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 :  My hubby and I were home together yesterday.   We spent a good part of the day getting what we need to bring a little glitz into and outside of the house for the holidays.  We ate lunch first at a local restaurant. I will reluctantly admit that I did NOT have a coupon or a gift card (gasp, the horror!).  On a positive note my meal was enough for lunch for me and dinner for the twins and I so it wasn’t bad for $25 total.  The place holds sentimental memories for us as we went to this restaurant after every doctor’s appointment when I was pregnant with the twins. 

Next, we went to Target.  There was slim pickings in the holiday section.  We got what we could and went to Walmart next. I had $73 in store credit/gift cards that I was able to use towards the Target purchase.  At Walmart,  I could not believe the difference in price between Target and Walmart.  One of the items I bought (2 outdoor pre-lit trees) was actually $10 cheaper at Walmart.  Other items were $5 less.  I bought the less expensive items at Walmart and told Ro that tomorrow our first task is to return everything to Target that was overpriced.  Even though we paid mainly with gift cards I can’t stand the thought of paying too much.  I will use the gift cards for grocery items when they go on a great sale.  The hubby thought I was a little nuts for buying the same stuff twice and returning everything, but he’s used to my “behavior” by now.

The only thing that bugged me at Walmart was that their tree skirts and stockings were supposed to be 25% off.  There were HUGE signs all over the place advertising it.  Well, they rang up full price.  I waited in line at customer service and the kid that waited on me told me that there was NO Way that any of the Christmas merchandise was on sale yet. He actually said “You’re Crazy, it isn’t even Christmas yet” and handed me my receipt looking past me to the next customer in line.  I said, “Ummm, you have huge signs back there (like 10 of them) advertising this so either we can take a walk back there or can you please ask your manager?  He asks the manager next to him and she says “NO WAY” and again hands me back my receipt.  I was dumbfounded, but not leaving without my money.  She finally gets her walkie talkie thingy and calls the department where they tell her that yes, tree skirts and stockings are 25% off.  They reluctantly give me back my money.  I felt like saying “Is this the part where you apologize for calling me crazy?” Sheesh !  I’m sorry to blabber and you may also think I’m crazy, but that $6.xx is going right in my emergency fund.  I may need it as I’m “crazy” and could flip out at any given time if not given my earned discount(when accompanied by my original reciept of course) ~ fa, la, la, la la, la, la, la, la.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.

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 around here yesterday.  My hubby and I went to Walmart planning to get some Christmas decorations for the tree that we haven’t gotten yet and for the outside of the house.  We ended up leaving with only a stocking stuffer for each of the girls.  Christmas is less than two weeks away and we decided to use what we have for this year and evaluate when next year rolls around.  We may even hit up some after Christmas sales.  We have a few sets of lights and we will still get a tree.  It may just look a little more like Charlie Brown outside and not so much like Chevy Chase.  I don’t care as long as the girls are happy. 

My parents brought them over a tiny tree with lights and pink/purple little balls to put on it.  They were thrilled with that for their  room.  My husband made the mistake of keeping the tree on when tucking them in and then he wondered why they were bouncing off the walls and not sleeping.  I had to be the Grinch and extinguish the tree.  I told them they could keep it on all night on Christmas Eve, but had to turn it off before bed every other night.  There were some tears, but they dealt with it.

We ate dinner at home even thought I realized too late that my strainer and large frying pan are still at the old house.  You should have seen me straining macaroni while trying not to get burned alive he he! I did buy a cordless stick vacuum on Amazon, but I used a gift card that I earned from Swagbucks.  We had lots of company after dinner, which is why we didn’t get the tree last night.  It’s amazing having ten people over and feeling like there is plenty of room.  The kids were all off playing and when I looked at all of the shoes by the door I was overcome with gratitude for a house large enough to bring our family together. It’s not huge, but it’s just right for us.  Our chopped up 7 story townhouse was NOT good for entertaining.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.

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 : Another crazy, busy day around here yesterday.  We spent the day unpacking and spending time with family members and friends who stopped by to see the house.  My brother, nephew and friends still hadn’t seen the house and I must admit we were proud to show it to them (even with all of the moving clutter).  The other funny thing is that there just seems to be a place for everything.  There is definitely more cabinet space so that really helps. On a side note, I did try to be organized with the areas that I packed, but my darling husband decided to pack everything he packed in giant black trash bags.  So, ummm, you can’t see in them to see what’s in there.  No wonder my hubby was grumpy yesterday.  He was like Oscar the grouch ~ all grumpy and surrounded by trash bags (he wouldn’t find this humorous though he he, I better keep it to myself so don’t tell) I think there are about 100 giant black trash bags everywhere.  You can’t imagine – I feel like I am climbing out of the trash dump.  It took me 2 hours to get ready yesterday by the time I found my toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, shampoo…  The good thing is that I am opening them carefully and we should be set for trash bags for awhile  

I did the grocery shopping. I used coupons, but still ended up spending more than normal.  Even though we brought food from the old house we still needed more since I was cooking from the freezer/pantry for the past few weeks.  Well, all I can say is that it was a very expensive weekend between the movers, getting breakfast out this morning and the higher grocery bill.  We didn’t get the Christmas tree yesterday, but we did plan for where it will go.  We need to get the tree and get some lights so that we don’t look like the Grinches of the neighborhood.  This neighborhood is SO decorated.  Just about every house is decorated (except us and we are the first house when you come in).  I really have to have something lighting up around here by tonight.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.

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, I’m exhausted.  What a day it was yesterday.  I was up, dressed the girls and did their hair and dropped them at my parent’s house by 8:20am.  I got to the new house by 8:45 to wait for the cable guy (that went well).  Our new neighbor thankfully came over right after the cable guy and hung our tvs for us.  We hired movers and I thought the job would be about 4 or 5 hours because we had moved alot of the small stuff ourselves.  Can you believe they didn’t finish up until 7pm ? I can’t even think about how much it cost.  It needed to be done and so there wasn’t much of a choice.  At least we had it. I had been saving money for the past few months in anticipation of all of the costs.

Now the real work begins.  I have most of the kitchen unpacked.  I also unpacked the girl’s room.  I probably will need to organize their drawers a bit more, but for the most part it’s done.  My bedroom looks like a train wreck as does the garage, but we can’t do it all in one day right ?? I took all of your advice to heart and have not stressed about it.  I will admit that my ankle is killing me right now, but it will feel better after all of this calms down I’m sure.

As for our spending, aside from the astronomical moving costs (the movers were actually very nice), I didn’t spend any money yesterday.  I never even left the house.  I ate an apple for breakfast and my mom brought over a crock pot of meatballs for dinner.  They were delicious and we were all very hungry.  My parents also took the girls out for the day.  They were a huge blessing to me today (among many other days).  I do have to grocery shop, but we brought everything we had over from our old house.  I may venture out tomorrow to shop. 

I’ve been a little worried about my little Kayla. She is a nervous little girly especially at bedtime.  I was anticipating a little trouble at last night and it was as expected.  She cried about every little thing that was new about her room (I can’t see Livie, I can’t see the radio, I’m scared…).  I am hoping that she will feel better after a few nights.  She did finally fall asleep. 

My hubby has been a bit of a grumpy pants. I understand it though~ he’s stressed.  The washing machine isn’t working.  I don’t know what happened.  It comes on, but there is no water and he swears he turned the water on for it.  We moved the set over from the old house because they are pretty nice.  Hopefully we can get it working today because it’s laundry day. I’m missing my old house a little (I guess Kayla takes after mommy).  I think this house is going to be awesome for us even if it takes us awhile to adjust.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.

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 : Well, you pretty much know what I did all day yesterday~ yep, pack & move boxes.  Ro and my dad worked on building the garage pantry/stockpile area.  It’s not totally done, but it looks great so far.  I’m really excited to take my saving to the next level. I will post pics once I fill it up a little.

I managed to take back a few things that we don’t need and get $34 back (and change).  We ate lunch and dinner at home and went back and forth to the new house two more times after dinner bringing more things.  The movers charge $94 an hour and Ro doesn’t want it to cost too much so we’ve been doing all of the little stuff ourselves.  We even took over everyone’s dresser drawers.  We all laid out an outfit for tomorrow. I’m sure it will still be chaotic, but we’ll survive. Ugghh, he just unplugged the cable to get it all in one box for the cable guys.  I guess the internet will be going soon too

My parents are taking the girls out for a few hours today so that we can get the bulk of the moving done.   I will update you guys throughout the day as soon as I get cable in the new house.  I have some posts scheduled and of course I will be having fun checking out your moving tips on my phone as I wait for the cable guy so keep ‘em comin’. They have really helped me!

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.

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 busy, busy day yesterday. The good news is that there wasn’t much time for spending money. We are packing, moving, packing, moving … We’d pack up most of a room (aside from the large furniture) and fill my husband’s truck and my mini van and take it over to the new house.  Then we come home and do it all over again.  We didn’t get done as much as we had hoped to so we’ll really have to do alot today.

We did take a lunch break.  We used a gift card that I earned doing surveys.  We owed $2.33 + tip after the gift card.  We went to a family birthday party for dinner. It was my niece’s 12th birthday.  We had lots of fun as usual and didn’t spend anything on dinner.  My sister actually had lots of leftovers and asked me to take some home so I packed it up for my girlies for lunch today. It’s Kayla’s favorite meal (The Potato Volcano) so she’ll be excited.  The girlies got to bed around 10 and were asleep within 5 minutes.  Ro (my husband also fell asleep within 5 minutes.  I am the only one that takes awhile to fall asleep. My mind is too busy ( especially now).

I am SO excited.  Ro and my dad are going to work together to make my stockpile area in the garage today. I’ve always had to have a mini stockpile because of space constraints, but now I will be able to have a real stockpile.  I will be sharing pics of it in the coming months (once it’s up and running). I know I’m a dork, but I already have 36 cans of veggies (from the deal I told you about a few weeks ago) waiting to go on my new shelves.  They will be the first stockpile items- yeah!

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.

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 :  My husband and I had a date day yesterday.  He is off for 2 weeks because of the move so we decided to have a fun day before getting down to business.  We started our day by going out for breakfast using a voucher from Eversave.  The voucher was for $30 and our bill only came to $21 so I added some yummy fruit salad to go for the girlies (2 FREE containers).  They later ate it with dinner.  Our next stop was to stop and handle a little business for the house.  We went to the cable company and the cell phone store. My hubby shaved $24 off of our cell bill and $14 off of the cable bill.

I was able to go to Bed, Bath & Beyond using a FREE $50 gift card that I got from my Discover rewards.  I had a coupon for 20% off of the entire purchase so I essentially got $60 worth of stuff for FREE = woo hoo!  We ate lunch out with another voucher (salads at a little restaurant).  I made dinner at home in an attempt to eat some of what we have in the freezer and fridge before Saturday.

I also cashed in 60 points from MyCokeRewards for coupons for 2 FREE 12 packs of Coke products.  The mailman was good to me yesterday.  I got 3 different presents in the mail that I plan to give to people for Christmas.  The gifts from vouchers are starting to roll in.  I just can’t remember which ones I had sent to this house and which ones will be going to the new house.  That could be a little confusing.  I have to send everything there from now on   I should have done it earlier I guess.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.

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.  We ate all meals at home and I really didn’t spend any money.  I spent some time talking to my human resources department at work to make sure that I’m still going to be reimbursed for the class that I took last month.  It sounds as if I will be able to get the tuition money back even though I’ve been off with my ankle/knee.  I went to the doctor yesterday and he wants to take all precautions and get an MRI for my knee.  It looks as if I’ll be out until after the New Year.  I guess it’s for the best with the move and the holidays.

I took pictures of all of the items that we are not bringing to the new house.  We have a few bigger items so I listed them on Craigslist.  Hopefully, they will sell quickly so that I can add that $ to our emergency fund.  Our EF is taking a little bit of a hit with me not working, but it’s temporary right ??

I earned 27 Swagbucks, added 100 points to my MyCokeRewards account and cashed in a few more of my daily deal vouchers for Christmas gifts.  Christmas is turning out to be pretty inexpensive this year since I am using vouchers from daily deal sites and gift cards earned from survey companies.  I really have to make piles and figure it all out once we move.  It’s a little chaotic right now. 

Can I just tell you how excited I’m starting to get about the move ? I mean, I’m nervous and excited at the same time (is that possible?).  One thing that I’m particularly excited about is having a “normal” heating and cooling system.  I have never lived in a home with central air conditioning.  I can’t even imagine not having to put air conditioners in and out and in and out … as the bugs crawl in around the ac panels and the girls scream everytime they see a bug.  As I’ve told you guys we currently live in a 7 story split level townhouse.  Each room has a separate heating control.  The kids mess with it when I’m not looking and low and behold the heat is on 90 degrees in August= sheesh + a $600 electric bill.  The new house as ONE thermometer that controls the WHOLE house – yipee.  I’m sure many of you have one of these, but I am so excited to have one.  Don’t get me wrong, there are many families with no home to live in and I thank God and count my blessings every day that we even have a house, but wow I’m gonna love that thermostat. 

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.

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 had a $40 deal from Living Social for a local meat market.  I was able to get lots of meat for free.  I brought it home and packaged it into meal size bags and sent it with my husband to the new house.  I feel better knowing that we have food there already.  He was going there anyway so, why not ?

We met another one of our soon to be new neighbors and he is very handy with all things audio visual.  He is going to come over on Saturday (move in day) to hang up our flat screen tv’s.  We actually have a few (it’s a long, crazy story, but you can’t believe how cheap they were- I mean, I guess you all figured that since you know me, right ?).  Anyway, there are 3 and yes, they are all paid off.  We do need brackets for two of them and my new neighbor let me know about an awesome site that charges a fraction of the price most stores charge for audio visual accessories (monoprice.com).  You might want to check it out if you need flat panel brackets or any other audio visual equipment.  I ended up paying about $16 for a tilt mount bracket.  They are almost $80 in the store.  You do have to pay shipping, but it’s still much cheaper.

I called the cable company to set up service for the new house.  I was able to snag a discount and will save $14/month on our cable bill from the day we move in.  They are also our internet provider and phone service provider.  We do have to change phone numbers because the new house is about 15 minutes away, but we are all set.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner. I just sent the November winner her Amazon gift card last night !

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 spent the day doing more packing and moving yesterday.  The upside is that I really didn’t have the time to spend money. I am really starting to get excited about moving.  I cooked all of our meals at home yesterday.  Now that the pantry/cabinets are pretty bare, I am starting to “cook from the freezer”.  I had some homemade sides in there so I added some homemade sloppy joes and a veggie. 

I didn’t make it to the drugstores yesterday. I plan on going today. I hope they have some of the good deals left, but ya never know.  I was able to put a few of our larger items on Craigslist.  Hopefully we can sell them quickly so that we don’t have to move them.  I bought a few newspapers at the dollar store because there were some good coupons in there  

We move in 5 days ~ Woo Hoo!  I am not sure what’s going on with my work situation.  The knee and ankle are feeling somewhat better, but my knee still feels “pinchy” when I walk longer than about 30 feet or so.  The ankle just feels stiff.  I have a doctor’s appt. today so I guess I will either be going back to work tomorrow or in January.  I’m not sure how it will work out.  If it was a “normal” job I would think I could do it, but my job is a little “special” so I can’t go back unless I’m 100%.  I’ll keep you updated.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner. The winner for November was Peggy(sonyrose…). Congrats and send me an email so that I can get you your $50 Amazon Gift Card!

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 :  Ummm, not a very frugal day for me yesterday…  I decided to be a nice mommy and take the girls to go and see The Muppets.  I can’t believe it costs so much to go to the movies! Yikes, it was about $40 for the three of us to see the movie and to share a drink and popcorn.  It was worth it though.  They kept telling me I was the best mommy ever (except Olivia kept saying it really loud when it was quiet in the theater-he he).  It’s worth it to be frugal every day so that we can swing the little splurges and make memories. 

I got a $10/$10 coupon from JCPenneys yesterday.  I LOVE it when I get those. I always make sure I use them before they expire and this one is good thru December 24th woo hoo!   I also bought the Barnes & Noble gift card deal ($15 for a $25 gift card).  I have someone on my list who will love it. 

We went to my sister’s house for ravioli for dinner.  We brought cookies for dessert so it was a free evening at least ! We are packing and taking lots of stuff to the new house today.  I can’t believe we are moving one week from today ~ Yikes !

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.   I will announce the November winner soon !

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 was up and out of the house early today doing a few doctor’s appointments.  I got done around lunchtime and was tempted to pick up something for lunch, but ended up going home and fixing something there.  I got the McDonald’s Living Social deal that I posted about earlier in the day.  That should help out when we are out and about and have to get lunch.

I got some great samples in the mail including shampoo/conditioner samples and a Scotch Brite sponge.  You can’t believe how excited I got about a FREE sponge.  We had company over when I opened it and she may have thought I was a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs when she saw how excited I got, but I’d like to think she was just secretly wishing she had one too

My doctor told me that I should take vitamins D3 and Fish Oil.  I almost got them at the drugstore, but decided to come home and get them from Amazon using credits I earned on Swagbucks. I can’t belieive how much cheaper they were.  Each bottle was about 1/2 of the price that CVS was going to charge me.  I’m so glad I waited.  They ended up being FREE with the credit and they shipped free too. 

I earned 39 Swagbucks yesterday.  I also completed 4 surveys after tucking in the twins.  Not a bad day.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.   I will announce the November winner soon !

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 : Well, well, well I had a nice frugal day yesterday.  I have had a prescription for glasses (just for night driving) in my nightstand for the last  6 months.  I went to one of the stores at the mall when I first got the prescription and they wanted to charge me over $300.  Well, I did the hokey pokey and turned myself around right out of that store.  Long story short since I generally see okay I’ve put off getting the glasses, but I got a pair for $9.52 shipped thanks to the deal I posted yesterday.  I am really excited about that deal.

I also took advantage of the $10 gift card deal at Target that I posted about ($10 FREE gift card when you spend $50).  I double dipped and did 2 other deals that each gave me a $5 gift card in the same transaction.  I had two $25 Target gift cards from a previous Eversave deal.  So… I spent $1.23 out of pocket (after gift card) and I got back a total of $20 in new Target gift cards.  Whew, did that make any sense ? I know that cashier seemed rather bugged at the fact that I was using a gift card and getting 3 back.  I almost asked if my saving money was annoying to her in some way, but I behaved 

I made all meals at home and paid both mortgages (ouch, that hurt ! ).  We are moving in 10 days and will put our current house on the market January 2nd.  I can’t wait to only have one mortgage ! You can’t imagine how much it bugs my frugal self to pay 2 mortgages.  I have to constantly remind myself that we will be better off in the long run.

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the December winner.  Wow, December 1st already ! I will announce the November winner soon !

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 local casino again with my parents yesterday.  No, I don’t usually go this much (I’m lucky if I go once a year or two), but my mom has been on a casino kick lately and I have to admit it’s fun.  I went in with $60 and left with $86 and had a FREE lunch so why not.  I’m putting my winnings in the emergency fund.  My mom also won about $30.  We’re wondering if we can make a career out of this.  It’s more fun than either of our jobs he he! I may even go with my hubby someday soon if we can round up a baby sitter.  I’ve been working so hard lately on so many projects I am really feeling the need to search out some fun and today was fun!   It’s also nice spending extra time alone with my parents. 

I paid our Discover bill in full tonight as it’s due soon.  It was a little painful to pay it in full this month because my tuition was on there and a few other moving expenses.  I always make a vow to myself not to pay the credit card company a penny of interest though so I make sure I can swing it.  I will get reimbursed from work for the class so it should be okay. 

I made dinner at home even though my hubby was trying to tempt me to go out using my winnings.  I took a deep breath and offered to make him a yummy dinner instead.  It was rainy here anyway so I was happy to stay in and snuggle with my girlies.

Thanks to everyone who offered advice about moving and wrapping the presents.  I was actually enjoying reading your comments in between “slot machine pulls” he he.  I am going to take your advice and take some time today to wrap the presents I have before taking them to the new house.  I really appreciate the advice. 

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the November winner.  Can you believe it’s the last day of November ? I can’t.  Where does the month go ?

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 for me yesterday.  I was able to snag a few great Cyber Monday deals.  The Christmas list is dwindling and it’s been pretty frugal so far.  I did get to the grocery store to get a few essentials.  We will mostly eat from the pantry this week as I am trying to “thin” the pantry out before we move, but we needed some milk, meat and veggies.  I ended up spending just under $40 after coupons, but I think we’ll be okay for the rest of the week so that will save us some money anyway.

I was finally able to do the deal on EcoMom.  I had a $60 voucher and they were automatically taking $40 off of a $100 purchase and offering FREE shipping so I snagged $100 worth of toys and cleaning supplies almost free = woo hoo!  I made all meals at home yesterday.  The girls still had colds so they just wanted to snuggle anyway. 

I spent more time cleaning out drawers and closets.  I found all of the wrapping paper, gift bags and tags, tape and bows that we’ll need for this year.  That is such a blessing and will save us time and money.  I have gifts that have been bought placed in bags to move to the new house, but I’m wondering if I should take the time to wrap them before we go so I don’t have to do it later.  Would you or would you just wing it once you got to the new house ??

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the November winner.  Wouldn’t that help out with Christmas gift buying ??

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 a pretty nice, quiet Sunday yesterday.  We went out for lunch using a Groupon that I bought with a FREE credit.  The Groupon included one appetizer, 2 lunch meals of our choice and 2 milkshakes.  We chose chicken tenders for our appetizer so that the girls could have those for lunch.  Our meals each came with french fries so we shared them with the girlies.  We also shared the milkshakes with the twins.  We ended up having a completely FREE meal aside from paying the tip (we tipped on the full amount of course).  I have one more of these Groupons for a future meal.  The best part of it was watching my husband’s reaction when the check came and we had a $0 balance.  He was actually excited (it’s not easy to excite him with financial stuff).  He was very impressed and can’t wait to go back to use our other voucher.

I also bought the Abe’s Market deal from Plum District that I posted about (still available).  I will get a $50 voucher and it only cost me $15 so you can’t beat that.   I think they have FREE shipping today.  I’m going to check that out because I may be able to use it today.  They have organic foods and snacks, cleaning supplies and toys so I will probably get a combo of toys for Christmas and cleaning supplies if they have my favorite organic dish soap.  I have ordered from them before and they ship fast.

The rest of my day was spent playing with the girls and writing a 6 page paper to finish up the class I took a few weeks ago (where I hurt my leg).  The class is great because the actual class time is done in 2 weekends, but there is an “extension project”, which is due two weeks from the date of the last class.  It’s actually due by today and uuuummmm, I sent it to my teacher at midnight= whew.  The good news is that I should get reimbursed for the class after the grades come back.  On a down note, Olivia has a cold and Kayla is getting it so they needed lots of TLC. Oohh, they are so lovable.  I could just kiss their whole faces (well, maybe not the runny noses he he!).

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the November winner.  Wouldn’t that help out with Christmas gift buying ??

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 :  Well, I didn’t Black Friday shop (outside of the house) for the first time in over 10 years.  I think my family thinks I’m weirder than ever, but I just couldn’t do it this year.  My leg only feels good when I walk short distances and it’s been so busy that I valued the sleep more than ever this year.  I did manage to get a few online bargains this year.  I am just loving Amazon – as usual.  The hubby and I took the kids out to lunch.  We had a BOGO coupon and got one kid’s meal for the twins to share.  It always ends up being a waste when we get two kid’s meals.  They both still had food on their plate so it worked out well.

I am participating in a Busy Bag Swap with 29 other moms and I finished up my 30 activities and sent them to the coordinator.  I will be getting back a box with 30 different activities for the twins.  I am still up for organizing one for my readers if you guys want to.  I think we should wait until after the holidays and go for it.  I’ll see if there is any interest at that time.  It may be nice to have lots of busy bag activities with the cold weather and limited outside play time.  If you are interested shoot me an email and I will keep a list.

I did pay some bills online.  I am trying to keep organized with our extra bills right now so far, so good.  How odd to not Black Friday shop and to pay bills instead.  I’m getting weirder by the day.  I did notice the awful stories on TV about people being injured while BF shopping.  One woman actually maced  her fellow shoppers so that she could get an Xbox. Wow, Fa la la la la , la la la la  

I have loved seeing all of the new comments from those of you starting out on your journey.  Welcome to our community.  Just imagine where your family can be this time next year.   That’s what it’s all about.  We’ll be here to cheer you on !

****Oh, and one more thing… I have $26 in Up+ Rewards from Rite Aid that expire tonight so someone PLEASE email me  (use the contact button ) to remind me to USE them so I don’t forget.  I hate, hate, hate when I forget and I need a reminder. 

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the November winner.  Wouldn’t that help out with Christmas gift buying ??

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 nice, fun family day.  We went to my sister’s house for Thanksgiving yesterday and had a great time.  I didn’t get the twins home and in bed until midnight or so.  I love seeing them have fun with family.

I do have to admit that I made a run to all 3 drugstores yesterday morning.  After rewards I ended up with $46 worth of free stuff from CVS and  $23 worth of free stuff from Walgreens.  I took a peek at Rite Aid, but was largely unimpressed.  I did get 6 Vo5 conditioners for the girls for $2 and 2 Degree deodorants for $2 for the hubby.    The girls slept late so I was able to get out and be back in an hour.  I don’t think I will be BF shopping today.  It will be the first year in many that I won’t shop, but my leg hasn’t been feeling great when I walk too much and I don’t want to push it.  I’ll snag the online deals if any great ones come my way.

On a side note, I was driving to my sister’s house for dinner and listening to a holy Christmas CD.  I started crying just thinking of all of the blessings that I’ve been given.  I am truly blessed.  My little Kayla told me she is thankful for me and peanut butter and jelly and “that’s it”.  You just can’t get better than that !

What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day.  Leave a comment   You could be the November winner.  Wouldn’t that help out with Christmas gift buying ??