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 a lot accomplished yesterday.  I started out by going for my 2nd Thyroid ultrasound.  In November I had 5 nodules and they want to see if they got bigger to see if I need a needle biopsy.  My baby sister recently had thyroid cancer and it’s a genetic kind, so I’m thinking I’ll need the biopsy, but we’ll see.  The technician was pretty busy measuring stuff, so that can’t be great.  Plus, she was a little cold until after my test and then she was super sweet, which makes me think I must be pretty bad off – ha ha.  I  fully cleaned the kitchen, which included totally cleaning out and wiping down the fridge.  It was sorely needed.  I watered the garden before it got too hot.  I think it was in the upper 80′s here yesterday.  I am NOT a big fan of the hot, humid weather.  I know most of you probably are, but I hate being hot. 

I went to the grocery store to get some things for a BBQ for dinner.  I spent $23.42 for dinner for 2 nights.  I used the $50 pre-paid Visa card from the Buick test drive, so $0 out of pocket.  I made all meals at home including dinner, which was marinated, grilled chicken on the grill with mac ‘n cheese and a salad.  The mail was pretty awesome.  I got a bunch of FREE samples of Gold Emblem products from CVS.  That was cool.  I also got chosen to do a Seventh Generation party to showcase some of their items. I love their stuff, so I can’t wait. I posted that opportunity, so I hope some of you got it too.

We took a ride after dinner and Ro must have been distracted by the girls being silly in the backseat because he ran a red light.  We instantly heard the sirens.  Right away I thought of how much the ticket would be and whether or not our insurance rates would jump up.  I was a little irritated at Ro… until I heard the crying.  The girls (especially Olivia) got hysterical about it and instantly I wasn’t worried about anything financial.  I didn’t want them to be upset.  I kept saying that it was okay and that we did something wrong and that it would be fine.  I found out later that Olivia thought we were going to jail (so cute).  The officer came to the window and asked if there as a reason why we didn’t stop at the light – and then he heard the sobbing.  He asked us to put the back window down and then he went on to console the girls and tell them that it was okay.  He asked if they were twins (he is one), he asked how old (he has a 6 year old), he explained that we did something wrong, but that it wasn’t too bad and that we were fine.  He stood there for 5 -10 minutes or so trying to get them to smile by asking about favorite TV shows, if they shared a room etc… Olivia finally gave him a smile before he handed Ro’s license back and said you guys take care.  I was so amazed. No ticket, no warning – just compassion from a father (and a twin).  I am so grateful.  Sure, it’s nice to not have to pay a ticket, but it was so much more important for the girls to see that police officers are good people who care about helping people. 

After our traumatic trip, we stopped at Walgreens to get something and Olivia asked Ro if I could just drive from now on When he said no she just proceeded to “remind” him at EVERY light to stop.  Of course Kayla can’t wait to get to school today to tell EVERYONE – Ugghhh!

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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’m sorry for the lack of posts in the afternoon yesterday, but it was busy with my mom’s procedure.  It began around 1 and we just waited around for most of the time before then.  My mom came through it well.  I think it was basically to make sure she was okay to do the open heart. We have an appointment scheduled for mid June to meet with the surgeon, so we’ll take it from there.  Thanks SO much for all of the support, kind emails and prayers.  It means a lot !

I got some great samples in the mail.  I got my FREE reusable shopping bag from Earthbound Farms, a FREE vitamin sample and 2 free shampoo samples.  I also got another coupon for a FREE 2 liter of Pepsi Next and a free coupon for a free dinner. It was a good mail day.  I still haven’t done my drugstore deals because of all of the chaos, but I’m hopeful for today.  My mom should be able to go home, so that will calm everyone down.  I hate seeing my dad so upset, so hopefully he’s feeling a bit better that this part is over anyway.

We ate all meals at home yesterday.  I actually didn’t eat lunch.  I bypassed the hospital cafeteria.  I was tempted to get take out for dinner because of everything going on, but made myself raid the freezer/pantry to make a homemade dinner.  It worked out well.  I was pretty wide awake after tucking in my little girlies, so I did 3 surveys and caught up on my Swagbucks stuff.  I got an email from House Party that my Nerf party supplies have been shipped.  They include 5 Nerf water guns, several coupons and a case of Cheetos cheese puffs + more.  I’m thinking of combining the House Party with a little graduation party for my little Kindergarten graduates.  I thought the cousins would have fun with it.  This is all pending my mom’s progress of course

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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 ran to the grocery store after taking the girls to school.  I only spent $21 to get lunchmeat for the week, meat for dinner and a few other deals.  I spent an hour or so in the garden making sure everything looked good.  It’s my first time growing peas, beans or corn, so it’s been fun watching the daily progress.  My new blackberry bush has tons of blooms and there are a handful of unripe raspberries on the new raspberry bush.   I spent a good bit of time organizing our basement.  It’s been a catchall for the girl’s toys and it’s gotten a bit out of control.  I found several things to donate and several to put on Craigslist/Ebay.  I took some pictures and did my first round of listings.

The mail was just okay.  I got a few free samples, but nothing exciting unfortunately. I filled out for a few of the free samples that I posted for us yesterday.  It’s fun getting freebies in the mail isn’t it ?   I went to the bank and deposited $500 into the emergency fund.  It’s taken a hit lately, so I have to beef it back up.  I qualified for a 200 SB survey on Swagbucks yesterday. It’s been awhile since I qualified for such a high SB value one.  I’m getting closer to being able to cash out for another gift card.

I’ve told you guys before that Ro and I have a lot of skills, but being “handy” isn’t one of them.  I usually end up having to pay someone (or barter) to get things done around the house.  I’m proud to say that we are trying to go outside the box and learn how to do things ourselves.  When we first moved into this house we got a quote for painting (powder room and living room) for $850.  Well, we can’t do that, so we are going to paint THIS weekend.  Ro is going to get a little help moving the sink and toilet and then we’re going to do the rest.  I know painting isn’t very technical and we should be able to do it.  Hopefully it will look decent.  I just can’t justify spending that kind of money.  We’re doing okay without me working (right now), but money is definitely tighter than it once was.

I went to see my mom yesterday afternoon.  She had a stress test and an echocardiogram in the morning.  They are doing a cardiac catheterization today.  It’s her third and the other two were rough.  She will unfortunately need open heart surgery to replace her aortic valve.  That may happen as early as this week.   Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes- please keep them coming.  I think it’s gonna be a rough few days, if not more.

I was SO sorry to hear about the devastating tornado in Oklahoma.  My prayers are with everyone there.  Wow, Texas last week and Oklahoma this week. There are a lot of prayers going out.  That’s for sure.

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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: The girlies went on their first sleepover at their cousins house Saturday night.  It was so weird not being awakened at the crack of dawn.  I actually woke up at 6:30, talked to Ro for an hour and went back to sleep until 9:45.  I don’t think I’ve slept that late since before the girls were born.  It was awesome and I woke up feeling so much better, so I guess I needed it.  They came home at 12:45.  I thought they’d cry to see their nicer than me aunt leave, but I got the biggest hugs and cards.  They even made pictures with pressed flowers for me.  It was such a nice surprise.

We ate breakfast and dinner at home, but Ro and I got sandwiches at Subway.  There was an older lady behind us who was drinking an ice water.  I said hello and sat down.  She started telling me that she was hungry and that she didn’t know how people afford sandwiches at Subway.  I ended up buying her lunch. I can’t have someone telling me they’re hungry without doing something.  I hope she’s okay.  I thought about her for the rest of the day.

I did some deals at Walmart and planned my drugstore deals for today.  We splurged and ran over to Walgreens to buy a small thing of “Apprentice” ice cream.  We all shared it.  I planned to watch the finale with Ro, but my dad texted me at 7:30 to tell me that he had to take my mom to the ER.  She will soon have to undergo a aortic valve replacement and she seems to be getting more symptomatic.  I went to the hospital and stayed for a few hours.  She seemed okay, but they were having trouble getting her BP down.  She is scheduled for some tests today. 

I planned to do some surveys etc… but sleep won out since I didn’t get home until almost midnight.  Hopefully today will go better.

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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: Yesterday was a busy day.  I started out by going to a funeral for a lady that I used to work with.  It was actually a nice funeral (if there is such a thing) because they focused on her life and funny stories about her.  I only cried when her young niece spoke because it was just so sweet.  While I was gone Ro and the girls worked out front getting most of the rest of the landscaping done.  There’s a tiny bit more to do, but it’s 90% done.  I’ll take a picture today if it doesn’t rain all day.

Next, I took the girls to a birthday party for a classmate.  Let me just say that I love our house and we are SO blessed to have a home that we can afford.  That being said – OMG this birthday party was at the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen.  I think if I had walked into that house when we were looking I would have just said “SOLD!!!” without even asking what the price was.  It was gorgeous and the people were so nice. The girls each got a Tshirt to decorate, a little tote bag that they stamped (full of candy), a balloon and a crown.  They also made their own ice cream sundaes.  They had so much fun with their little friends. 

After coming home and resting for a bit, we headed over to my sister’s house for dinner.  The cousins had a great time as usual.  They talked me into letting them stay overnight for a sleepover.  Can I just tell you that my babies have never SLEPT away from me and I’m not sure I liked it.  It was unsettling not to have them here.  I know it should have been party time around here, but I’m just not used to that.  They probably won’t even want to come home today.  My sister is way nicer than me.  She probably let them stay up all night and eat cookies and ice cream in bed.  I’ll go pick them up around 10 and they’ll probably be like “No thanks, we like it here” ha ha.  What did Ro and I do with our wild night of FREEdom ? Well, I did the drugstore deals for all of us and he watched a movie.  Wow, we are exciting aren’t we ?!  

I did get a packet of flower seeds in the mail.  They are wildflower seeds (I posted about this opportunity).  I have to find a spot for them where the puppy won’t get them.  I earned 56 Swagbucks yesterday.  It was a busy day.

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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 went to the doctors in the morning to have them check my throat since it’s been hard to talk and swallow for the past few days.  The strep test came back negative, thank goodness.  I was shocked that there was actually a high school student in charge of taking my vital signs and doing my strep test.  How is that possible ?  She said she graduates soon, but sheesh.    I hope she knew what she was doing.  It was a $20 copay, but it was worth knowing for sure (hopefully).  I went to the grocery store on the way home to get puppy food (used a $.99 Q and it doubled).  I also got things to have a BBQ for dinner last night.  We had burgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, dill pickles and corn on the cob.  It was so good. 

I think I’ve lost my appetite for eating out, which is a good thing for our budget.  We went out to eat at Applebees a few weeks ago and I ordered boneless, skinless chicken.  It ended up having 3 bones in it and I almost swallowed one.  The manager came over to apologize and actually said “I’m sorry, but we don’t really do anything with that chicken.  It just gets heated up and served.”  I don’t know about you , but I’d rather eat quality food at home than just heated up food at a restaurant. Needless to say, I haven’t eaten out since.  We’ve been enjoying cooking on the grill.  Ro went outside after dinner to work on our landscaping last night.  It’s coming along great.  It should be finished up by today or tomorrow.

I earned some Swagbucks yesterday, but didn’t get to any surveys.  My throat was killing me and I just needed sleep. I have to go to a funeral this morning for the woman that I used to work with.  They found out that she fell down her stairs and died from head trauma.  It’s awful.  Even though I’m on a 9 month break from work, we are all like family (a dysfunctional family, but still LOL) and it wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t go and pay my respects. 

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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 started out my day yesterday by taking my girlies to school.  Next, I ran into Wawa and redeemed a coupon for a FREE 16 ounce coffee.  You’d be proud because I bypassed everything else in the store and walked out with only the coffee.  I needed new business cards and I’ve been comparison shopping over the past few days.  I ended up at Staples yesterday because they had 250 color cards for $19.99.  I had a $10/$10 coupon, so less than $10. 

I made all meals at home including packing the girl’s lunches.  I can’t believe they only have 8 school days left.  Their graduation is on May 30th at 6:30pm.  I know I’m gonna cry.  I hope they don’t play the graduation song (you know the one) because it always makes me cry.  I am having the girls take a break from their piano lessons for a few weeks.  Their graduation is on a Thursday and we have extra expenses like dresses and shoes to buy.  I also think they need to think about whether or not they want to continue because they never want to practice and I don’t want to waste money on lessons if their not “into” it.  I went in the living room when Kayla was having a lesson last week and she was letting her doll push the piano keys and the teacher was fine with that…  Umm, I’m not paying for the doll to learn how to play the piano-LOL.  I think we need to take a second look at this expense. 

I did a few surveys and earned 41 Swagbucks after tucking in the girls.  I was able to cash out for a $20 gift card at one of my survey companies. I paid some utilities and cut some coupons for deals that I still have to get before Saturday night.   I’m happy it’s the weekend.  The girl’s have a birthday party to go to tomorrow, so I have to raid the gift closet for a present.  My throat was really hurting last night, so I turned in early hoping for some healing.  I scheduled my follow up ultrasound for my thyroid nodules.  It will be next Wednesday at 10.  I’ll let you know how it goes…

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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: Yesterday was a NO money OOP spend day.  I did go to Bottom Dollar to get $26 worth of groceries, BUT I used a $10/$25 printable coupon and I used a pre-paid Visa card from H&H Gregg to pay the balance, so it was $0 spent after that.  I got some great deals too including a pepper and a cucumber for $.54 each, lettuce for $.98 and a host of other deals.  Ro was craving salad, so I made it happen on the cheap – ha ha.  The mail was decent.  I got my Ebates check for $17.65 and a rebate check for $10.  I also got some free magazines.  I qualified for a few free samples that I posted yesterday.  They are for snacks, so the girls will be happy about that.

My sister just started working a full time job and she’s been exhausted because it’s a pretty draining job.  I took the girls over and made dinner for her and all of the kids before she got home.  She had all of the ingredients, so it worked all out great. I made grilled chicken and a salad for Ro before I left, so it was a double dinner making day.   I made a logo for the business that my brother in law and I are doing together.  I made it at Designmantic.com.  It was super easy, fast and best of all FREE ! I spent some more time in the garden getting everything watered.  My bean plants are starting to pop up.  It’s fun.  It warmed up some yesterday. The weather here has been kind of crazy.  At least we don’t have to use air conditioning yet.  I am enjoying this brief period of NO heat and No air required.  The electric bill has been nice and low.

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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 did a lot of running around again yesterday.  I ran into Kohl’s, but didn’t find what I was looking for, so I walked out empty handed.  I was out running errands at lunchtime and was tempted to hit up the Chick fil a drive thru, but fought the urge and came home to a turkey sandwich. It’s amazing how powerful your mind can be because I swear the van was driving itself there. I had to make the conscious decision to turn the car around.

I ran into Rite Aid to do the Physician’s Formula deal (buy $15 worth, get a $10 +Up reward). I cashed in $10 with of rewards from previous deals, which turned it into a great deal.  I love their pressed powder, but it’s just about $15 and I like to get it at around $5 or less.  Once I got it for $2, so I bought a few.  It helped me roll some rewards over, so it worked out. 

I made/packed all meals at home.  We had sloppy joe’s, rice and veggies for dinner. I made chocolate pudding for dessert.  After dinner I went outside and spent a good bit of time pulling weeds.  I used a new weed pulling tool that I got on Amazon with a credit I had.  It made it SO easy.  Ro is working on edging the garden and getting the mulch done.  I got big bags for 4/$10 at Lowe’s a week or so ago and that should be the last thing we need to finish out the front yard.  My parents brought me a little tree for Mother’s Day the other day and I do have to get that in the yard too.  I’m just not sure where to put it yet…

I printed a $10/$25 coupon for Bottom Dollar.  I plan to run over there today to use it.  I did some more gardening yesterday.  It was cold all day long.  I don’t think most of my cucumber plants made it.  I guess I’ll have to plant some more seeds.  Oh well, everything else looks good.  I planted 4 corn seeds for fun and they are popping up.  How fun

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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 good day yesterday.  It was quite chilly here yesterday.  I think it will be again today.  Hopefully the plants and veggies will be okay.  I did spend some time in the garden in the morning.  I get such a kick out of going back into the garden to check the progress each morning.  I should start checking every other day because like my mom always says “A watched pot never boils”.  I’d like to be surprised ha ha.  I am surprised that some of the bulbs I planted a few weeks ago have sprouted like crazy.  They are Gladiolus and are supposed to bloom in Summer.  They should be beautiful.  I get such a kick out of seeing things grow.  Our strawberry harvest was 4 strawberries. Woo hoo ! Not enough for a fruit salad, but hey, it’s a start.

I did a Target run because I was mailed a $5 off of a $50 purchase coupon.  I had $45 worth of $5 gift cards from previous deals, so I plotted and planned a trip that would replenish my stockpile without going over the $50 limit.  In the end I spent $1.38 for just over $50 worth of groceries.  I had a little smile on my face as I put the groceries away, I’ll tell you that .

My sister invited us to our favorite diner for dinner.  I tried to pay our part, but she wouldn’t hear of it.  I did sneak out to the car to get a $25 Restaurant.com voucher to contribute.  She did allow me to contribute that, which made me feel better.  I am in talks with my brother in law about possibly backing him for a pressure washing business.  We have done some of the legwork and it may work out.  I have some more research to do and we need to come up with a quick business plan. I would be responsible for scheduling appointments and helping with marketing.   I hope it works out because I’m missing having an income.  We’re doing okay, but I like having more left at the end of the month to funnel to the emergency fund or to pay down the mortgage.  Stay tuned and I’ll let you know what happens.

I earned 49 Swagbucks and completed 2 surveys before turning in.  I’m trying to make myself go to bed at 11pm instead of midnight.  I’m a night owl, but it kills me at 6am when I get up

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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:  Thankfully my internet is working again at the moment.  It went out again last night, but it’s back on, hopefully for good.  I hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day.  Mine was good for the most part.  The girls made little necklaces for me at school.  They are silver, sparkly hearts with their thumbprints in the center.  I wore them all day long.  I think I’ll be rockin’ them today too.  They also gave me mini rose bushes and cards.

We went to my nephew’s 8th birthday party.  He has special needs and it’s amazing how much progress he’s made over the past few years. He was so appreciative of everyone coming to his party.  He kept thanking us for coming and for presents.  He is such a special little guy.  It was a beautiful day outside and the kids all had fun playing outside together.

I didn’t get to write yesterday because of the internet issues, but I did go to redeem gas reward points on Saturday.  The reward points expired after Saturday and I ended up saving $.80/gallon, which was a huge savings.  Yesterday was a NO spend day.  I gave my mom a gift bag full of her favorite lotions, lip balm and Physician’s Formula cosmetics that I had collected over the past few weeks.  She was really happy with everything.

I’m excited because some of my seeds have finally sprouted in the garden.  I planted 4 corn seeds for fun and they are starting to shoot up.  I planted a few more bean seeds last night.  I played around in the garden while the kids played on their swingset. 

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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 am having internet issues this morning and can only post from my phone, which is extremely hard.  You guys will have to “talk” amongst yourselves today and let me know what you’re doing.  At least I can read your comments on my phone.  Hopefully this will get fixed ASAP and I can get some posts on. 

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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:  The girls had a 1/2 day of school yesterday, so I ran around for a few hours in the morning trying to get things done before picking them up.  I went to CVS for a few deals and ran to the grocery store to get some ground beef because it was on sale and we were having family over for dinner.  I  made a big crockpot full of meatballs and heated up the rest of the chili from the night before.  I think I used my crockpot every day this week for dinner.  What did people do before the invention of crockpots ? I know I’d be in trouble without mine.  I did the shopping, made up the meatballs and put them in the fridge (so I just had to heat them up later), wrapped 2 presents for parties this weekend, cleaned up the house (for the most part) and ran to get the girls.  I had to get a mammogram after getting the girls, so my parents met me there and watched them in the waiting room.  We went to Chick fil a for lunch afterwards.  I used a few coupons, so it wasn’t too bad.

All meals were made at home.  It was nice to have family over and to be able to feed everyone for about $12.  The cousins had a blast together (as usual).  The mail was decent.  We got a trash bag sample, a bunch of FREE magazines and the $50 pre-paid Visa card from Buick from test driving an SUV a few weeks ago.  The guy didn’t even ask us to test drive, but we wanted to for fun.  I think that had to be the easiest $50 I’ve ever made.  We have a few parties to go to this weekend, but the presents came from the gift closet.  The cards and wrapping paper were in my wrapping stash.  I bought a huge lot of flat fold variety wrapping paper from Ebay for $20 about 8 or 9 years ago and believe it or not, I still have a huge drawer full of it. I use it for every present I wrap. 

 I’m looking forward to a fun, relaxing Mother’s Day weekend.  I keep telling the girls that they can’t bicker on my weekend.  Hey, I have to get some mileage out of it ~ ha ha.  I hope you all have fun things to do today with people you love

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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 decent day yesterday.  I went to Kmart and got a few items for birthday parties that we are going to this weekend.  I had $6.21 in my reward program there, so I used it towards the purchase.  I went to my sister’s house to have lunch and chat.  I told her that I was bringing lunch.  I was going to go to Subway or Wawa to get hoagies, chips and the works, but decided to pack sandwiches for us instead.  I’m really trying to limit our spending right now. I’m trying to beef up our emergency fund.  We had a good time talking and even talked about the possibility of starting a little business together.  We’ll see what comes of it, but it’s fun to dream right ?

I put BBQ chicken in the crockpot before I left for my sister’s house, so it was super easy to get dinner on the table after getting the girls off of the bus.  I love my crockpot !  Rudy had puppy training last night.  The other 2 dogs were no shows, so it was just us and we ended up having a private lesson.  When I got home Ro had started planting bushes.  He’s going to finish on Saturday.  I did some surveys after the girls went to bed.  I went to bed a little earlier than usual.  It felt good to get a little extra sleep.  The girls have 1/2 day of school today.  I have a Dr’s appointment and then my parents invited us out for lunch.  Happy Friday !

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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: We got text messages at 7am that the girl’s school didn’t have any electricity, so school was canceled yesterday.  I kept wondering what I would have done if I was working right now.  What a blessing to be able to be home if even for a little while.  Having my little girlies home was nice, but it did curtail most of the deal shopping that I had planned.  We did go grocery shopping for supplies for chili as a surprise dinner for Ro, but that was our main trip.  My total before coupons was $67.41 and I was able to get it down to $34.22, so not too bad.  In addition to the chili fixings I also got a few packs of meat and some other household necessities.  I was tempted to take the girls to the diner for lunch, since their grilled cheese/soup special is only $3.99 each, but I ended up making the same thing at home for FREE using what I had on hand.

I did some gardening while the girls played outside after dinner.  A few of the seeds I planted have finally sprouted into seedlings.  It seemed to take awhile, but it’s been on the chilly side around here.  I also transplanted some of the seedlings that I had been growing in the house.  I got chosen for an upcoming House Party.  It’s a Nerf Super Soaker party, so that should be tons of fun for all of the cousins ! I applied for a few more upcoming parties.  It never hurts to try.  I got the FREE entrée from Tai Pei Asian Garden that I posted about. I hope you got it too !  I also got the $2 Target gift card that I posted about last night.  I downloaded a few more FREE Kindle books.  One is about earning a full time income from Amazon. Hmmm, I’m gonna have to check that out.

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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:  Ro was off yesterday, so we had fun running errands.  We started out by taking the girls to school.  Next, we headed to out favorite diner for the breakfast special.  Our bill was $7.77, which should have been good luck, but they were out of a few things that we wanted and our eggs were runny, which was gross.  We had to send them back.  We went to a nursery and splurged on some shrubs for the front of the house.  Ro’s been wanting to get them since we moved it, so it was time.  We spent a little money, but once it’s planted the front yard should be done aside from the weekly mowing.  I even got a good deal on 2 small spiral trees for the front, which I’ve always wanted.  They were $25 each.  I thought twice about spending the money, but in the end I went for it.

I got a call at dinnertime that my sister’s test results were in on her thyroid.  Apparently 5 of the 6 nodules were cancerous.  Additionally, one of her vocal cords was paralyzed from the surgery.  It will most likely get better in 3 to 6 months.  The doctor said that her type of cancer is particularly familial and that all of her family members should be screened/tested.  I need to call this morning to schedule my ultrasound because I also have thyroid nodules and I need to make sure I don’t have the same thing going on. 

Also, someone that I worked with for several years passed away unexpectedly over the weekend.  She was a nice lady and was only in her 50′s.  Everyone is shocked.  She didn’t come to work on Monday, so her coworkers went to her house and found her.  It’s so sad.  I guess it was a rough day all around yesterday.

I did have 3 auctions end on Ebay.  I made $53 for the emergency fund.  I also got a coupon for a FREE International Delight coffee creamer in the mail along with a few free magazines and a free sample of foundation.  I’m hoping to get to a few of the drugstores today to get some sales.  I guess I’ll be helping Ro plant some bushes too.  I can’t wait to see how it looks.  I also have to do some work in the garden if it doesn’t rain all day.

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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 have to admit that I was a little unmotivated yesterday.  I don’t know if I’m still getting over the strep throat or what, but I had no energy and I had to make myself do things instead of my usual running around.  I did manage to do some gardening and a few deals at Rite Aid, but other than that I was a complete waste of space ha ha.  I think the weekend was just a little too busy.  I needed a rest day.  Isn’t it funny how all of the punishments that kids hate, we love as adults ? Ground me ? Please, Give me a time out ? – Woo Hoo, Send me to my room ? I’m there ! Ha ha !

I did do some surveys after tucking in the girls.  I also cashed out for a $25 gift card at one of my survey companies.  I also downloaded a few FREE Kindle books and earned 31 Swagbucks.  The mail stunk. I usually love Monday mail, but the only thing we got was our bank statement and a few flyers. No bills though, so that’s a good thing I guess.  Hopefully I’ll be more motivated today.  Ro is off from work and we made a list of things that we want to accomplish, so hopefully that should help.

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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:  We had another busy, fun day yesterday.  We started our day at church and then we came home to have lunch.  We were going to go Chili’s, but decided to save the money and go on home.  Our wonderful neighbor (the Art teacher where I used to work) invited the girls over yesterday afternoon to decorate their own butterfly cookies.  She had made them from scratch and let them cool.  She had bought all kinds of sprinkles and jimmies, as well as pink and purple icing.  She bagged up all of the sprinkles for us to take home when we left.  She also bought each of the girls a cute sun hat and had them decorate them with flowers and ribbon.  She is such a sweet lady. It was nice to hang out with her and catch up.  Her grandchildren are all boys, so she likes spending time with the girlies.  They had a ball. She also gave me a gorgeous tulip plant as an early Mother’s Day present.  I can’t wait to plant the bulbs to see them come up every year.

Ro made dinner last night.  He was going to cook out, but decided to make spaghetti instead.  It was good.  Food always tastes better when someone else cooks, doesn’t it ?  I paid the mortgage online.  I finally found the name of the new mortgage company.  Apparently I had saved it as a favorite and forgot.  I packed the girls lunches last night and organized some deals for today.  I also set up a pickup of laundry detergent from someone on Freecycle.org.  They are giving away a 100 ounce bottle of Tide.  It’s not HE, so I’ll give it to my sister. Money is a little tight and I’m sure she’ll make good use of it. It was a really fun weekend for the girls, which made me happy too! Hope you all had a great weekend too ! I’m psyched for a productive week.

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…

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:  Yesterday was a low spend day.  We went to our favorite diner for breakfast, but used a Restaurant.com certificate, so it was only $11 for all of us.  The only other money spent was a few $$ put in a card for my niece for her First Holy Communion.  We went to two parties yesterday.  One was for the Communion and the other was a “Glow Bounce” party.  The kids all wore fluorescent clothing and there was special lighting so that they all glowed in the dark.  Everyone had an awesome time.  The gift, card and wrapping paper for this party all came from the gift closet.

Lunch and dinner were free and eaten at the parties.  When we came home I sat outside with the girls to watch them on their swing set.  After they went to bed I did all of the drugstore deals while watching Suze Orman.  It was delayed because of a hockey game, but I was happy that it did finally come on.  I also earned 29 Swagbucks. 

I got a few nice FREEbies in the mail yesterday.  I got the free H&M onesie that I posted about awhile back.  I’ll save it for the gift closet.  I also got a coupon for a FREE box of Belvita Breakfast biscuits.  I’m excited to try them because I’m always looking for healthy options for the girls for breakfast.

What did you do? Leave a comment We’d love to hear about it You could make 2013 your year. Who will the May winner be ? We’ll see…