8 days...are you ready?

So they living off $250 for the month of July starts in 8 days. I am excited. Found out that my brother is coming for a couple of weeks so we will be visiting lots of FREE places, lol. I am getting excited!!!

Get rid of it!!!

So I have been trying to think of ways to get a little extra money so I can pay things off quicker and here is what I have come up with. I will let you know how this goes. Wish me luck!!!

• Sell old baby clothes on ebay
• Sell books, DVDs, and games back to Hastings

Coffee Can?

I think that sometimes money in a coffee can can=more savings. For me, I have found that if I can physically see my money then I am less likely to spend it. I understand that if I put my savings in the bank it will accrue interest but that's if I don't transfer it to my checking before the interest can hit. So I am taking the old fashioned route (nobody rob me please, lol). I have found that if I keep my money to where I can see it then it will stick around longer. After I get a certain amount saved up then I will put it into my savings account.

I am excited about saving!

Call that cable company!!!

Nathan and I were contemplating getting our cable turned off because we don't use it much in the summertime. So I called to let the cable company know that I was thinking about canceling my services. I also included "unless you have a better offer" and surprisingly they did. So I was able to get the same services as I have now for $25 a month less and it's a locked in guaranteed price for a year. It's crazy what a difference one phone call can make. $25 don't seem like much but that's $300 in a years time for the exact same services as I have now. Score!

Do you get a tax refund ever year???

Ways to get extra money in your pocket now.

1. Something we have done is changing our tax withholding. If you always get back a tax refund then that is a interest free loan that you are GIVING the government every year. So you can go to irs.gov to see what your tax withholding should be. I heard something from Dave Ramsey and he said to divide your tax refund by 12 and that's how much you are overpaying. So for example:

3,000 (Refund)/12=$250 a month that you are overpaying and can be applied towards bills on a monthly basis. Think about it...how much interest on that credit cards would you save in a year if you applied that 250 to it instead of letting the government make money off of you.

That's just my 2 cents for the day. :)

Sunday Inserts/Lunch

Sit down everyone. For the 1st time in months I did not wake up early, go get 4 papers for coupons, and hit up the local Walgreens for the good deals. Instead, I looked over the 1 paper that I have delivered to my home and realized that in this week's insert there really wasn't anything that I couldn't live without. There were no any grocery coupons that I needed. So my day started with an $8 savings. YAY!

Then after church I wanted so badly to go out to eat. It just seemed like it would be much easier than coming home and making food. My son Jonas, who has become accustomed to eating out, was hollaring from the back seat, "Go to the quesadilla place!" Boy, was it hard to say no. We have become compliant with just eating out because it is easier. I was so glad that we didn't because instead we came home, packed a sack lunch, and had a picnic on the trampoline. Jonas and I had some quiet time together and he just thought that it was the coolest thing ever. So YAY! again!!!

GET READY: July=NO SPEND MONTH

Starting JULY 1st I am planning to do a NO SPEND MONTH. This is going to be very hard for us but I am excited to see if we can do it.

*Set a budget for your family that is well below normal. For our family I am setting a $250.00 budget, normally it is about $700.00. This will be money for gas, groceries, ect. I realize some of you may need more than that so make a number that is realistic and attainable for your family. The point of this is to cut out all of those little things you spend money on...routine things. Skip that java in the morning. Walk to the park instead of drive. Take advantage of parks in the area. Eat food that has been sitting in your cabinet for the last 6 months. AND the real kicker is to pay off your debt or make a emergency fund with all the money you are saving.

I am excited about this and look forward to taking this journey with you!!!!