Andrea Dekker

Weekend Giveaway: Money Saving Mom’s Budget Book

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure here.

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed.

Even as a very small child, some of my favorite play-time activities were playing store {I was the cashier} and writing numbers in my “bank book” {see picture below}.

When I was six, my parents helped me open my first savings account and then make small deposits on a regular basis. You can probably imagine how excited I was to balance a REAL bank register after each deposit!

I opened a checking account when I was 18, and was extremely hesitant to spend even one penny more than I absolutely had to!  I used coupons to buy groceries all through college, and worked as many hours as I could to quickly pay off my student loans.

Now that I’m “all grown up” I’m still frugal, I still use coupons, I still don’t spend money if I don’t have to, and I still balance my bank register after every transaction {yes, I do online banking too!}

Basically, I’ve been frugal for as long as I can remember — thanks in large parts to my parents who have always encouraged me and my sisters to save, save, save!

Because of my love for frugal living, I am simply ecstatic about today’s giveaway — The Money Saving Mom’s Budget. It’s a brand new book written by one of my blogging friends, Crystal Paine of MoneySavingMom.com.

Crystal’s book is not only packed FULL of hundreds of tips and tricks to save more, spend less, and pay off debt; it also contains a wealth of information on how to simplify and organize your entire life… which I’m all in favor of 🙂

Plus the entire book is written from a “normal” person’s perspective on finances; so you won’t have to weed through financial jargon or constantly wonder if you’re understanding it correctly.

As I was reading her book, I kept thinking “I could have written this” because I honestly agree with pretty much everything she says. You can read more about her book here, but then come back and enter to win one of 5 copies!

The Giveaway:

Today, five lucky readers will win a copy of Crystal’s new book, The Money Saving Mom’s Budget! 

How to Enter:

1. Leave a comment. How are you trying to save more and spend less this year?

2. Like Simple Organized Living and/or Money Saving Mom on Facebook, and then leave a separate comment letting me know you did {or that you do already}.

If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please visit the actual blog post to enter. Email entries, Facebook comments, and Twitter messages will NOT be counted.

Prizes:

(5) copies of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget as described above.

This giveaway ends at 10:00 pm on Tuesday, 1/17/2012 and is open to all U.S. and Canadian residents 18 years or older. I will use And the Winner Is to select the winning comments at random. Winners will be notified by email and noted at the top of this post. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize or I will choose a new winner. Please see my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you have. Good luck!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amy says

    We are cooking more frequently at home to reduce eating out. I used to make large recipes that left us with lots of leftovers – which is good in theory. But the family, and I, would get bored with them and restaurant or other quick food would call our name. Cooking smaller meals more frequently – just enough for dinner and maybe one lunch – is working out better for us. Thanks for the giveaway! Love Money Saving Mom’s blog, too.

  5. Eryn says

    I like MSM on FB. I use coupons, shop sales and am trying to consolidate a few bills to pay them off quicker.

  6. Teresa says

    So glad I found Simple Orgnized Living and Money Saving Mom. I love both of them and would love to have your book.

  8. Dawn Boyd says

    Liked Simply Organized Living on facebook already a fan of money saving mom!

  9. Amy Schaffer says

    I would love to win a copy of this book! We are currently on a spending fast from anything that is not a true necessity. Thanks for hosting.

  10. Maria Price says

    I am trying to save more this year by creating a budget and actually sticking to it!

  12. Dawn Boyd says

    we are doing most of our grocery shopping at aldi and buying the kids clothes off the clearnce rack or at consignment sales and using groupons for date night!

  15. Lorraine says

    Saving more (or really at all) will mean I need to work more. My.husband’s paycheck covers our actual bills, but no other living expenses. One of my goals for the year is to add more classes to my music studio to be able to build our savings back up.

  19. Tracy Yearout-Snedeker says

    This year to save money we will be eating out a lot less and cooking at home much more!

  20. Jessica Tillett says

    I have liked both you and Money Saving Mom on Facebook for a long time. Thanks for this opportunity!

  21. Kristia {Family Balance Sheet} says

    I follow SOL and MSM on facebook through my blog’s page: Family Balance Sheet.

  22. Kristia {Family Balance Sheet} says

    I’ll be buying more at the thrift store (scored a new pair of gap jeans for my daughter this week) and less at Target or the mall.

    We’ll also try to eat out less and have more theme nights to make up for it. ie: Pizza night, Mexican night.

  23. Jessica Tillett says

    To save money… I combine store sales with coupons, buy items used when possible, use Amazon giftcards earned through Swagbucks and shop clearance sales for items that we want/ need. I don’t really see the sense in paying full price for items when I don’t have to! 🙂 Thanks for everything you do! Love your blog and thank you for this giveaway opportunity! 🙂

  26. Wendy says

    My husband and I are looking to buy a house. This year we have decided to follow thru with cutting coupons and using all the coupons we can. We also look for stuff on craigslist first, before deciding to pay full price. One more thing we have to work on is eating out each week (specially on weekends), so I’m looking at recepies and things I can make quick on a Friday when I come from work tired, that won’t required us just ordering out.

  30. Amanda says

    I am trying to cut back in every discretionary area of my life! I am new to coupons so hopefully I will master that this year! I love the idea of the envelope method- I have always been a careless impulse buyer- NOT ANYMORE I UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF MONEY NOW! I am also resolving to balance my checkbook from now on!

  32. Nancy says

    I liked Simple Organized Living on FB

    Where do I start? I lived a frugal lifestyle before it was cool! I am ALWAYS looking for ways to save money. I keep the thermostat low, take quick showers, only run the dishwasher once a week (we are empty nesters and the hubs is out of town a lot)! I use coupons and groupon, etc. I do go out to eat b/c I enjoy it but 9 times out of 10 it’s with a groupon or coupon. This Christmas everything I bought was a deal – I mean a DEAL! I take my lunch to work even though I work at a place that sells food. I do not buy beverages but drink water from the water cooler at work. I don’t belong to a gym but workout at home. It is very possible to be in great shape by working out at home. I do not eat meat, dairy, cheese, oils, etc. which saves a ton of money at the grocery store and is much better on my health. I groom my dogs myself. I wash my car myself. I travel quite a bit and my co-worker dog sits which saves a lot of money instead of boarding them. I drive the speed limit which saves gas. I rotate my tires on time as well as oil changes. Car maintenance extends the life of your car. Oh, and I shop around for oil change services. I get my tires rotated free from the place I bought the tires. I do not buy fast food b/c it is really not healthy and expensive. I buy used books on Amazon and ebay. I never pay for shipping. Anything I can do myself I do. I buy gas cards at Wal-Mart to save 10 cents per gallon on gas. I go to yard sales. I got a brand new $100 fossil watch recently for $20 and I gave it to my grandson for Christmas. He was so stoked! I wouldn’t have cable if it weren’t for my hubs! But, if I really, really want something, I will let go of money for it.

  33. Cassie b says

    I am going to try to cut out the junk food spending as well as eat out less often.

  34. Teddi says

    We have just moved in with my in-laws for 8 months (or so) to try and pay off debt and save up! It is a huge sacrifice but it needed to be done. I’m researching every way possible to try to budget, cut on spending, pay off debt and save!

  35. Ann says

    I am going to try and meal plan more to hopefully cut down on last minute eating out.

  38. Caroline Schafer says

    We have down sized a lot! We are couponing and doing things Dave Ramsey style (as we like to call it). I am finally finishing my college education (no student loans) and have a child with Celiac Disease. I have learned how to make things cheaper than the gluten-free company’s sell them for. Serious time management and organization, all of which I’m still trying to master! I am an avid reader and I do so love to save money. In fact, I got a coat at Old Navy yesterday, a $70 coat for $12.60! Yep, I had a coupon and it was marked down even more! I was so excited!! Ok, thanks for letting me share how I’m saving money. : )

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