of cabinets over a little desk in our kitchen. This cabinet had been used to store everything from medicine to nail polish for the girls to free candy I’ve gotten to basically everything else! It hasn’t been organized since we moved in last year. I opened the door and something fell out and hit me in the head. That’s what convinced me to get it organized. I used these little baskets that I had in the garage. I can’t believe how much stuff was in there. See the picture below for the finished product. I should have taken a before pic, but I was just so annoyed that everything was falling out of it that I started grabbing handfuls of stuff and emptying it out without stopping for pics. I also cleaned up the rest of the kitchen and set up a coupon filing box that I had been meaning to do for at least the last month.
I don’t know about you guys, but I am so pumped up for change this year. I just know that 2013 is gonna be our year. I know it’s only the beginning of January, but I mean it, it’s happening this year. I love reading all of your comments and cheering one another on, as well as getting more great ideas. Maybe it’s just me, but it this New Years just feels different.
Make sure you get a few papers today because there are 5 inserts and a TON of deals to do with the coupons!
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…
Here are a few pictures of the girls on Christmas morning! Kayla loves her American Girl doll, while Olivia loves her Yappy Puppy even a little more. I guess we will have to get a dog soon (sigh!).
Happy Sunday
Your girls are so beautiful! Glad you got a project done. So did I! We have a huge linen closet in our hallway where I literally shove stuff into (it’s mostly storage for sheets, blankets and towels that we don’t use too often) and shut it quickly before something falls out. Well yesterday I decided to empty it and find other homes for things, throw away some of the stuff, and give away some of the stuff. It is now a toy cabinet and has toys, board games and puzzles. All of the sets of little toy things (like Melissa and Doug wooden sets) are all in their own clear plastic bin, so it will be easy for my little ones to clean up themselves. And it’s nice that you can see thru every bin to know what’s inside. It didn’t cost me anything because most of their things (blocks, tea sets, cars, knex, etc…) were already in clear plastic stackable bins, just of diff shapes and sizes. Also, my husband took their little lego table and other toys they haven’t played with in over a year and have no interest in ever playing with again to the consignment store (as well as some more clothes of theirs–I really am striving to be a minimalist this year or I’m just sick of laundry or both, ha ha) and he came home with another check for over 40 dollars! That’s a win-win for me. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!
Karen, I also have a question for you. Is your fridge stainelss steel? It looks like it is, and that you have magents and school papers and stuff hanging on it. We have a SS fridge and magnets don’t stick to ours. I would love to display some of my son’s school projects. Just curious if you were in the same boat and have a quick fix? Thanks!
Yeah, I probably have too much hung on my fridge as evidenced by the picture ha ha. For whatever reason our fridge holds magnets and everything. The front is SS and the sides are gray regular fridge material. The magnets stick to the front and sides. I know they do make things to help you though. I would Google it
I hope you find a solution, but I think I need to clean mine off…
yesterday was another no spend, eat out of the pantry day -Wed. can’t come soon enough. Washed 2 loads of clothes and hung them in the basement. I stopped delivery of the paper so I have to go out and buy one. Other than a paper it will be another no spend day. Love the encouraging words from everyone.
Had $2. on my kroger’s reward card(from playing pop the balloon kroger instant win game) so newspaper cost ten cents oop!! was not even tempted to look through the store.
How beautiful are those girls??!! Luv the pictures! I have been following your blog for a long time now and I am addidicted : ) I have decided this year I am going to talk about my goals and hopefully this will keep me on track! This year has not been that productibe for me yet, I have been sick so yesterday was a no spend day. Just slept on the couch the majority of the day. Im not feeling much better today, but atleast I can sit up
I am really hoping to find my kitchen today since my hubby and son were on their own yesterday dishes and papers are everywhere.
Thank you Karen for sharing your experiences with us!! Here’s looking to a wonderful 2013!!!
Big spend day here. We promised our kids that we would match whatever they saved towards a car. Well, our 17 yr old daughter has been begging that we match it for a guitar instead. She is a serious musician(she even has her own students already and plays professionally at weddings, church, etc.) Anyway, she saved almost $2,000, so my hubby matched it and got her a” Taylor” She is graduating this May and going off to a music school/college…with a gui”tar” and no “car”.
I know, I know we are still in debt…but we were still able to add another $700 to emergency fund this month…and we have saved for her college since she was little.
Your girls just light up a room. Glad you got an organizing project done.
Karen, I also live in PA, I live in Plymouth Meeting, I want to know how you can get your breakfast specials for $1.59, is it a local diner?, that is amazing!
Yes, it’s a diner called Happy Days in Thorndale, PA. They give you 2 eggs (done any way you want), hasbrowns, and white, wheat or rye toast for $1.59. You can’t beat it – ha ha.
Wow, I didn’t realize you lived that close to me. We are in Parkesburg and we have been there for dinner before but not for breakfast. We will have to look that one up when DH next has off work.
Remodeling basement is not exactly saving money but we are doing all the work ourselves which will for sure save some major $. Learned how to float the walls on youtube, doing basic plumbing and tile work ourselves and its adding value to our home too!
Wow! I wish we were more handy like you guys. You are spending a little money now but adding so much value to the house plus you will enjoy the house more ! Awesome.
DH and his brother are really handy too and will be refinishing his mom’s basment at some point this year. She doesn’t work a regular job so she has to build up the $ very slowly to get it done so that is why it is taking so long.
No spend day yesterday & looking like today will be too. I need to make a grocery list as I know we need a few things but it will be bare minimums as our grocery envelope is pretty empty. I signed up for Plink that you posted so maybe that’ll be some extra $. Earned my swagbucks and still waiting on payment for the purse I sold. It ended Friday so I’m hoping she’ll pay by Monday.
Only money spent was on storage bends. Money well spent to get things together. Spent most of my day cleaning and throwing out. Oh my what junk we have. I want to get the house straight and hopefully keep it that way so I can spend more time with my family and doing the things I want to do like coupon instead of cleaning all the time. Today has been a throw away day. Oh it feels so good. I used to keep everything but from today on, NO MORE!!!! I feel like I can breath. No spend today so far!!!
The girls are adorable. Such a fun age. I totally agree with you in regards to feeling very positive about 2013. I just know this is going to be our year!
Started out the day praying for those who wanted to join in on a prayer chain. So far I have the following names: Amy L, Beth, Karen, Jen, Lori, Toni, Jennifer, Christy, Lindsey, Jessica, Shelly C and Shelly Baker. If I left anyone off or if anyone else would like to join in on praying for our finances, please add your name. I feel such a calm starting my day off with prayer.
After work I stopped at Krogers, spent $27.15 and saved $36.44 with coupons. Keeping “need vs want” running through my brain kept a lot of items out of my cart!
I did a little bit of freezer cooking, made chicken soup for dinner, froze 2 quarts. also froze 3 lbs of fried ckn nuggets.
i am starting a 52 week savings plan i found on pinterest, it is at least a st art,our salary doesnt stretch far enough as is,and with insurance and tax increaeses it may get unbearable!
Yesterday must have been closet day. I did my upstairs hall closet where I keep all of the finds from couponing- toothpaste, deoderant, shampoo, etc. I got that all organized so now I know what to stock up on when there’s a super deal. I also did my bathroom cabinets and my closet. I pulled some things out that don’t fit or I don’t wear and will take those to the consignment shop this week. I feel so much calmer when things are organized. I can get up, get dressed, and get out the door much less stressed.
Today I returned some things I didn’t need and ended up with about $80 credited back on my account. I stopped by CVS and picked up four almost free bags of Hershey’s kisses that I’ll use to make cookies. Have y’all noticed how completely outrageous chocolate prices have become?! Holy cow.
I did some freezer cooking- mainly browning ground beef and seasoning a lot of it for tacos. Makes for a quick, no mess dinner on a busy night. I’m trying hard to get back on my diet and have done pretty well so far. I had stopped by Goodwill to donate some things on Dec. 31, and while I was there, I took a chance on a pair of Chico’s jeans, a pair of Talbot’s dress pants for work, and a pair of cords. It apparantly was my lucky day- they all fit perfectly! Woohoo! Three new pairs of pants for under $10! It’s truly amazing how well you can dress from Goodwill and consignment shops. I can’t remember the last time I personally bought anything really ‘new.’
Lastly, I spent some time today doing some planning and praying for strength and control for all of us regarding our finances. I continue to be inspired by each of you and am grateful to have a place to share ideas, successes, and failures.
Today was almost a no spend day, I just ran out to get the paper since I wanted a couple more multiple coupons. I found a paper that was actually .25 less than the inquirer and it had all the inserts not just the SS, I also got a target insert in my paper which should make for some nice deals.