Seven ways we saved $6,000 in six months

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Seven ways we saved $6,000 in six months

Have you ever had a lot of life happen to you all at once? That's how our summer felt. One Tuesday afternoon I watched out our front window as a storm blew large chunks of our shingles off our house. 

On Wednesday, we saw the telltale signs of a leak blooming on our son's bedroom ceiling. On Friday, the AC went out. I am not even joking. Then I got a flat tire. 

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16 money mistakes to STOP making in 2016

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16 money mistakes to STOP making in 2016

Hang around, this year I am going to be motivating you on your own debt free journey. But first I wanted to share 16 money mistakes we ALL should stop making in 2016.

And some of these apply to me. Just because we are a frugal family who insists on paying cash for everything doesn't mean we don't make money mistakes. We do. LOTS of them. But here are 16 things I think we could all benefit from if we just stop doing them.

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Starting the New Year with a NO SPENDUARY Challenge

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone had a wonderful and stress free Christmas. 

Now it is time to get back into the grind of life. Or at least gear up for it as you sit in your jammies on New Year's Day drinking a cup of coffee. 

I am joining Danielle from Blissful and Domestic in issuing a No SPENDUARY Challenge. Some of you might remember that I did this last February with great success. That was the month we officially became debt free. 

My family really wants to start the new year off on the right foot. We are now in a new house, and we have so many plans and some of them involved building back up our savings and working toward paying off our house in the next few years. 

For the month of January the Senn Family has committed to not spending money outside of our basic obligations. 

We will pay our bills, gas our cars and keep our babies in diapers. We will eat fresh produce and continue to meet our financial obligations. But we will NOT spend money on things outside of our basic needs. 

No entertainment money, no going out to eat, no stopping by Goodwill just to see what cute sweaters are on the rack. None of that. 

Instead we will put any extra money toward savings goals. 

But we won't be doing the following:

  • buying cups of coffee from Starbucks
  • hitting up the drive through for breakfast 
  • buying books for our Kindle 
  • stopping by Zaxby's for lunch after church
  • buying things simply because they are a good deal

I will be checking in each Monday to tell you how our progress is going. I will also be focusing on frugal meal plans, DIYs and entertainment. 

I think it could be fun. 

You can join us but don't be intimidated. This is not all or nothing. If you just don't feel up to the full commitment pick one area of your spending and focus on that. Say you just don't get coffee at the drive through all month and you carry a thermos instead or you don't hit up the Redbox and go to the library instead. 

These little changes add up quick. 

If you do decide to join in on the fun you can let me know just Tweet me, Facebook me or snap a photo for Instagram and use the hashtag #NOSpenduary!

We can do this!

What are some things you could give up for the month?