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 blur it went so fast.  My hubby was off again (last day) and he did the grocery shopping.  He did pretty well and only bought what we really needed.  I stopped at Walgreens and was able to snag 6 boxes of theater candy for $.42 after coupons.  I also snagged 8 theater boxes of Valentine’s Day Mike & Ike candy for only $.25 each.  I also got 6 Tylenol Precise creams (FREE after coupons) and 4 Arizona Iced Teas for $.50 each.  I think I spent about $6 for everything.

We took the kids to Chili’s for dinner.  I had printed the FREE kid’s meal coupons and we had a balance on a gift card that I earned through Swagbucks.   On the way home from dinner I stopped at CVS to do one of the $30 CVS cash card deals.  I ended up getting 15 items for $13.95 after the cash card.  The stockpile is growing nicely.  Pictures are coming soon.

I got my “Big Fat Check” from Ebates and put it in the savings account.  It wasn’t much, but every little bit helps right now.  Had another showing yesterday (haven’t heard anything). I earned 39 Swagbucks yesterday.  I also was able to cash in for another $5 check from Synovate. I had a few emails about items that I have listed on Craigslist.  Hopefully, I’ll have a few sales by the weekend.

What did you do ?   I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 got the FREE Cardstore card and the FREE Ladies Home Journal issue.  I printed coupons for FREE kid’s meals at Old Country Buffet and Chili’s.  I think we’ll do one of them tonight.  Most likely we’ll go to Chili’s since I have a remaining balance on a gift card I got through Swagbucks. 

I stopped at Rite Aid and snagged a few more deals.  They have their Cadbury and Reese’s singles on sale 2 for $1.  I happened to find coupons for $.50/2 at the gas station so they were only $.25 each after the coupons.  I got 12 (a mixture of each).  I have to hide them for the girl’s Easter baskets.  If my hubby finds them, they may not make it to this weekend weekend let alone Easter Sunday. 

My hubby was home yesterday (and today).  He made dinner and even packed my lunch for today.  He does spoil me sometimes.  After dinner the girls were happily playing with a Polly Pocket starter set that they got for their birthday.  They played with them for about 45 minutes and on a whim I decided to look on Ebay to see if there were any inexpensive “Polly Pocket lots”.  We found one for $1.78.  I told the twins that since it was just their birthday and we are trying to save money, we could only bid on it if we could find the money to pay for it around the house.  It ended up being a fun money exercise.  They kept bringing me coins and we counted them (I counted them).  They kept asking “Do we have enough now?”  After they had finally found the money we needed, we watched the clock (I told them where the hands needed to be on the clock) and the bids.  We won the auction with the money they found.  It was actually really fun.

My parents came over after dinner because they wanted to look at a new  TV mount that we had bought and didn’t need.  I offered to give it to them, but they insisted on giving me $30 for it.  That was still alot less than they would have spent and I am happy for them to have it.  While they were over I packed a bag of toothpaste, toothbrushes, body wash and other items for them from our stockpile.  I like being able to lighten their load if even just a little bit.

Oh, and we had a showing for the old house.  Didn’t hear any feedback from it.

What did you do ?   I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 :  Not a bad day yesterday.  I was dogsitting for my sister so I had to take a few trips to her house to take care of her dog.  After returning from my first trip I stopped into Rite Aid to do the Colgate deal (scroll down) and the Vaseline deal.  I love it when I go in a store with reward $s, get lots of stuff and leave having paid pennies out of pocket with the same amount of reward $s I had when I went in. I know I’m a dork, but it makes me happy okay ??

We replaced my iPhone (I shattered the screen on Saturday).  I had to pay $101.  That covered the cost of the phone and a two year protection plan that will cover me if I should shatter it again.  Ummm, I’m less than thrilled with that amount of money, but it’s done so oh well. We took the kids out for lunch to Applebees using a gift card I got from Swagbucks.  It was a $50 certificate and they even let you put a tip on it.  I like the Swagbucks gift cards because you can print them instead of waiting for a gift card.  We did the 2 for $20 deal and the girls split a kid’s meal (they never finish one themselves).  We still have over $15 to use for next time. On the way home I got a few of the FREE after rebate items at Staples. 

Before my last round of “take the doggy out”, I stopped at CVS to snag a few bargains.  They were already out of a few of the items on my list so I’ll have to stop at a few other CVS stores today.  I did 2 surveys after tucking in the girls.  I have to say that the girls were so fun this weekend.  They are so curious right now.  It’s becoming so fun to teach them things.  I pulled up a map of the country yesterday to talk about where they live ( and where their relatives live and more importantly where the princesses live). Someday I hope to take them to Disney.  Maybe as a family present when we pay off our house. That could take awhile though the way things are going these days! Cinderella and Ariel might need canes to walk/swim around and Snow White may be older than all of the dwarves combined he he!

What did you do ?   I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 kind of a mixed bag.  My hubby worked an extra shift during the day so I took the kids out for lunch using a Restaurant.com certificate.  After using the voucher our total was $12.94 + tip and we brought home a large pizza and side salad for dinner ~ bonus. 

It was a pretty mild day here yesterday (53 degrees) so I decided to take the girls to the park after lunch.  When we got there we were the only people there, but there were a dozen or so kids when we left.  The girls had so much fun that we stayed for 2 hours even though I was only planning to stay for 45 minutes or so.  Hey, it was free entertainment and they made friends with 2 other little girls. 

I did alot of decluttering and cleaning yesterday.  I always feel better when things are a little neater and organized.  I tossed my expired coupons and organized my drugstore trips for today.  It’s amazing how much less time I have to shop right now so I have to be organized and strategic LOL.

On a bummer note, my iPhone somehow fell out of my jacket pocket and went under one of our recliners.  The screen ended up shattering and it won’t even power on.  I have to go to AT&T and figure out what I can do.  I think I pay extra for a warranty on the phone, but you never know what they will and won’t cover.  I guess that’s on my to do list today.

The other bummer is the old house.  We had a showing yesterday and haven’t heard about that one, but the other showings all report thinking that the house was in great condition, but that they do not like the layout.  There’s nothing I can do about that.  I didn’t like it either.  I’m hoping someone will come along and love it.  It is spacious and I liked it when I bought it- obviously.  We don’t have any other scheduled showings so I’m feeling a little bummed out about it.  I guess I should try to not think about it for now.  I’ll just have to pray on it.

What did you do ?   I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 :  It was a busy day yesterday.  I went to my local grocery store to take advantage of the FREE Sobe lifewater deal before the deal ends tomorrow.  I got 10 FREE Sobes after catalina.  They also had 4ounce Colgate toothpaste for just $.59 each and organic pears for only $1.49/lb. 

I turned in 10 ink cartridges at Office Max.  I should be getting my latest reward soon. I usually get ink or paper for all of my coupon printing.

 My hubby picked up an extra shift today.  I plan to do a little “deal shopping” with the girls and lunch out using a Restaurant.com gift certificate.  Not a super exciting day, but every little bit helps right ??

What did you do ?   I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 :  It was a pretty quiet day around here.  The only money that we spent was on new windshield wipers for my hubby’s truck.  I was kind of proud of him because he chose to get ones that were BOGO after a mail in rebate.  He even brought home the rebate form AND the reciept.  That’s huge for him. 

I made all meals at home.  I made the potato volcano for dinner because it was cold and rainy here and the girls love it.  They had tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch.  I took the kids to the library for books and computer time after dinner.  They love going there and it’s been a little while since we’ve gone.  One of my favorite memories of my childhood is going to the library.  We were kind of poor growing up so it was free entertainment.  I think it fueled my love of reading.  I cannot sleep until I’ve read for at least 30 minutes each night.

I completed 3 surveys after the girlies were fast asleep.  I love earning extra money while watching TV.  I got a few free samples in the mail and snagged a voucher to Lock & Lock containers from Plum District.  I love them.

We had 2 showings yesterday for the old house.  I was a little bummed that there were no calls for more appointments for showings .  We do have one scheduled for tomorrow, but that’s it for now.  One of the couples from yesterday likes the house, but have more to look at.  We haven’t gotten feedback from the other lookers.

Well, as promised come back around 9:30 for the motivational FREEbie that I promised you guys.  I finally figured out how to do it.  I hope you like it.  It is just a little something I thought of and had a designer work with me to create it for you guys.  It’s nothing Earth shattering, just a little something you can stick in your “get debt FREE toolbox”.  I can still use it, but I wish I had it 4 or 5 years ago when we were starting out.  I hope that it helps you get and stay motivated

What did you do ?   I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 :  It was a pretty good day.  I was happy that I was able to balance the budget for the week.  Money is still tight, but at least everything is paid and there is enough for food etc…  I went to CVS after dinner to use a few ECBs that expired last night.  I told my husband that I had to run to CVS to use a $1.50 ECB before it expired and he looked at me like I was a little nutty for making the trip for $1.50.  Well, first of all, we literally live within walking distance of the CVS and $1.50 worth of FREE stuff is $1.50 worth of FREE stuff right ?? I was able to pair it with a few others I had.  I got the Campbell’s soup for $.49/can (after coupon) and the Colgate toothpaste for FREE after ECB and coupons.  I got a few other things as well.

I made all meals at home.  I had a green smoothie for breakfast, packed a lunch and made leftovers for dinner.  Everyone was happy with the selection and satisfied.  I got a nice sized box from a daily deal purchase on Plum District.  It was to Zoolu and contained a few floor puzzzles for the girls and a ballerina puppet for them to share.  The worked together to do the puzzles after dinner and kept saying “We’re doing teamwork”, which is a major accomplishment.  Twins can be so fun (and they are 90% of the time), but whooo these little ladies can be so competitive.  Everytime I tell Kayla I love her, Olivia cries and says “You don’t love me??” and vice versa.  If I cut an apple into 6 pieces for Kayla and 7 pieces for Olivia, Kayla complains that I gave her sister more. At least they’ll be REALLY good at counting and comparisons when they get to kindergarten.

I still haven’t heard any feedback from our first showing of the old house the other day~ bummer.  On an  positive note, we have two more scheduled for today and one more lined up for Saturday.  Oh, how I hope this isn’t a long drawn out process, but with the way the market is, I wouldn’t be surprised.  At least it’s finally on the market and has a chance of selling right ???

I’m still working on getting your surprise on the site.  Don’t think I’m forgetful, just incompetent ~ he he! Hopefully today

What did you do ?   I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 uneventful day yesterday.  I did take the twins to Chick fil a for dinner so that they could play in the little play area.  There was another set of 5 year old twins there so they had fun together.  We went over to Walgreens and CVS after dinner in the hopes of snagging the Snicker’s Creme Hearts.  I had a few coupons left that would have made them free, but I couldn’t find any.  The coupons expired last night so I guess they will go to waste.  Darn, I hate that.

Next, I went to Shoprite to do the Sobe/Nestea drink deal.  I ended up getting 20 bottles for $20 and $20 worth of FREE groceries during my next shopping tree making them FREE ! I wanted to do this deal a few more times, but there really wasn’t enough drinks. I got yet another FREE card from the deal that I posted yesterday (scroll down).

My laptop battery came yesterday.  I missed my old laptop so much.  My hubby’s is too fancy for me.  I am happily typing on my trusty old laptop as we speak ~ he he.  I completed 4 surveys after tucking in my girlies last night.  My hubby and I gave one another FREE Valentine’s Day cards that we made on Tiny Print and Cardstore.  I made a combo card for the girls. That was also made for FREE on Cardstore.com

My exciting news is that the listing for the house is now on Realtor.com.  Woo hoo ~ we had our first showing at 4 pm.  The listing went live at 9am and I called my realtor at 9:15am to see if he was fielding any offers yet (I think he choked on the water he was drinking) I was kidding of course.  I have a little bit of a silly sense of humor if you can’t tell by now

Stay tuned because in the next day or two I am planning on providing my readers with something I have created to help you get and stay motivated to get debt FREE !   I am super excited about them.  They’ll be on just as soon as I can figure out how to get them on the site.  I’m not super technologically inclined.  Let me just give you a few clues… 1. They’re  FREE  2.  They are  something that I can still use, but wish I had a long time ago to help me stay motivated.  3. They can not be found anywhere BUT on MommyLuvs2Save.com.  Are you curious ??

What did you do ?   I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 :  Whew, what a weekend ~ I’m exhausted! This was pretty much a working weekend.  I spent the whole day Saturday cooking and cleaning for the girl’s birthday party.  I spent all day yesterday (6 hours) doing the rest of what needed to be done to get the old house on the market.  I hated being away from the girls all day (they stayed home with daddy), but I knew it had to be done.  Now, I can FINALLY tell you all that the house is on the market.  We will be so much better off financially when it sells so I was not leaving the house until it was done.  I was there from 12 until 6pm.  I am so tired, but it’s done.

I didn’t get to the drugstores.  I’m not overly excited about anything  this week (or maybe I’m just tired). I didn’t even grocery shop and we are out of fruit so a run to the store today is in order.   All meals were made at home.  Ro made dinner because I felt as if I’d done enough for the day.  All I wanted to do for the rest of the night was snuggle with my 4 year old girlies for one more night before they became big shot 5  year olds.

What did you do ? I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 :  Sorry I was MIA for a portion of the day yesterday.  We had a GREAT day with the twin’s birthday party.  The girls kept thanking me for their party. They got little purses with lip glosses from one of their cousins and they kept going up to him saying “Can I keep this ??” .  He kept reassuring them that they could, but they couldn’t get over it. I bought them adorable sparkly hats (beret style) and sparkly shoes.  They wore them for the rest of the night even after putting their pjs on.  I had to pry them off of their little feet at bedtime.  Everyone was saying that it was the first get together at our house where everyone could be on the same level *our old townhouse was a 7 level split level with no central air.  I think we had almost 30 people and there was plenty of room. I made all of the food except for 2 individual size cakes that I got for the girls.  Kayla had a Belle one and Olivia had a Tinkerbell one.  They were less than $10 each.

I can’t say it was the most frugal day, but considering that we spent $450 at the “jumpy uppy bouncy” place last year, this year was a bargain.  All of their gifts (from us) were bought with daily deal vouchers.  We had a HUGE salad (big enough to fill the lid of a large lunchmeat tray) that was bought with a voucher from Eversave, we had “cake pops” bought with a voucher from Plum District and all of the other food was homemade.  A few people brought a dish. Almost everyone left with leftovers.

I really wanted to share pics with you guys as you are my extended family.  I even had the girls pose in their sparkly hats, but my laptop is still dead and I am using my hubby’s laptop.  It won’t upload the pictures for me.  I am determined to show them to you guys as soon as I can figure it out OR get a new laptop battery.  They look like little models in the hats so you guys have to see the pics.

I’m sorry I can’t be the inspiration for frugality today, but sometimes memories trump frugality and I’m not a bit sorry about it. I will get back on the frugal wagon today, I promise.  On that note, check out the little quip sent to me by reader Kathleen :

“My husband says we live in the home of the “free” and the land of the “save”. I posted this on Facebook and my sister-in-law added Oh, say, can you see, by Big Lot’s early light,
What so proudly we scrimp at the nickel’s last gleaming?”

Cute!

What did you do ? I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 pretty good day.  I made all meals at home.  I made chicken fajitas and brown rice in the crock pot for dinner.  I think the crock pot has become my preferred method of cooking during the week these days.  Anyway, the hubby and the kids loved it and there is more for a leftover lunch today~bonus.

I went to the grocery store last night to get the rest of the things I need for the girl’s 5 birthday party today.  I saved 62% off of my bill so that was good.  I stocked up on fruit snacks ($.49/box) and Golden Graham cereal ($1/box and my absolute favorite cereal).  I also got everything I need for my crockpot mac n cheese and lasagna casseroles. I have some vegetarians coming so I am making a meat one and a meatless one.  I ordered a huge salad from a daily deal voucher that I had from awhile ago. I thought it would go well with everything else we are having.  I ordered each of the girls a personal cake (Kayla-Belle, Olivia-Tinkerbell).  They cost less than $10 each and I am making cupcakes with pink and purple sprinkles for everyone else. 

I listed a few items on Craigslist to sell.  Hopefully I will hear from potential buyers sometime this weekend-One can hope right ?  I was really happy when  I came home yesterday because I had bought a few gifts for the girls using vouchers and I wasn’t sure whether or not they would arrive before their party and they did get here.  I ordered a 24 cake pop bouquet from Plum District.  The girls love it.  I didn’t even open the wrap though lest they disappear.  I also ordered sparkly shoes and matching hats (Kayla-pink, Olivia -silver). I got them from Totsy and they are gorgeous (I’ll try to remember to take a picture today).  One other little gift were little personalized  bottle cap necklaces bought with a voucher from a deal on Plum District.  I think they are all set !

The girls are over the moon excited about their birthday party today (actual bday is on Monday).  They can’t wait to be 5.  Kayla did ask me if she would still be able to sit on my lap when she was 5.  I told her she could sit on my lap when she turns 25, that she’ll always be my baby.

What did you do ? I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 :  It was a pretty good day around here yesterday.  I made lunch and breakfast at home.  The girls have been getting lots of FREEbies in the mail (and in my inbox) for their upcoming birthday. I will post a list of all available birthday deals on their birthday (Feb. 13th) so you can sign up all of your family members.  They each got FREE kid’s meal postcards from Bob Evans the other day.  We went there for dinner last night.  Our meal ended up being $16.56 +tip for the 4 of us. I thought that was pretty good. 

I had bought a voucher from Eversave for a 3 hour house cleaning.  I met the cleaners and let them into the old house yesterday.  I already did some of the cleaning, but I thought it was a good idea (and so did my mom) to have a professional go over it.  The painters had also left lots of dust from spackle so it was nice to have it all taken care of.  You are probably sick of me saying this, but the house SHOULD go on the market this weekend.

When I came home yesterday, I found that my laptop was completely dead.  The battery is totally dead.  I guess I have to get a new battery for it.  I have to find a good deal on one.  Of course HP is offering one, but they are charging $120 for it and I know I can do better than that.  If you have any ideas and would be so kind as to pass them along I’d appreciate it.  Until I get it up and running my hubby has graciously allowed me to use his.  Actually, his laptop was originally supposed to be for me, but I thought it was too fancy.  I was happy with my OLD beat up laptop so I gave it to him.  I’m such a creature of habit.  I’m so low maintenance it’s ridiculous he he!

I entered 70 My Coke Rewards points, organized some coupons, turned in 4 ink cartridges and did 3 surveys.  The day went so fast yesterday.  I felt like before I knew it, it was time to tuck the girls in ~ bummer.  I didn’t get enough snuggle time.  It’s so funny.  They are twins, but they can be so different.  Before bed they wanted to have a “dance party”.  Olivia began dancing around with her eyes closed doing a beautiful ballet while Kayla was doing a “rock star” dance playing the air guitar and doing splits.  How different can two little people be? – I love it though!

What did you do ? I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 an okay day.  I didn’t spend any money.  I am in full birthday preparation mode.  I am gathering recipes for the food that I plan to make.  I am thinking of making crock pot macaroni and cheese for the kids and a lasagna casserole (both meat and meatless).  We have a few vegetarians in our extended family so I am planning alternatives for them. Oh, I almost forgot to put the recipe for the french bread on…look for it soon. Sorry I forgot, it’s been a little busy.

I got 3 coupons for FREE 12 Coke packs from MyCokeRewards.  It took awhile for them to come, but it will be perfect timing for the party so I’m not complaining. I think my local grocery store is doing a buy 2 get 2 twelve packs so I’m hoping to get four 12 packs for free with the coupons.  I will have to look into it today.  I got 2 FREE cards from Cardstore.  Wow, I don’t think I have to buy any cards for the rest of the year.  That should help out the old budget. 

I bought a housecleaning voucher with credits on Eversave a few weeks ago.  Even though I did most of the cleaning on the old house, I want them to do a once over to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I am meeting the house cleaners at the old house today to let them in.   I think the first impression is critical.  The house will hit the market tomorrow (God willing).  Say a little prayer that it sells quickly for me will ya ??

What did you do ? I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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.  Breakfast and lunch were made at home.  I packed a lunch.  We went to Chili’s for dinner because I had cashed in for a Chili’s gift card on Swagbucks late last year and was waiting for a good time to use it.  Money is still a little tight so we’re mostly eating at home, but I thought this was a good opportunity to eat out for free.  It was nice because the gift card could also be applied towards the tip.  I made a green smoothie for breakfast.  I’ve been trying to drink one every morning for breakfast because of all of the health benefits.  I’m trying to drop a few pounds so it is a good start to the day.

I did stop into a grocery store to snag a few bargains.  I was able to get 8 Betty Crocker fruit snacks for $.49 each.  I also got 6 boxes of Cheerios for $1.27 per box.  My buy price for cereal is $1.25 per box, but this was pretty close.  I usually stock up when it’s below $1 per box.  Have you guys made a list of your “buy” and “stock up” prices for items that you regularly buy? If not, you should.  It will make a difference in your budget.

I just found out tonight that several of my hubby’s family members are coming to the girl’s birthday party on Saturday.  They are coming from Pittsburgh, Pa.  Since my hubby and his brothers are all over 6ft 7″ (hubby is the tallest at 6ft.11), I think I need to do some cooking.  The last time the crew came out here I was scrambling to keep the fridge full~ yikes.  I am happy they are coming because it means so much to him. Now we just have to figure out where everyone is going to sleep.  I am very happy that my husband will get to show his family our new house.  I think he’s very proud to have the opportunity.  Now, to get the other one sold…

What did you do ? I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 no spend day yesterday.  Well, actually I did spend money on gas, but that was it.  I went back to work yesterday and it was a bit chaotic so there was no time for spending.  At least I earned money for the family. I do have to drive about 15 minutes longer to get to work, but it wasn’t too bad.  It was nice to see everyone and the kids were very happy I was back. It was nice.  Some of the people that I work with follow my blog so they all told me about the deals that they’ve snagged lately because of ML2S.  It was sweet. 

I had a good mail day.  I got another card in the mail from Cardstore.com.  I also ordered a FREE  card  from Tiny Prints.  I got 4 FREE K-cups in the mail from Barista.  I posted about all of these offers so hopefully you guys got them too.  I did 4 surveys after tucking in my little girlies.

I can’t believe that the twins will be 5 in six days.  I wish I could push the pause button and do “4″ all over again.  They are so adorable although I’ve noticed lately that 90% of what they say to me is now  said with a hand on a hip as if they were little divas.  Where did this come from??? Do any of you have 5 year old little girls ? Is this normal 5 year old behavior~ sheesh.  I think that they are starting to think about going to school in September.  Over the weekend my shy little Olivia said “Mommy, I’ve been thinking about it and I think I already know enough so … I don’t need to go to school.  Hmmm, September should be fun (not).

What did you do ? I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 some time with friends yesterday.  The friend that I told you guys about (she’s hearing impaired so some of you graciously got FREE hearing aide batteries for her) came to see the new house.  We had a nice time visiting and laughing about old times   I still had 2 packs of FREE hearing aide batteries, which she was thrilled about.  I also let her “shop” (for free) in my stockpile.  She had fun snagging a bunch of stuff that she was low on.  I was happy to share and save her some money.

Before and after our company came, I managed to do some drugstore deals.  Every week there seems to be a theme for the FREEbies.  This week it was paper products and lotion. I got 4 of the Jergen lotions at CVS, 9 of the 3oz Vaseline lotions, 2 twenty packs of Scott TP, 3 of the Scott 8 packs of paper towels, 9 Suave Men’s body wash, 6 Suave kid’s 2 in 1 shampoo, 4 Suave Deodorant, 8 Cans of the Bumble Bee Tuna, a bunch of the 6-8 ounce Nabisco cookies and a few other things at CVS.  At Walgreens I got the Hefty trash bags, 3 Aqua Fresh kid’s toothpaste and the Kleenex Cool Touch tissues .  At Rite Aid I got 3 FREE Stayfree, the four 7up 2 liters, 4 GE lightbulb packs the cake mix/frosting.  I haven’t run my totals, but I didn’t spend over $15 after using some of my ECB’s and a $5 Up + reward from last week.

We ate all meals at home.  I spent just $18 at the grocery store getting fresh fruit, milk and bread.  I’m hoping that tides us over for the week.  It would be awesome if that’s all I spend there this week.

What did you do ? I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 frugal day yesterday.  I took the twins to lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise for $.83 + tip (after a coupon mailed to our house-scroll down).  We had a great time.  After lunch we went to Michael’s to use our $5 coupon.  My hubby met us there and I gave a coupon to him to use.  We got all of the party favors that we will need for their party on Saturday. They had a whole aisle full of $1 items and I was pleasantly surprised at some of the options. I also got pink and purple sprinkles that I can use for cupcakes for the party.  I usually do a little cake for each of them and a bigger cake or cupcakes for everyone else. 

Next, we headed to the $ store to get the party paper products.  They had a nice selection of girly party stuff so we got the plates, cups, napkins and party bags.  It was so funny… while we were walking around the store a lady came up to me and asked if she could give each of the girls $1 to buy something.  She said they were so cute she couldn’t believe it.  They usually get attention from people- I guess because of the twin thing, but nobody has ever given them money.  I was a little taken aback, but thanked her and let them get something with their dollar.  It took them forever to pick something, but they so enjoyed it. What would you have done ? I didn’t want to insult her generosity.  It was so sweet. 

I made dinner at home and spent some time last night organizing my coupons for the drugstore deals today.  I have a ton of ECBs to use at CVS due to last week’s deals,  so hopefully my deals will be very close to FREE with ECBs.

What did you do ? I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 :  It was another no spend day for me.  There’s no choice really since I’m trying to keep us afloat for the next few weeks until I start getting a payceck again.  My motto for the next few weeks is “If it’s FREE, it’s for ME!”.  Needless to say, I took advantage of the $5/$5 purchase at Michaels.  I got 5 $1 items that will come in handy for the girl’s birthday party.  It’s next Saturday and I am trying to keep it as inexpensive as possible.  Last year we went the the “jumpy uppy bouncy place” and spent quite a bit of money.  I felt guilty about spending the extra $ last year, but this year will be an old fashioned party at our house.  I got some cute crafts for the kids to do with my $5 coupon.  I will be using another one tomorrow.  I think I’ll try to get the party bags and something to put in them with my coupon tomorrow.  I’ve used my FREE card codes to get birthday cards for the girls.  I’ve used daily deal vouchers to get some cute presents and I have a few daily deal vouchers to use for some of the food.  Hey, you do what you’ve gotta do when the budget is tight right ??

Thank God most of our debt is gone because there is NO way I could have been out of work for over 3 months and had 2 mortgages before we ditched the debt.  I thank God every day for giving us the ability to survive in this tough economy.  Money is a little tight right now, but we would have never been able to survive with over $100,000 in debt + 2 mortgages.  The glass is half full right ??  I’m a little sad that I have to go back to work on Monday, but I basically like my job and I have to stay positive.

On a related note, I was teasing my sister last night because I told all of my family members about the $5/$5 at Michaels and everyone just kind of said “Oh, that’s nice”.  I had to print the coupon,  bring the coupon to my sister, take her to Michaels, help her pick out something, stand in line with her and bring her back home in order for her to use it.  I think that’s one of the reasons  I started this site.  My family doesn’t “get” the whole couponing/saving money thing.  It can be SO frustrating because I just want to help them.  I usually have to actually bring them the FREEbies for them to save the money ~ sheesh. I even tried to give a fellow customer one of my $5/$5 coupons to help her save since she was there anyway and she looked at me as if I was trying to sell her something -uggghhh.  I’m so thankful that I get to share the deals with you guys and that I can even in some small way help you save your family money. It means the world to me when I get emails from you guys telling me that you saved money or paid down a credit card.  It’s like I have a BIG extended family out there who actually “get it”.  I feel honored that you take the time to share part of your day with me and that you can then take advantage of a deal, save some money and help your family.  It’s awesome

What did you do ? I hope you have a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !

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 no spend day yesterday.  I cooked my little heart out by making 4 family sized meals for the freezer in about 90 minutes. I made a huge crockpot FULL of chili, as well as, 3 other meals.  I’m going to take 1/2 of the chili over to my sister so that she doesn’t have to cook tonight.  I may sneak a quick hug in for my new little niece.  I may make a loaf of bread to take with it so they have a complete meal.

I was able to snag the FREE card from Cardstore.  I also got the FREE Disney Family Fun magazine subscription ( I got one for my sister too!). It’s funny, whenever there are freebies available I end up making sure that I post it for you guys hoping it will still be available when I get back to it.  I was happy the Disney magazine was still available.  I also got 3 different samples in the mail yesterday.

I put a new batch of the girl’s old clothes on Ebay.  When looking at all of our accounts yesterday, I realized that our emergency fund is getting below my comfort level.  It’s time to kick it into overdrive and to sell our old house.  I need to get a little more creative.  I also need to tighten up the wallet and be vigilant about spending as little as possible.  I’m going to be stretching the pennies until they scream for mercy.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the February winner.   You could make 2012 your year !