Debt Free Planning: 52 week challenge

It's that time of year again.
Our main goal is to be Debt FREE and that not only means for Christmas but for every aspect of our lives. Being Debt Free is a HUGE goal and takes some planning in our lives.

I know that this 52 week Challenge is all over the internet and hard to pin point who actually came up with it first but I thought that my readers would like to join me in planning for Christmas 2018.

This 52 week challenge is pretty simple, you save the dollar amount that corresponds with that week. So the week of Jan 1st you save $1,

the week of Jan 7th you deposit $2 and so on,

by the end of the year you will have $1378 in cash for anything you choose.

You can also do this challenge backwards where you save the $52 on Jan 1st and take away $1 every week. 

I like things more uniformed so I think for me I like the 52 Week Challenge EVEN plan. I will just deposit $27 in my envelope every week and by the time Christmas comes I will have $1404. 

This challenge and everything else is 100% up to you. You don't have to use these particular plan or if you feel you need more or less money at the end of the year change your weekly deposits. This is totally up to you and your families needs.

Click on any of the forms above to the printable version.

Debt Free Living: Making Your Own Laundry Detergent and Saving the Difference!

While talking to friends, I just realized that I do things a little strange different than other people. I was kinda shocked, but with that said, I thought I would share one of the different ways I try and save money to help my family become Debt Free.

I find that it is easier for me to save little by little. I mentioned earlier that I make my own Laundry Detergent to save money. It cost about $2 for 10 gallons of detergent. It might sound like one more thing on your to do list but it really only takes 20 minutes.  That kind of savings is worth 20 minutes of my time. I leave the 5 gallon (you dilute the soap with water to make 10 gallons) in the garage and refill the 3 old containers and leave them in my laundry room.

Recently, I started taking $20 and putting it in a jar every time I refill my 3 old Tide Laundry containers. I don't really have any scientific reason for picking the amount of $20.  If I was to purchase Tide at the store, it runs about $11.97 each at Walmart.  I fill up 3 containers at a time, which would equal about $36.  I still have to make the homemade laundry detergent and purchase the products, and lets face it, we have homemade detergent because I can't afford the Tide, so I figured $20 was a good round number. 

I didn't know exactly what to do with the money, until just now as I am typing this. Our washer and dryer are about 12 years old.  The dryer has been making weird noises and has been repaired by hubby multiple times. The washer sometimes likes to skip the rinse and spin cycle. Not sure why, maybe it was just having a bad day and said forget it! Whatever the problems that are coming our way, I want to be prepared and this is not a bad idea, the more I think about it. Can you imagine if they go out and I have a jar full of money ready to help purchase a replacement set. That's my new goal. 

Do you do anything off the grid to save money?

Do you make New Year's Resolutions or Goals? Here is my Vision Board and I would love to hear yours.

Print out your very own 52 Week Challenge

Show them you love them with Personalized Photo Gifts for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and if you are like me and on a budget, you sometimes have to get creative. I absolutely LOVE these photo gifts that Target has available right now. They are not only so thoughtful but in the long run these are the memories and people that matter the most. 

Order your gifts from Target Photo Valentine's Day and save 25% off the Valentine's Day store when you use code CUPID25. Hurry because this offer ends 2/8/15.  This deal is only good for Ship to Home orders. 

101 FREE Photos when you order from Shutterfly!

This is one of my favorite deals. Shutterfly is offering FREE 101 FREE 4x6 Photos right now when you enter Coupon Code: 101FREE just pay the shipping.

If you ordered 99 prints instead of 101, you will pay only $5.99 for shipping, which breaks down to only $0.06 a print. If you order the 101 photos you will pay $7.99 for shipping. Either way this is a great deal! This deal ends Monday, January 5th, so you need to hurry.

Case lot is Back at Smiths this week!

 

It's that time of the year, Case lot sale.  This is the time that I stock up on all of my canned goods, which helps us save even more money. Smiths has changed their policy and now, some items require you to purchase the entire case. Here is a list of the items and I have split them up so you know which ones you will have to purchase the entire case for.

These are the items that have to be purchased in the entire case.

Kroger Peanut Butter 12ct $14.99

Libby's Vegetables 12ct $5.99
$1/4 Libby's Vegetable Product, exp. 1/31/15 (RP 11/16/14 R)
Pay $0.25 each

Campbell's Chunky soup 12Ct $12.00
$0.50/2 Campbell's Chunky Soup or Chili printable
$0.40/2 Campbell's Condensed Soups, exp. 12/31/14 (SS 10/12/14 R) [Excludes Chicken Noodle, Tomato or Cream of Mushroom soups]
$0.40/4 Campbell's Condensed Soup, exp. 1/15/15 (SS 11/09/14 R)
Pay 0.75 each

Chicken of the Sea Chunk Light Tuna 48ct $24

Ramen Noodles 24ct $3.42

Ragu Pasta Sauce 12ct $12

Ragu Alfredo Sauce 12ct $12

Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Tomato Soup 48ct: $26.40
$1/5 Campbell's Condensed Soup printable [Excludes "Great for Cooking" Soups]
$0.40/4 Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle, Tomato or Cream of Mushroom soups, exp. 12/31/14 (SS 10/12/14 R)
$0.40/4 Campbell's Condensed Soup, exp. 1/15/15 (SS 11/09/14 R)
Pay $0.35 each

Kroger Canned Fruit 24ct: $18.00

These items can be purchased separately or in a case:

Kroger Tomato Sauce $0.20 or 24 for $6.00

Campbell's Soup: $0.90 or 48 for $43.20
$1/5 Campbell's Condensed "Great for Cooking" Soup printable
$0.40/4 Campbell's Condensed Chicken Noodle, Tomato or Cream of Mushroom soups, exp. 12/31/14 (SS 10/12/14 R)
$0.40/2 Campbell's Condensed Soups, exp. 12/31/14 (SS 10/12/14 R) [Excludes Chicken Noodle, Tomato or Cream of Mushroom soups]
$0.40/4 Campbell's Condensed Soup, exp. 1/15/15 (SS 11/09/14 R)

Hormel Chili $1.10 or 12 for $13.20
$0.55/2 Hormel Chili Product, exp. 1/5/15 (SS 11/09/14)
Pay $0.83 each

Kroger Broth: $0.50

Kroger Beans $0.58 or 24 for $13.92

Psst Sugar 4lbs: $1.79 or 10 for $17.90

Hamburger Helper: $0.88 or 12 for $10.56
$0.75 off any three boxes Helper Skillet Dishes
Pay $0.63 each

Kroger Mandarin Oranges: $0.50 or 24 for $12.00

American Beauty Pasta: $0.75 or 24 for $18.00

Langers 100% Apple Juice: $1.50 or 8 for $12.00

Chef Boyardee $0.85 or 24 for $20.40

Kroger Diced Tomatoes $0.50 or 24 for $12.00

Kroger Evaporated Milk: $0.90 or $24 for $21.60

Snack Pack: $0.89 or 12 for $10.68

Botan Rice 20lbs $13.99

Jennie O Ground Turkey: $1.99 or 12 for $23.88

$1/1 Jennie-O Ground Turkey (Ibotta Deposit) [Any variety, any size]
Pay $0.99

Kroger Flour: $1.69 or 8 for $13.52

Duncan Hines Cake Mix $1.00 or 12 for $12

Kroger Vegetable Oil: $2.29 or 9 for $20.61

Tillamook Shredded Cheese 5lb: $12.99

Kroger 24pk water $2.50

Spam: $2.49 or 12 for $29.88
$1.50/3 SPAM Product Printable [12-oz.]
Pay $1.99

Kroger Breakfast Links: $1.99 or 12 for $23.88

Simple Truth Organic Pasta: $1.39 or 20 for $27.80

Simple Truth Organic Beans: $0.79 or 12 for $9.48

Amy's Soup: $2.00 or 12 for $24.00

Mom's Best Naturals Cereal: $1.25 or 8 for $10.00

Clif Bars: $0.89 or 12 for $10.68

Annie's Mac n Cheese: $0.89 or 12 for $10.68

Almond Breeze 32oz: $1.79 or 12 for $21.48

Kit Kat or Reese's $0.66 or 36 for $23.76

Do you make New Year's Resolutions or Goals? Here is my Vision Board and I would love to hear yours.

Print out your very own 52 Week Challenge

Homemade Laundry Detergent + $1 off Coupon Making it Even Cheaper

I make my own Laundry Detergent and have for the past few years. It is just another awesome way that I can save money for my family.  I actually use the Dugger's Laundry Detergent Recipe. It takes 3 ingredient and about 20 minutes of my time but makes about 10 gallons of detergent. Not too bad, huh. The best part is, it cost about $2 to make. Yep that's right $2.  Well, this deal is getting better with the $1.00 off ONE (1) box of 20 Mule Team Borax coupon. That is one of the 3 things you will need and saving a $1 is not too bad in this calculation.

Borax Detergent Booster: $3.97

$1.00 off ONE (1) box of 20 Mule Team Borax

Pay $2.97

If your family has bad allergies you should give this Laundry Detergent a try. We use to use Tide Fragrance FREE because it was the only detergent that would not make our skin rash-out (if that is a word). As much as I love Tide, it can get really expensive and just didn't meet our finances anymore. In order for us to make our Debt Free goals, we have to do things a little different and homemade Laundry Detergent is an easy way to help my family save money. 

Have you tried making your own Laundry Detergent? How did you like it? 

Coupons are Expiring at the End of the Month

Did you know that some coupons will expire at the end of the month. I am not sure which ones but I always print out the ones I think I might use just in case. The best thing is when I print a hot coupon that I "NEED" and then it resets on the first. No guarantee that a coupon will reset but it's an awesome surprise when it does. 

If you want coupons delivered straight to your door, be sure to check out all the newspaper subscriptions available for your area. 

Tiny Prints: 30% off Sitewide PLUS Free Shipping

Here is one HOT deal!

If you are looking for a cool or unique gift for yourself or someone else, now is the time!  Tiny Prints is offering 30% off the entire site + FREE Standard or USPS Shipping for orders using the code TPSAVE30FS at checkout.

This is a great time to think about Grandparents gifts, Christmas cards, or even new Christmas ornaments they have them all.

Order yours today, this deal ends tomorrow, November 19th

 Shipping offer applies to Standard Shipping rates only.

2 FREE Speed Stick Gear + Money Maker!

Print 2 of these $2.00 off any Speed Stick GEAR Deodorant and hold on to them until Thanksgiving! Walgreens has Speed Stick Gear on sale for only $5.98 for 2 but when you buy 2 you will get a $4 Register Reward for your next purchase.

Buy 2 Speed Stick Gear: 2/ $5.98
Use 2 $2.00 off any Speed Stick GEAR Deodorant
Pay $1.98
Receive $4 Register Reward Like $2.02 Money Maker

Frugal meals. . . Have any ideas?

We are on a really strict budget.  What are some frugal meals that you make your family?

Old Navy Flip Flops for $1

Flip Flops for only $1.
Yep it is that time of year again when you can score some Flip Flops at Old Navy for only $1.  Limit 5

How awesome is that?  

If you know me you would know that I wear flip flops 99% of the time with the exception of the gym or stormy days.   

Thanks savingmoneyplan

Dave Ramsey kits $39

I just love Dave Ramsey.  We have been following The Total Money Makeover for about 5 yrs now.  We were able to pay off our van in 12 months. I can't tell you what a blessing that is not to have to worry about a car payment.  This is a fantastic price for the books you will be getting and worth checking out. 
I am very interested in the Kids Monster Pack.  I want my kids to know early how to handle their money.  I love that my son doesn't think that credit and debit cards are money.  He has only seen me use cash, so when he sees the cards he is confused.   I hope that it is stays that way and both my children only use Cash.  That way he will never be in debt.  That is my hope anyway 

Regal Cinemas Summer Movie Express is Back!

 

Regal Cinemas' Summer Movie Express is coming soon.  For 9 weeks select Regal, Edwards, or United Artists Theatres will be showing G or PG movies for only a DOLLAR.  That is right $1!!! That is an inexpensive way to entertain the kiddos this summer.  Click the link to see the Summer Schedule and a theater near you.
A portion of proceeds from the Summer Movie Express will be donated to the Will Rogers Institute.

As the Dryer Burns....

What happens when you are trying to save as much money as possible?
Everything breaks!!!

So my dryer has been making this loud "clanking" sound when I would turned it on.  I did what all great wives do, I told my husband and asked him to look at it.  Since the laundry room doesn't have Xbox360 attached to it I am not sure he actually looked at it.  So once again I did what all great wives do I shut the door to the laundry room every time I ran it. :) 

That was a great plan for about 2 weeks... then Thursday night came. I had a full load of towels in the dryer and all of our clothes in the washer. Things are going great because I am getting on top of this laundry thing.  Then it happened, out of no where (not really, maybe that "clanking" sound meant something) I heard a boom, I went into the laundry room to a dryer not drying my clothes and the smell of burnt plastic.  Since I am such a great wife (again I know) I screamed for my husband to come in the laundry room to figure out what is going on because I smell something burning.  

We determined that it was the belt that needed to be replaced, it was stripped and hanging, so it was easy to make that determination.  I immediately got on the phone to call Kmart, because they own Sears now and they are closer.  My thoughts were it's not 7pm yet and I have time to get a new one and my man can just put it on and I will have dry clothes in a few.  That is not what happened. First off, Kmart never answered the phone. I was on hold for about 10 min so I gave up and called Sears.  They informed me that they don't carry those parts (roll eyes here).  They told me that they could mail me the part and it would take a week or I could pay an extra $20 for speedy delivery and get it by Monday.  I told them that it would be fine to wait a week (I needed to save that $20).
When I got off the phone my son (6yr) came in the room wearing 4 baseball hats, his bike helmet, and his jacket.  Apparently he didn't think of clothes because he was in his undies (he was ready for bed).  He also grabbed his small backpack and started filling it.  He told me that if we have a fire he is ready to GET OUT of this house.  

I guess when I was screaming for my husband about the burnt smell he took that information and made a plan.  He even went into his sister room and started packing for her too.   That night he slept in his jammies (he took what I said seriously) and his jacket so he could easily get out!

I didn't really know what to do about all the wet clothes, I hung up all of our clothes and towels.  I don't suggest that but if you have no dryer I guess it works. My poor clothes didn't smell Downy fresh for the first time since I started couponing (I love almost free Downy).  

On Monday, I was shocked to see a package at my front door step. Could it be?  It was... it was my beloved dryer belt. I am really glad that I didn't pay the extra $20 for speedy shipping.  

I looked up on Youtube to figure out how to change the belt. It looks simple!  Until he got the door off the front of the dryer and we see it.  Probably the reason I was hearing the "clanking" sound and definitely the reason I smelled burnt plastic.  It is hard to see in this picture but it is suppose to be a beautiful round plastic piece that spins my dryer belt.  Not the burnt to a crisp dryer pullie thingy (yes that is a technical term) that you see here.  On the left is what it is suppose to look like. WOW I am glad that my son didn't need to use his plan and our house didn't burn down. 


Now, I have yet another part to replace! This time I called a store in town and they have the dryer pullie system and it would be about $20 (once again, glad I saved that $20 from the speedy delivery).  Once we got that it was really easy.  Well of course it was easy for me... my husband did all the work.
Now a week later, I have a great working 10 year old dryer that only cost us about $50 to fix.  That beats purchasing a new one!! Which is what would have happened if we couldn't fix this one. I HATE the feel of hung dry clothes and towels.

Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce only $0.28 ea

Starting this week 5/23-5/29 Food 4 Less has Sweet Baby Ray's 18oz BBQ Sauce for $0.78, when you pair that deal with the coupon from last Sundays SmartSource you can score BBQ sauce for only $0.28.

2 Sweet Baby Ray's 18oz - $0.78
$1/2 SS 5/20
Total OOP $0.28 ea

Dinner? What are you having?

I know one of the best ways to save money is to meal plan.  Now with that said, I think that it is one of the hardest things to keep up with.  I have absolutely no idea why but I will be successful for about a week or so and then all of a sudden it is 6pm and I am wondering what I should cook for dinner.  I think it is very sneaky too because you don't even know you forgot to plan until it is too late.   

Are you a meal planner?  

How do you stay on top of your daily routine?

I can't be the only person having problems with this.....can I?

Saving Money: Sally Hansen

I don't know about you but I have been trying really hard to save money where ever I can.  One of the things I have cut out is waxing my brows.  It would cost about $15 + tip every 3 weeks or so. That adds up to about $340 a year.  

At first I was really scared to wax my own brows, that I would do something wrong and look like a total freak but it is so much easier than I thought (and no one has ever told me that I looked crazy.....yet).  :)

I have been purchasing Sally Hansen Wax Kit, it has clear directions and is really easy to use.
So when I saw this coupons I printed it out immediately. 
Yesterday, I picked up one from Walmart.

Sally Hansen Eyebrow wax kit $5.19

$2.00 off any Sally Hansen Wax Kit

Total OOP $3.19

This will last 3-6 months, that is a huge savings every year.

 

 

 

What are some ways you are saving money?

DIY~ Foam hand soap

Remember all that FREE body wash we are getting using our coupons, well you can make your own FOAM Soap.  I can't remember where I read this but I thought it was worth a try.   I purchased the cheapest foam soap I could find (because I needed the container) it was $1.57 at Walmart.  I refilled the container with 1/4 body wash 3/4 water gave it a shake and it works!!!

Personally, I used the mens body wash because it is alot easier to get for free, and I have so much more mens but I really want to try it with the Womens so that my hands don't smell manly! LOL 

AT&T cell phone Family messaging unlimited & Mobile 2 ANY Mobile

Family Messaging Unlimited with Mobile to Any Mobile Calling

If you have AT&T for your cell phone and you pay $30 for unlimited FAMILY texting, you can switch to the Family Messaging Unlimited with Mobile to Any Mobile Calling for the same $30.  That means you can call Verizon, Sprint whatever cell phone friend you have, for FREE.


Under the details on AT&T.com this is the description :
Unlimited Calling and Messaging to or from any Mobile in the U.S., Puerto Rico, or U.S.V.I. Messaging Unlimited includes domestic Text, Picture, Video and Instant Messaging.
It looks like the plans that offer this deal are:
Nation 1400 FamilyTalk w/Rollover® Minutes
Nation 2100 FamilyTalk w/Rollover® Minutes
Nation 700 FamilyTalk w/Rollover® Minutes

Happy Saving!

Thanks Christina!

Laundry Soap

I just spent the last 15 minutes making about 8 months of laundry soap for my family.  It cost about $3 for the whole batch. 

My family has VERY sensitive skin and we were only able to use Tide Fragrance Free but since I made the switch to the Duggar Family recipe Laundry soap, we have had NO problems using this soap. Thanks goodness because Tide is quite expensive.
Have a great day!