#DebtDumpChallenge

#DebtDumpChallenge

by | Oct 31, 2018 | Living on Less, Living with Less | 4 comments

#DebtDumpChallenge

Have you ever made a goal that seemed almost unreachable? Something so big that it is scary to say out loud because if you say it out loud, you might actually have to do it. Well, I’m about to do that, I’m going to share our big goal…

We are going to pay off our house by November 20th, 2019!!

Yep, this is scary to put this in writing, since there will be so many eyes on our financial goal. Paying off the rest of our house isn’t going to be easy. Our original plan was to pay off our house in the next five years, but we are so on fire to be completely debt free (and my husband picked up a second job) so we can pay it off early.

#DebtDumpChallenge 1

We have been homeowners for the past eight years. The first home we owned for five years. We have been in our current home for the past three years.

By the time we have our home paid off, I will be 32 and my husband will be 35 and we will have been homeowners for nine years.

Furthermore, four of those years we weren’t making enough to be paying down on our home. My husband and I are working so hard to pay off our home for a lot of reasons.

Below are a few of the main reasons we want to pay off our house ASAP…

3 Reasons to Pay off Your House:

ONE

Freedom

Can you imagine having no mortgage in your thirties? We don’t want our biggest expense to be our home. No mortgage gives us the ability to spend and be more generous with our funds.

Our desire is to go on overseas mission trips with our family annually and be able to help meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of others. By paying off our house, we will have extra funds to be able to do that.

TWO

No More Interest Payments

Even with our 3.625% loan, we are paying SOOO much in interest. I don’t want to be throwing away money to a bank if I don’t have to. Many people spend almost double their home price in interest rates throughout the life of a typical 30-year loan.

Let me give you an example. If you have a home that costs $200,000 with a typical interest rate right now of 4.5%, over thirty years, you will have paid $164,814 in interest. So, the total cost of the home would be $364,018.  This fires me up!!  I don’t want to pay monthly interest that only benefits the bank.

THREE

Debt Sucks

Debt sucks period. Most people think that they have to have debt to live, but that isn’t true. How often have you heard or maybe you say that I’ll always have a mortgage or I’ll always be making car payments? This is a lie, that is being fed to us daily.

We don’t have credit cards. We pay with cash/debit. Once you get in debt, it is hard to get out of it.  If you are in debt, you have to get really intentional about paying it off fast.

My husband and I started the #DebtDumpChallenge to encourage others to pay down their debt while we pay down ours.  We wanted to create a community of people who are all-in on paying down debt, so we can experience financial peace and do what we are created to do.

 

This community has almost sixty families participating and we have a collective group debt dump goal of over 1 million dollars!!  We are so excited to be able to encourage and support these families as they transform their financial futures.

 

Here are the deets on the #DebtDumpChallenge (the challenge is closed, but we will be updating our progress throughout the year!):

 

Where: #DebtDumpChallenge (Private Facebook Group)

 

When: Join before December 1, 2018. The challenge will last from Nov. 1, 2018- Dec. 1, 2019.  We will not be adding new members to our Facebook group after December 1st, because we want everyone to go all in and be part of the group for the whole year. 

 

Why: This group is created to encourage each other to get out of debt.  Share your victories of paying down debt so we can celebrate with you.  My husband and I will post videos, tips, and content to encourage each other along the way.

  • Group Goal | $1,225,693.55    [$488,307.21 PAID OFF] 39.36% 39.36%
  • Jamberlee | $47,091.00 100% 100%
  • Ash | $10,000.00 68.06% 68.06%
  • Mankinator | $45,000.00 3.33% 3.33%
  • InKahoots | $47,000.00 100% 100%
  • Paige Turner | $10,000.00 30% 30%
  • Bryca | $18,000.00 83.33% 83.33%
  • CaMel2013 | $15,000.00 0% 0%
  • D-Zone | $17,006.00 70.56% 70.56%
  • Jane Doe | $13,000.00 0% 0%
  • Lackadaisia | $19,495.00 10.46% 10.46%
  • Segullah | $1,000 0% 0%
  • C/K Trump | $20,000 100% 100%
  • M & M’s | $5,000 0% 0%
  • Micrah | $3,500 75.00% 75.00%
  • Elizabeth | $2,000 105.00% 105.00%
  • D-Money | $16,000 41.25% 41.25%
  • Toss it | $12,000 0% 0%
  • Starrmom | $3,650.00 40.55% 40.55%
  • ThirdBird | $12,000.00 17.50% 17.50%
  • Purposeful Living | $6,000.00 0% 0%
  • The Myers Pack | $10,000.00 58.46% 58.46%
  • Hoffman30cass | $50,000.00 0% 0%
  • csvg | $16,000.00 0% 0%
  • SingleMama | $13,500 100% 100%
  • It’s a wonderful life | $35,000.00 65.02% 65.02%
  • Lisa | $70,000.00 11.94% 11.94%
  • Levater | $20,000.00 55.00% 55.00%
  • DogLovingCat | $7,900.00 0% 0%
  • DebtBeGone | $6,000.00 57.75% 57.75%
  • Down With Student Loans! | $30,000.00 7.74% 7.74%
  • JKLJ | $34,000.00 100% 100%
  • Lemur | $5,000.00 0% 0%
  • Memes2687 | $1,362.00 0% 0%
  • jpdump | $30,000.00 18.25% 18.25%
  • Bradandjanelle | $9,500.00 25.26% 25.26%
  • FreedomFighters | $5,000.00 0% 0%
  • DJen | $25,000.00 100% 100%
  • MV | $8,000.00 55.38% 55.38%
  • BenO | $20,000.00 0% 0%
  • GiffordsGetAfterit | $25,000.00 0% 0%
  • LeroyJenkins | $10,000.00 10.71% 10.71%
  • SMD | $15,000.00 10% 10%
  • Lobo Roxo | $17,478.55 14.59% 14.59%
  • A&B Debt Free | $18,000.00 2.78% 2.78%
  • Pepito | $40,000.00 139.18% 139.18%
  • Cookie Monster | $2,300.00 0% 0%
  • GaleForce | $10,000.00 150.95% 150.95%
  • MoneyMagic | $65,000.00 0% 0%
  • Piddler on the Roof | $13,500.00 1.67% 1.67%
  • DRECHEL | $5,000.00 100% 100%
  • TheDahlyLlamas | $40,000 32.35% 32.35%
  • Hatashley | $35,311.00 67.02% 67.02%
  • Texas Cowboys | $90,000.00 4.44% 4.44%
  • Nelliott | $30,000.00 21.83% 21.83%
  • Family Ties | $5,000.00 0.50% 0.50%
  • The Johnson Clan | $20,000.00 32.12% 32.12%
  • MotherOfFour | $17,100.00 100% 100%
  • BrownFam | $5,000.00 100% 100%
  • Terrica | $35,000.00 23.29% 23.29%

I’m going to be really transparent with you and let you know how much we owe on our house.

We owe $47,091 on our home.

Just so you have a better idea on the numbers side of our homeownership journey, we bought our home three years ago for $180,000. The current value of our home is $250,000+ right now.  Each month I will give an update on how much we are able to knock off of our principle.

I just want to let you know why I am sharing this with you. For one, it will put some extra fire under us to get our house paid off.  Secondly, I believe we are created to make a difference in the world, and so many of us are held back by finances, including myself.

Group Goal

#DebtDumpChallenge 2

The ticks have tocked and the challenge is closed...

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#DebtDumpChallenge

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Is Couponing Worth it? Confessions of a Former Extreme Couponer

Is Couponing Worth it? Confessions of a Former Extreme Couponer

by | Oct 22, 2018 | Living on Less

Is Couponing Worth it? Confessions of a Former Extreme Couponer

Have you been considering couponing? Groceries are expensive and coupons can cut down on the expense, but is couponing worth it?

Couponing used to be a game to me. I have walked out of a grocery store with bags of groceries and didn’t pay a dime. There was strategy and thrill to the savings game. I loved when I could get items for free.  It was even better if the coupon covered more than the cost of the item. Hello! Getting paid to buy things is swweeeett!

The extreme couponing shows did not draw me into the couponing fad.  My introduction to couponing began far earlier, when I was ten years old.  My family would sit at the dining room table for breakfast with different sections of the newspaper. The ads and coupons were left to the wayside, so I started looking through the ads and matching coupons to the sales. I would clip coupons for my mom to use when she went shopping. When I went off to college, I continued clipping coupons mainly for toiletries.

 

Is Couponing Worth it? Confessions of a Former Extreme Couponer 3

A sneak peak of a few of the shelves in my ‘grocery store’ back when I was a couponing queen…

Is Couponing Worth it? Confessions of a Former Extreme Couponer 4

The older I became, the more I used coupons and figured out the strategy. Our first year of marriage (2009) our average monthly spending on groceries, toiletries, and cosmetics was $74. We weren’t living on mac n’ cheese and we had a lot of dinner guests.  Couponing was great financial defense for us.

I literally was the crazy couponing lady. I taught couponing classes and even had my own ‘grocery store’ (a huge cellar that was full of my grocery finds and canning ventures). Not only that, I kept up with numerous couponing websites. We went two years without paying for cheese by using coupons.

So what changed?

Well, several things. Here are four reasons why I don’t coupon like I used to.

4 Reasons Why Couponing Isn’t Worth It

ONE

Couponing has Gone Downhill

The excitement of couponing subsided when I couldn’t get the deals like I used to.  I started couponing before extreme couponing shows existed. Grocery stores started to wake up and change their couponing policies. Double coupons don’t exist anymore along with a slew of other policies like grocery price matching.

TWO

Almost all Coupons are for Unhealthy Foods

Most coupons are for processed junk food, there are exceptions, but the majority are for cereals, dressings, candy, etc. I started assessing what I was buying and realized that I would never buy the majority of the stuff if I didn’t have a coupon for it. In addition, my husband started having food sensitivities about five years ago and the majority of processed foods are a no-go for him.

THREE

Couponing is a Time-Sucker

The amount of time I would spend looking on couponing websites, printing coupons, clipping coupons, strategizing and then doing the grocery shopping just stopped being appealing.  I can’t even fathom the number of hours I have spent on couponing throughout my life.  Once I became a mom, I knew that I needed to prioritize my time better and extreme couponing didn’t make the cut.

FOUR

Couponing Websites Encourages you to Spend

Couponing Websites do so much of the work for you by matching up deals with the right coupons.  I used to follow multiple couponing websites and they all promote grocery deals, Amazon deals, really any deal that exists at you multiple times a day.

The push to help you save money actually made you spend more money on crazy discounted items you didn’t need.  Couponing sites make their money through the ads and affiliate offers, so that is why they push deals on their money-savvy following.

I got suckered into one of the couponing deals and bought 100 knock-off magic erasers that were made in China. I’ve never bought a magic eraser in my life, and I sure didn’t need 100 of them.

Couponing has changed so much in the last ten years and so have I. I’ve been able to gain back time and I’m not buying food just because it is on sale or free.

Buying healthy food has been a necessity and a priority for my family because of food allergies and the desire to eat whole foods, and coupons don’t cover that. Most coupons are good for processed foods and we all know that processed foods aren’t good for us.

I haven’t quit couponing cold turkey. I still clip coupons here and there, but I have learned to save money without using coupons. Check out my downloadable guide on easy ways to save on groceries without clipping coupons. 

Do you coupon? Do you think couponing is worth it? Leave a comment below on how you save money on groceries.

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4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library

4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library

by | Aug 14, 2018 | Living with Less, Living on Less

4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library

Let me just put this out there…I LOVE the library. If you haven’t been to a library recently, GO! Libraries are not like they were when I was a kid. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed going to the library as a child, but they pretty much only had books, a few movies, and CD’s. Now, libraries are totally upping their game! The resources are amazing and free!  Libraries give us so many resources that help us create a family culture that loves to read.
4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library 5

Libraries are perfect for anyone who wants to be more minimalistic. You can borrow books, toys, games, puzzles, and so much more and then return them when you are done. Talk about the perfect scenario, you check out what you want and you don’t have to keep and store it. Plus, libraries can save you SO much money.

Start taking advantage of the resources the library near you has. Here are some resources to look for:

4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library

ONE

Digital Resources

Many libraries have IPAD’s, SLR Camera Lenses, GoPro’s, portable WIFI, projectors/screens, and so much more to check out. Many libraries have 3D printing for super cheap, computer labs with expensive software on it like Photoshop. So if you need to use a program occasionally, use a library computer. In the town I live in, there is an entire branch of the library that is a digital library. They teach classes on coding, blogging and so much more.

Most libraries also have apps that give you access to free audiobooks, music, and movies. This is how I listen to my books. I don’t pay for a subscription service and I LOOOVE it. Many libraries have resources like free Lynda courses and a variety of online classes.

TWO

Entertainment

Libraries have tons of DVD’s to check out, so you don’t have to buy as many movies or rent them. My family owns less than 5 DVD’s, we just use Netflix and the library. You can put movies on hold online, so you don’t have to go through them at the library. New releases are available too.

 

Many libraries have games and puzzles. This is a great way to try out a new game without paying a high price. We checked out the game Ticket to Ride and loved it. That game is normally $50. It was nice to play it and not buy it. We end up playing the games more if we check them out, because we know we will need to return them. This has helped us just keep a few games we really like at home and check out the rest.

4 Surprising Free Resources at the Library 6

THREE

Home items

Many libraries are providing items that you might not have on hand but need occasionally. Our library has sewing machines, food dehydrators, scrapbooking tools, garden seeds, cake pans, energy efficient electrical tools, seed sifters, fishing poles, cake decorating tips, knitting items, bike repair kits and so much more. Some libraries even rent out tools. How practical!!

 

I threw a big birthday party for my mother-in-law and checked out pretty much everything for the party. I checked out the cake pans (our library has over a hundred different ones), cake decorating tips, cookie cutters, and all the scrapbooking punches I needed. I probably would not have bought those supplies normally, but I was able to make everything look so much nicer without spending a dime. Win-win!

FOUR

Classes and Programs

The classes the libraries provide are amazing. My kids love them. We go to classes that are specific for their ages, art classes for kids, plays, and bilingual classes. The adult classes are great. I have gone to classes where I made bath bombs, took yoga classes, painted a cute wooden sign, and made my own essential oil room spray.

 

The classes were free and I was able to take all these items home for free! The classes range from teaching new skills like coding, gardening, knitting to clothing swaps and escape rooms.

There is so much available for free at libraries. Find out what is available to you and GO to the library. What a great resource that is available to us. So let’s use it! Let’s create a family culture that loves to read!

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How to Save 40% on Groceries Without Coupons

How to Save 40% on Groceries Without Coupons

by | Aug 14, 2018 | Living on Less

How to Save 40% on Groceries Without Coupons

Can you imagine saving 40% of your monthly grocery bill every month? This isn’t just a one time deal; it is a continual monthly savings source.  Now think back to how much you typically spend on groceries in a month, what is 40% of that number? Wouldn’t it be amazing to save that much each month!   You could pay down debt, buy something you love, save for a vacation, or whatever.

So how can you save your family 40% on groceries without clipping coupons? The answer may surprise you, quit throwing away your food. I know that this is super simple, but think back to how often you throw away rotten produce, expired products, and random leftovers. If you throw away your food often, get inspired to make it a priority to not throw your food away.

The average American throws away 40% of their food according to the latest research. This percentage is insane!! That means that 40% of your grocery bill, on average is thrown in the trash. Remember what your 40% number is, now image throwing that money in the trash each month. Yikes!!

This statistic is really upsetting to me for a myriad of reasons. I hate seeing money wasted especially when there are many people going hungry in our own communities and the majority of us throw almost half of our food out. It just isn’t right.

How to Save 40% on Groceries Without Coupons 7
How to Save 40% on Groceries Without Coupons 8

In America alone, we waste $160 billion dollars a year on food according to an article from the NY Times. Beyond just the waste of money and food that could be given to those in need, this causes a huge environmental factor contributing to more landfills.

I believe that God has entrusted us to be good stewards of the money he gives us. I don’t want to be wasting God’s money, because all that I have is His. I want to be a generous person, but when I am not spending my money wisely, it becomes harder to be more generous.

So what can you do about it? How can you cut down on your food waste and not be a statistic? Here are some tips to cut your grocery bill down and not throw money out the window.

3 Ways to Reduce Food Waste

ONE

Don’t Over Buy Produce

How often do you throw out rotten produce? Don’t go crazy on stocking up on food you won’t go through. Evaluate what foods you throw away most. Produce spoils quickly, so don’t go crazy buying a Costco-sized box of oranges or whatever if it goes bad before you finish it. If you do buy extra berries or grapes, take the time to freeze them so you can add them to smoothies or pancakes.

TWO

Know What is in Your Fridge

It is easy to just let food sit in your fridge for waaaay too long.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who has opened a jar of moldy nastiness.  By knowing what you have in your fridge, gives you a better idea of what needs to be used up = less waste. A practical way to make this easier is to organize where things go in your fridge, use clear containers for leftovers, chose a day to go through your fridge and toss what is needing to be tossed etc.

THREE

Freeze Extras

Instead of waiting until your leftovers are beyond the point of no return, freeze them. By freezing your leftovers (and labeling well), you save yourself time and money. You did the prep work already, why wait too long and then have to throw it away.

The process of reducing your food waste isn’t going to occur overnight. It is a process. Don’t get discouraged. Be empowered with the attitude that you are not going to be ok with throwing your food out. Give yourself grace when you do have to throw something away. It is a process, and you will get there!

Knowledge is power and let’s not settle for normal!

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