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 $205,500 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 didn’t spend too much money yesterday. I ran into CVS to scan my card and my hubby’s card to see what coupons would pop out. I got a ton of them including 2 coupons for a total of 4 more FREE Mars candies. I picked up 4 for the girl’s lunches. Figures I’d get all of this FREE candy when I’m on WW and can’t eat it haha. I was proud of myself because I was SO hungry and didn’t eat any of it.
I got some nice samples in the mail including Oil of Olay moisturizer from Proctor and Gamble and a lotion sample and a shampoo sample. I also got the 2 pack of paper towels from the Shop at Home/Walmart deal that I posted last week. I spent some time in the garden picking peppers (I picked a peck of pickled peppers ha ha). I cut them up and froze some for future use. I have so many ready and I noticed a few rotten ones out there so I don’t want them going to waste.
I got an email from the bank that we went through for the new air conditioning unit. They congratulated me for paying them off in full. They wanted to let me know that I had $X.xxx available to charge so I should hurry on over to their site to see what I want. I want NOTHING. I want to be debt FREE ! I can’t wait to pay this mini van off so we can be debt free except for the house again. The only other thing we need for this house is new appliances at some point. They are starting to go and are 11 years old. I want it to be a cash deal. I’ve been keeping my eye on prices, but it won’t happen until I have the cash to do it.
We seem to be having a mini-cricket problem. Have any of you ever had a problem with them ? What do you do about it ? Do you have to call an exterminator or is there a homemade remedy that I don’t know about? I don’t want any icky chemicals around the girls so I’m not sure what to do. Right now there are only a few crickets (Ro has seen 3 in the garage, but I think there were some in the basement last year). I think there was an issue with them last year, so I don’t know if it’s a seasonal thing or something…
What did you do ? I hope you had a blessed day. Leave a comment You could be the July winner. You could make 2012 your year !
I am a mom who has paid off $111,500 in debt in less than 4 years by saving money at the stores and putting all of our extra $ on debt. Subscribe to my FREE Daily Newsletter so that you can get my free updates and NEVER miss a deal. Thanks for visiting!
Amy L says
Yesterday I earned 46 Swagbucks and completed 2 surveys. I also did spend money going to the annual Target toy clearance event. I bought about $200 worth of toys (at 70% off) and will save for birthdays and christams time. I also donate to Toys for Tots every year. I love taking the kids to that and I think it helps to teach them about many needy families there are out there and that they should be grateful for all that we are able to have.
Beth says
I finished a couple of projects yesterday- covered chairs and refinished a table. Today I will finish glazing a bathroom. DIY saves so much! A no spend day except for a few cents at CVS for free candy
Janet says
I feel for Lil, who posted yesterday and has to buy specialty food for her little ones’ allergies. Yes, that is expensive. I have to say though, that once I stopped eating wheat and drinking pop and coffee, I have saved a lot of money on eating out. You can’t really eat at most “affordable” places if you don’t eat wheat or drink pop. Well, OK, you can have a salad and tea or water, or for breakfast you can have yogurt or oatmeal, but it really changes the mindset from “I’ll just grab something on the way to work” to “I’d better pack something to take with me”. Yesterday someone at work was going to McD’s to pick up something for lunch, and I was invited, but I declined because I thought “what can I eat?”, and I didn’t want to spend $7 on a salad that I could get free from my garden. We have started to love almond milk, and I watch the price. I have a “buy” price for it, and I scoop up a bunch of it when it is at that price.
I have had a few people interested in some things I posted for sale, so hopefully they will go through this weekend!
Took my husband out to a Mexican restaurant for his birthday dinner. Unbeknownst to me, they give a free meal on your birthday! (This is a local family restaurant, not a chain.) We ended up with two meals, an appetizer and leftovers for the dog for $19.50! I had budgeted $40, so I left the rest as a tip to make the waiter’s day sweeter, too. I was arguing with myself over saving vs. the tip and finally came to my senses. I was still within budget and our waiter was a much older gentleman, so I realized he ws probably not in the best finanacial shape—maybe there are a few people who want to be waitstaff in their late 60s, but usually I think that means they’ve been dealt a hard blow. So, we put it right in his hand so no one else would get it and left feeling very full and really very happy thinking about him feeling good, too. It was like paying it forward right away for the free meal.
I think one of the best parts of being rich would be to be able to just write a check to someone when you hear a sad story, or send 1 million to the Red Cross, like several celebrities have done after catastrophes.
Jaime says
I took my son to a waterpark with his 4H club for their completion trip. His ticket was paid for so I just had to pay for my ticket. It was $15.95 for the group rate. It was great to spend the day with just him and our friends for some quality time on the slides. We packed our lunch, drinks and snacks but splurged for Dippin Dots while there ($11.00 - ouch). We stopped for supper at McDonald’s on our way home and spent $11.00 there. I got free razors in the mail - ended up with 2 - must have been a glitch in the system. I earned 44 Swagbucks.