My family and I are avid followers of MoneySavingMom.com and Dave Ramsey. When my husband and I graduated from college, the only debt we had were some (relatively) small student loans to pay off. Our plan was to knock them out before we started adding children to our family.
Things were going well, and though we got pregnant before they were paid off, we had every intention of being debt-free before our first daughter arrived.
Then real life happened.
A deer hit our car, and even with good insurance, we had to replace our car. Because it wasn’t worth much to begin with, and it was our only vehicle, we had to take out a small loan to pay for another used one. This put our debt payoff on hold.
Then our daughter was born with major health issues — which meant big medical bills to pay.
A couple years later, my husband was out of work for several months, so our debt snowball was put on hold again and I sold everything I could on Craigslist and Ebay. MoneySavingMom.com was such a huge help to us during this tough time.
The next few years brought on more high deductibles that had to be paid each year — our daughter was bitten by a copperhead one year, we had another beautiful little girl the next, we had three pregnancies that ended tragically (and with big medical bills), and then my husband was diagnosed with a large (benign) brain tumor that needed an eleven-hour surgery to remove.
So, while our debt was small and easily manageable in the beginning, we were being stalled every year by big bills that had to be paid first. I would hear the stories of others who were paying off smaller amounts of debt on smaller incomes in a quarter of the time we were and I would get SO discouraged!
Some of you may be in a similar situation to us. You have every intent to dump your debt quickly, but life happens, and sometimes it hits harder than you can imagine.
If you can relate, here are a 5 tips that helped us stay focused (and kept us from growing our debt):
1. We always paid ourselves first and made sure our $1,000 emergency fund was available for short term emergencies. This came in handy when our hot water heater started smoking and a pipe burst in our guest bathroom!
2. We started using the envelope system to pay cash for budget busters like groceries, eating out, and date nights. Anything left over went straight to our current outstanding bill.
3. We used coupons to save money on our grocery bills and played the drugstore game for toiletry items. CVS was our favorite. Many times we were getting our milk and diapers free! We would even use extra free items to make up small gift baskets for gifts for our families.
4. We paid our bills first to avoid more debt. Whenever the big medical bills came due, we put our debt snowball on hold until they were paid. In a sense, we were cash flowing those medical bills, using our debt snowball money to pay for them. While it was hard to lose the steam on my student loan, it was still something that had to be done, and we were grateful to have the means to pay them.
5. We simplified our belongings and made money by selling our excess belongings on our local Facebook Yardsale page, Craigslist, and eBay.
We stuck to our goal, and the day before my ten-year college reunion, we paid the final payment to my student loan!
While it took MUCH longer than I had anticipated, it was still worth the effort. Plus, the lessons we learned about saving, living on less, and paying cash for everything have been invaluable.
Kim is wife to a brain tumor survivor and mom to two girls here and three kiddos in Heaven. She blogs about her adventures in homeschooling, cooking, and helping young children deal with sibling loss at her Kimz Kitchen.
Are you joining us for the 12 Months to a Healthier You Challenge? If so, it’s Saturday and guess what that means? It’s time for our weekly check-in to post our progress.
February’s Challenge:
We’re focusing on developing the habit of eating more fruits and veggies in February. I encourage you to set a simple and doable goal for exercise and to stick with it.
My goal for February is to eat at least six big salads every week. I’m also hoping to keep up with January’s habit of doing P90X at least 4-5 times every week.
This Week’s Progress:
Yay! I hit my goal this week of eating six big salads plus exercising 4 times!
How Are YOU Doing?
Leave a comment telling us how you did on your exercise goals this past week. If you’re blogging about this challenge, leave the direct link to your blog post about the challenge below.
Are you on social media? You can also share your progress on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter by using hashtag #12MonthstoaHealthierYou.
Ever want to take a crockpot full of food to a gathering or event but afraid that it might spill everywhere? You’ll definitely want to check out this giveaway!
I love using my crockpot, but it’s just not very convenient to take places… it’s bulky and it can easily tip and spill. That’s why I loved the Crock-It and Lock-It!
You just strap the Crock-It Lock-It onto your slow cooker and it keeps the lid on — no more worrying about spills! Plus, it has a handle you can use to easily carry your crockpot!
Would you like to win a Crock-It Lock-It? Click on the graphic below and type in your name and email address to enter to win a Crock-It Lock-It. 10 winners will be chosen and posted on Monday. This giveaway ends Sunday, February 9, at 11:59 pm, CST.
1 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts – $4.21 (I was so excited that their chicken was marked 50% off!)
2 dozen Eggs – $1.59 each
1 Carrots – $0.99
1 Roma Tomatoes – $1.29
1 bag Cuties – $1.99
1 Blueberries – $1.79
1 can Pineapple Chunks – $0.89
1 Cream Cheese – $1.29
1 Chocolate Syrup – $1.49
1 bag Spinach – $1.69
1 Celery – $0.69
1 Cauliflower – $1.69
1 can Pumpkin – $0.89
1 Strawberries – $1.29
Total with tax ($1.99): $28.93
Dillons
1 gallon Milk – $2.78
1 gallon Chocolate Milk – $2.78
4 Totino’s Pizza Rolls – $1 each, used 4 $1.25/1 printable (no longer available) – Free plus overage after coupons
1 Annie’s Mac and Cheese – $1, used $0.75/1 catalina coupon – $0.25 after coupon
1.24 lbs Bananas @ $0.55/lb – $0.68
1 Cascadian Farms Granola – $2.50, used $0.75/1 coupon from the 1/5 SmartSource insert – $1.75 after coupon
1 Kroger French Bread – $1.99 (Requested by my husband…I prefer homemade bread, but I love spoiling him sometimes.)
3 Gluten Free Quinoa Pasta – Marked down to $0.99 each (We aren’t allergic to gluten but I have several friends who are, so I always keep my eye out for good deals on gluten free items.)
2 Nature Valley Granola Bars – Marked down to $1.99, used 2 $1.25/1 printable (no longer available) – $0.74 each after coupons
2 John Frieda Root Lift – Marked down to $1.59 each, used $3/2 coupon from the 1/19 SmartSource insert – $0.09 each after coupons
1 Hormel Rev Wrap – $1.99, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon
1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99 (I will get 20% back from SavingStar.com.)
1 Marshmallow Matey’s Cereal – $4.49 (My husband was shopping with me and put this in the cart! :))
1 Suave Lotion – $0.99, used $1/1 coupon from the February All You magazine – Free after coupon
2 Right Guard Deodorant – Marked down to $1.09 each, used $2/2 coupon from the 1/26 RedPlum insert – $0.09 each after coupon
1 Natural Cane Turbinado Sugar – Marked down to $1.89
Total before coupons and sales: $48.20
Total with tax ($2.67) after coupons and sales: $24.07
Total for all grocery items: $53
Menu Plan for this Week
Breakfasts
Cereal, Homemade Granola, Oatmeal, Toast, Homemade Juice (I’ll use various fruits and veggies.)
Lunches
Fruit/Veggies & Cheese/Crackers, Mac & Cheese, Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Tossed Salad with Tuna, Egg and Spinach Quiche Cups
Dinners
Baked Chicken Drumsticks, French Bread, Tossed Salad, Sliced Clementines
I have a non-frugal confession: I am brand-loyal about pasta sauce and I really don’t like the generic stuff.
However, I discovered a great use for the cheaper, store-brand pasta sauce… it’s a frugal replacement in recipes that call for a tomato sauce. Not only is it usually much cheaper than tomato sauce, the jars of pasta sauce contain more ounces than the cans of tomato sauce!
This might not be news to anyone but me, but I thought I’d pass it on anyway. I have some lentil soup simmering right now (using this tip) and just tasted it — fabulous!
So next time you see a great deal on store-brand pasta sauce, scoop it up and try using it in your other recipes that call for tomato sauce.
