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 $12 at Aldi yesterday. I got some fantastic fruit deals. I got pineapples for only $.99 each, 5 lb. bags of oranges for $1.39, strawberries for $1.39, broccoli for $.99 and canteloupes for $.99 each. Needless to say we are stocked up on fruit for awhile. I really didn’t get anything else, but obviously I was happy with the fruit deals. I was SOOOO tired yesterday. This cold is seriously kicking my butt. I decided to go to Aldi first thing so that I could go home and rest. I got there at 8:45am since I didn’t know what time they opened. Well, they opened at 9 and I fell sound asleep waiting for them to open. Luckily I only slept until 9:25 or so. It was funny because when I fell asleep I was the only car in the lot and when I woke up it was nearly full. I NEVER do that. I hope I start feeling better soon. My mom thinks I’m allergic to the puppy. I really hope that’s not the case…
All meals were made/packed at home. I got a pre-paid $15 Mastercard from a toothbrush rebate I filled out awhile back. I’m going to put it towards groceries. I should be able to get lunchmeat and bread at least. I also got a Tide Pods sample in the mail. I just couldn’t make myself do any drugstore deals because I was worried that I was a danger by driving since I kept feeling like I could fall asleep. I will admit to taking an hour nap after doing some blogging. I haven’t done that since I’ve been staying home. I have to learn to give myself a break when I need to instead of feeling like a slacker. I’ve been awake between 3 and 4 every night and I’ve had a hard time going back to sleep.
I got a letter in the mail that our mortgage has been sold. We are going from a very well know company to a company I’ve never heard of. The terms of our loan will remain the same, so hopefully it will be okay. I was a slacker with surveys the past few days too. I just don’t have the energy. Wow, I’m just a ray of sunshine and motivation aren’t I ?
What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. I haven’t forgotten about naming the January winner. I promise I will, but I want to feel better first. Bear with me… Who will the February winner be ? We’ll see…
I hope you feel better soon! It was a no spend day for me yesterday, and I actually made some money by ordering a gift card from the credit card.
Feel better Karen! I feel tired all the time too but it’s not because I’m sick. Yesterday I spent money on lunch. I still haven’t come up with a good solution for taking my lunch everyday and sticking with it. I also spent way too much money on a jacket for myself. I bought a North Face jacket at Cabela’s. I need a jacket that is thin because I’m in the car all the time and the bulky coats are just too big, but it has to keep my warm. And I needed something with a hood. The North Face fleece jackets were the only thing I could find but it was $150! Trust me I didn’t just spend on a whim. I thought and thought and thought about it for a few days. I also tried going to Marshall’s and Dick’s (I had a $10 coupon) but nobody had jackets in stock but Cabela’s. But in the end I know I will get lots of wear out of it. But I’m going to wear it for a few days to see if I really like it and I’m going to look online to see if I can find the same thing cheaper, then I’ll return it if I do.
Sorry you’re not feeling well. I’ve not been sleeping well either and can fall asleep so fast during the day. It’s really bad! A friend gave me a dozen of her chickens fresh eggs so I made omelettes.
Karen, cut yourself some slack, girl! When you are feeling well, you accomplish SOOOOOOOOOOO much in one day that it’s OK to just BE SICK and rest. Maybe if you slow down and rest, you will get better even faster? You amaze me with all you accomplished yesterday even under the weather.
Yesterday I dropped off 2 more purses to sell at the consignment store. Then I ended up having to kill some time before picking up my son from Kindergarten at 11:15, so I ran into the bookstore. The ENTIRE STORE was 50% off! Never seen this before. It was tempting to buy a million I CAN READ books for my son, but I just bought 2 books and my total was 3.98. My children’s names are Max and Addie (Addison) and one of the books I bought is called Addie’s Bad Day and it’s about her and her best friend Max! Then I got an Arthur Valentine book. That’s all for spending yesterday!
Naps are awesome.. Hope you feel better soon, Karen.
Prayed for the ladies on this site, as we dig our way out of debt.
Yesterday, I cancelled a service for a $80 savings/month.
Saved 35% on grocery bill at Kroger and then stopped by the $1 store for a few items/ used coupons there, too.
Popped into Barnes and Noble( had a $20 gift card) wandered around til I found a few items for Valentines gifts for my family. Used a 30% off coupon plus my 10% membership discount.
I set the dinner table fancy for Valentines Day and have a little goodie bag on their plate. The roses from my birthday still look good for the centerpiece.
Only money spent was getting groceries, but hubs went and he is way better than I am at getting food. Still not smoking. Starting my garden later this week. I so can’t wait. I do love a garden. Feel better soon love. Have a great day all.
You can do it Jeniffer! I’ve never been a smoker but have heard of others who, when quitting, put the money they would have spent on cigarettes into a jar. Makes for even more positive encouragement!
Thanks love, I will give that a try. Hubs quit too, so that should really add up.
Spent money on stamps yesterday and gas, but that was all. Still eating out of the cupboard and freezer.
Other than gas (which took a huge jump in price), it was a no spend day. My check was shorted by 25 hours, which is yet another reason I am ever thankful we don’t live paycheck to paycheck. Prayed for the finances of all ML2S readers.
Try and get some extra rest Karen.
No spend day yesterday and today. I went to MIL’s and brought dinner down with us. DH picked up my new desk from freecycle, its wonderful to have somewhere to work that isn’t going to kill my back I was working on 3 tv tray tables before, I needed tons more space and this desk has it. Its huge and I love it. It will need some painting/sanding/refinishing when it gets warmer and I can open the windows but otherwise its in great condition.
Hope you are feeling better. Yesterday I stayed home so it was a no spend day. I made a crockpot full of cinnamon apple sauce. I got a bag of miscellaneous apples on clearance for $.99. It made 2 qts & a pint. I also made a huge pan of chicken spaghetti. We didn’t even eat 1/2. I froze about 2 1/2 cups of left over chicken for another day.
Posting the next day… No spend day! Was heading out shopping and ran out of steam. Which was good for the wallet! What happened to those gas prices?