Debt Free Living: 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.

We are starting up our next session of Financial Freedom classes! If you are ready to grab a plan to becoming debt free, you should join us! Check out more info here. 

A Simple Plan For DEBT FREE

If you had an $400 emergency, would you be able to take care of it right now?

That could be a scary questions for some but the fact is that most small emergencies are about $400 and 39% of Americans would not be able to cover that total. 

Just thinking of that is super scary. At any moment we could have vehicle issues, a refrigerator go out, the A/C stop pumping cool air, you name it, something could happen to put you in a situation that could be of some concern. Those hypothetical items I listed above are not something you can wait until payday for. They would need to be repaired and pretty quick. Another horrifying statistic is that 80% of

Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. That was in 2019 during the economic boom, I am sure that number is through the roof right now. As if those weren’t shocking enough, money is the number 1 reason couples get divorced. Number 1! Money or lack thereof causes fights, divorce, stress, overwhelming, depression, anxiety and so many other issues that don't need to be. 

I don’t think that people are living paycheck to paycheck because they think it is cool. They aren’t doing it because they like “living on the edge” I personally think 80% are living paycheck to paycheck because they weren’t taught how to look at money. How to manage it. It might seem boring or hard to use a budget. Maybe budget is a bad word. Does it make you feel that they are now restricted so, why bother. 

What if I told you that creating a budget or an expense sheet will free you, would you believe me? A little planning, will help you to see where your money is going so that you can have your “cake and eat it too”! You can still buy those clothes, you can still go out and eat, you can even do those amazing trips you love so much.

The only difference is you will be planning for them ahead of time, so that you can afford them. Maybe your trip is on pause for a little bit, 6 months or even a year. The outcome will be that you go to more places or come home to NO credit card bills.

If you have ever experienced a vacation or even Christmas that is paid off before it happens, you would never go back. Those trips mean more when you are not stressing out about how you are going to pay for it.

What about your marriage! Can you imagine what it would like if

you didn’t have to fight about money. Does that even seem possible? No more fighting! It can happen when you are both on the same plan and working toward that plan.

I get it, we live in an instant gratification world. We text someone and if they don’t reply back immediately, we start to wonder why. (pssst, they could be in the bathroom) 

Instead of saving for an item: a purse, a car or even a new house, we just go out and get it now because “we deserve it”. We might get it because “we will look cooler when everyone sees us with XYZ”. Regardless if you are purchasing items to “keep up with the Jones’” or not, we all do this to some degree. The question to ask yourself is why? Why do you need that item, right now? Why are we looking for others approval? In the big picture of life, they don’t matter.

If not fighting about money sounds like something you want to try. 

If you want to walk into the Christmas season with a plan so that it's paid for before December 25th. If you are just sick and tired of working so hard but you can't figure out where your money went, you should join us in the next session Financial Freedom! 

• This is not one of those courses that tells you can't have fun ever again. 
• This is not a course that is boring and hard to follow. 
• This course has quick, easy and simple steps in order to get that financial plan up and running. 
• This IS a group of like minded people that are working on similar goals, and they are simple. Plan your money!

Check out Financial Freedom! What do you have to lose... some debt?

Debt Free Planning: 52 Week Saving Challenge 2021

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.

We are starting up our next session of Financial Freedom classes! If you are ready to grab a plan to becoming debt free, you should join us! Check out more info here. 

Finding Easy Ways to Save Money Part 1

Saving money does not have to be hard. It doesn't have to be like the show from years ago, Extreme Couponing. It can literally be you looking around the house and finding little ways to save money. 

I am probably the only one in the entire world that never thought of this until today. If you are already aware of this incredible yet simple trick, why didn't you share it with me! You could have saved me a ton of money over the many years of living on my own. 😜

When I am usually to the end of a mayo, jelly or any other kind of jar that you scoop out with a knife, I do what I can and then throw away the jar. No big deal, I move on to the next one. Today for some reason I thought about how much was really on the sides of our mayo jar and I grabbed a regular silicone spatula. Seriously! Why didn't I do this years ago. 

I had really no idea how much was on the sides but I figured it was a tablespoon or so. I was in total shock that it was almost a half of a cup of Best Foods Mayo. That is a lot!! Just think of how much I have wasted over the years because I just didn't pay attention. It really only took about an extra minute to scrap the sides. 

You bet I am going to be telling my son he needs to do that with the Jelly, ohhh maybe the peanut butter jars too. It's like an entire world has opened up in my head of how much we actually waste. 

What are some extra things you do to save money here and there?

Want other great tips? Grab my guide: 3 Easy Ways to Save Money HERE 

How I make my Non-Toxin Cleaning Wipes

Anyone that knows me, knows that DIY has to be "REALLY" easy for me to want to do it. That's why I have been getting lots of requests on how I make DIY Thieves Cleaning Wipes. Easy and it doesn't hurt that they are very inexpensive. 

The thing I missed the most when I started taking the chemicals out of my house was my cleaning wipes. That is why I am so happy that I found these. I don't have to worry about the kids using these or the pets if we use this product on the floor.  It is safe! 

All you need is:

bucket (similar to this one in the video)

Thieves Household Cleaner (2 capfuls) 

2 cups of water

Paper Towels (1/2 roll)

Young Living Essential Oils of your choice (optional)

Thieves Household Cleaner is a plant based cleaning product that leaves no chemical residue. It is a concentrated so I only use 2 capfuls for these wipes and 1 capful for a bottle of all purpose cleaner.  I have replaced all of my other household cleaners for this one bottle. It is amazing and we love it. 

We make these wipes on a regular basis and how great is it that it only took me 5 minutes. That is less time than it would take to get in the car and drive... anywhere. 

Talk about saving time, money and our health!

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.

How we paid off our brand new Van in 12 months!

It feels like yesterday I was pregnant with munchkin #2 and we finally got the van I had been saving and saving for. We had $6100 to put down on that van, which took us 2 years to save, not bad right? I was so happy to get that van because the one stroller didn't fit in my Ford Escort, I knew that a double stroller was not going to work.

That monthly payment was a lot for us, (about twice as much as my last car loan) but we were going to make it work. 

About 2 weeks after we purchased the van our church had a workshop about finances and gave out a book. That book was the start of a journey to financial freedom. I was hooked. I started watching other programs and reading more and more about how normal people like us become debt free. I gained strategies from multiple resources and put them into practice.   

Every extra dime we had went to pay off the van, if I used a coupon, then the value of the coupon went to toward that van. If my husband worked extra hours, it went toward that van. I know it sounds crazy but tweaking just little things you do on a daily basis can put an extreme change in your habits. 

We were able to pay off that van ($29,000) in 12 months, on one income, with 2 babies in the house. Did you read that right? YEP 12 months $29,000 and that van is MINE!!!!  I am hooked. I can't tell you the happiness we feel every month now that we don't have a car loan.  I know that this works and we are now on a CASH ONLY budget. We are not using Credit Cards or Debit Cards.

At this point in our lives we only have the mortgage as our debt. I want to have that paid off and be truly financially free! (I mean really.... can you imagine having NO MORTGAGE?    I can't wait)

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

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. 

Vision Board for 2015

A couple of years ago I started making Vision Boards. A Vision Board is where you store all your goals that you want to accomplish within the year.

Do you make goals or resolutions for the New Years?  

I usually sit down and put a few things that I want to accomplish in the year but I usually lose the paper or forget what I am working towards. Last time, I wasn't specific enough with my goals, for example I only wrote "lose weight", I did in fact lose some but not the goal I wanted. This time I wrote that I wanted to lose 50lbs.  I will then break that goal down into months or weeks, so that 50lbs doesn't sound so unrealistic.

I also want to purchase a new home but don't want to get into financial trouble while doing it. So that means I need to save up a hefty down payment. I am not sure how much that down payment will be at this time that is why I didn't write that down but if you are making your own try and be as specific as possible

When I write "Be Debt Free" that means that I will not pay for Christmas on a credit card, I will pay CASH for it. That also means I need to plan now to be able to accomplish that goal.  We paid cash this year and I can't tell you great it feels to not have a credit card bill coming next month.

I know that my vision board is not the most creative but this will work for me. I created this one on my cell phone so that I can make it background and see it everyday. You can also grab some magazines or print off pictures online and make yours anyway you want to. The main purpose is to not lose it and accomplish the things you feel most important. 

I would love to hear what your goals are for 2015.  Lets accomplish them together!

Smiths Mega Event Sale and What I picked up

I absolutely love the Smiths Mega Event Sale! This is the time of year that I stock up.  My Smiths was out of the Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup but "I will be back" for those. In fact I try and get enough to last me the entire year because at $0.29ea it is worth stocking up for. Regular price has been $1.49ea, no thank you!   All that you see below was only $21.16

If you notice in this picture the milk in the back looks a little "used", well it is. When I was going to take this picture I ask DH to get the milk out of the frig. What an awesome guy he is! Then I hear a word that doesn't need to be repeated here and "GET SOME TOWELS!"  As you can imagine we had a gallon of milk all over our garage, under the frig, streaming under my car, it was as the milk was making a run for it, in all the wrong places. We got it picked up and apparently missed a spot because we had ants a couple hours later. All because I love you guys and wanted a picture. :) Please excuse the half used milk container "stand in" but I wanted you to see the visual.

PS the eggs are not shown because the mess of milk was enough, I felt the eggs were safer in the frig. 

What are you picking up this week?

2 Gallons of milk $2.99ea
1 Pepsi 2L $1.00

1 dozen Eggs (not shown) $1.99
Free dz eggs with Smiths eCoupon uploaded
$0.25 Ibotta Deposit
Total: $0.25 MoneyMaker

1 Kroger Mouthwash: $1.49
FREE mouthwash coupon with my Smiths Mailer

NOTE: Mega Event HAS to be in increments of 10.  If you miscalculate the $5 will not come off.

2 Carnation Evaporated Milk: $0.79
$0.55/2 Carnation Evaporated Milk
Pay $0.51 ea

15 boxes of General Mills Cereal $1.69
$1/3 General Mills Cereal, exp. 12/6/14 (SS 10/26/14)
$1/2 General Mills Cereal, exp. 12/6/14 (SS 10/26/14 R)
$0.50/1 Cheerios Original Cereal, exp. 11/8/14 (SS 09/28/14)
Pay $1.19

6 Heinz Gravy: $0.79
$1/3 Heinz Gravy
Total: $0.62 ea

2 American Beauty Pasta: $0.49
$1/2 American Beauty Pasta Smiths eCoupon
Pay FREE

4 Stove Top: $0.99

1 Planters Peanuts: $0.99
$0.50 Planters Peanut
Total: $0.49

These are things I am going back to get

Campbell's Cream of Mushroom
Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soups: $0.49
$1.00/5 Campbell's Condensed "Great for Cooking" soups; Limit 1 per household
$1.00/6 Campbell's Condensed Soups, Chicken Noodle, Tomato or Cream of Mushroom - 10-12-14 SS (exp 12/31/14)
$0.40/3 Campbell's Condensed Soups, Chicken Noodle, Tomato or Cream of Mushroom - 10-12-14 SS (exp 12/31/14)
$0.40/4 Campbell's Condensed Soups, Chicken Noodle, Tomato or Cream of Mushroom - 10-12-14 SS (exp 12/31/14)
Pay $0.29 each

Kelloggs Cereal $1.69
$1/3 Kellogg's Cereal, exp. 12/7/14 (RP 10/26/14) [8.7-oz.+; Limit 4]
$1/2 Kellogg's All-Bran, Frosted Mini-Wheats, Special K, Smart Start, Mueslix, Cracklin' Oat Bran, Corn Flakes, and/or Raisin Bran Cereal, exp. 12/14/14 (RP 11/02/14 R) [8.7-oz. +]
$1/3 Kellogg's Cereal, exp. 11/16/14 (RP 10/05/14 R) [8.7-oz.+]
Pay $1.19 ea

Bonus: Ibotta and Checkout 51 Deposits

While you are out shopping for t week, don't forget to check your Ibotta and Checkout 51 Deposits. 

I just scored an extra $0.50 off my total from Ibotta for purchasing Cereal and Eggs. 

If you don't know what Ibotta and Checkout 51 Deposits are, they are mobile couponing apps. After you purchase the product you scan the items UPC code and the receipt and they give you money like a coupon would do.
Ibotta you can redeem your rewards in a Paypal deposit or redeem for gift cards and
Checkout 51 will send you a check after you earn $20.

If you haven't already signed up for Ibotta click here  and for Checkout 51 click here. 

The other great thing about these apps are you can use a Manufacturer coupons, Store coupon, Ibotta Deposit and Checkout 51 deposit on the same item, if they have them available. How awesome is that!

Smiths Digital Coupons! FREE Eggs and Pasta

Be sure to go to Smiths Food and Drug and sign in to see what coupons are available. Don't forget to click on Best Customer Bonus Section!

I don't know if everyone gets the same coupons but if you do get some of these then you could score awesome deals.

FREE dozen Eggs

American Beauty Pasta $0.99 $0.49 Mega Event
$1/2 American Beauty Pasta
FREE

Kelloggs / General Mills Cereal: $2.19  $1.69 Mega Event
$0.75 off $2 Cereal
Pay $0.94

Common Excuses on why People Don't Use Cash

If you are just joining us be sure to check out PART 1 on Why we Decided to Pay Cash for Christmas. 

People do give me a hard time and tell me that they think I am crazy for using cash instead of Credit or Debit Cards.  That's fine, I know I am a bit crazy ;)  

Some of the excuses I get are: 

• I don't want to carry that much cash around, I could get robbed.

• I get that but I am not carrying that much cash. Most people don't carry cash to begin with so the likeliness of people thinking you have cash is very small. I also shop throughout the year because I have the Cash Envelope and have a "budget" for it. 

• The other reason I would gamble with carrying cash over cards is all the security issues we are seeing. Last week Kmart announced that they detected a data breach and certain customers' credit card and debit card information may have been hacked. How many times is this going to happen?  Last year, we saw this with Target and Home Depot.  These are all stores I personally shop at and I am sure a lot of you do too.  

• I pay my credit cards off every month

• I did too but it was really eye opening the first month when we went "cash only" that we were a month behind. We had to pay off the credit cards while finding money to pay for groceries and everything else that came during the month.  

• I get rewards on my credit cards and I "need" them. 

• I have credit cards that have rewards points/ airline miles etc too but that is not enough for me anymore to put my family in jeopardy.  If something happens and we don't pay it off every month we can be getting ourselves into a lot of trouble.  Last year my husband lost his job and was not able to find work for 6 months. What if we had that extra stress of credit cards hanging over us.  I am sure we would have had to be admitted to the loony bin. 

I know this is not for everyone and you might not agree with me and that is fine.  My goal is to be debt free and these are the steps we are taking to be there.

What steps are you taking or need to take to change your financial future?

Want some additional ideas? Join us in the Debt Free Christmas. This is where we are coming up with different ways to save money now so that we are having an amazing Christmas or Vacation and now paying for it later. 

Why we have decided to Pay Cash for Christmas

We have decided to pay cash for Christmas.  

Sounds crazy right?  We did this last year for the first time and the stress of the holidays and paying for them into the New Years was gone!

It's no secret that we are on a mission to become Financially Free!  It has totally changed our lives and been the best thing we have ever done.  We were able to pay off our van in the first 12 months of this mission. Sounds impossible but it happened and I have the title to prove it.

Here are some of my reasons to use cash over cards.

• The number 1 reason for using CASH, is you FEEL money.  When I swipe my card, I really am not paying attention to the amount I just spent or how I am going to pay for it later. When I use the cash it hurts a little to see my dollars disappear.

• When you pay with cards, whether it is Credit or Debit Cards you spend an average of 12-18% more. That may not seem like a lot but it can really add up.  When you pay cash you really pay attention to what is in your cart and how much it is. Lets face it, it's embarrassing to put things back because you don't have enough cash to pay for it.  That is my fear. :)

• When we are celebrating New Year's we are not thinking about all the bills that are going to follow us. We are starting the New Year with a fresh start. 

• I have already started an cash envelope for Christmas and when I see Coupons or deals I can start shopping now. Why wait until Black Friday or the "Christmas Shopping Season".

Come back tomorrow and see The Most Common Excuses on why People Don't Use Cash. 

How do you pay for Christmas?

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