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What's the single best decision about money you've made?

The single best decision about money made was to pay my house off early. I have always searched for bargains and used coupons to save money. But the best decision was to tighten up, live frugally, and pay the house off early. My husband and I refinanced for a lower interest rate, paid extra each month, and completely paid our house off in 10 years. Knowing that our children would soon be heading to college and facing huge tuition and living expenses led us to this decision. We now have one out of college, one in his senior year, and our 13 year old heading to college in 5 years. Not having to pay a house payment while paying college expenses for my oldest children has allowed us to save for the youngest one.

Does your child receive an allowance? If so, how much? 

My youngest child will be 14 in September. We pay him $40 a month. For this money he completely cares for our two labs. He unloads and loads the dish washer each day and helps me clean the house on Fridays. Having two older children and learning from my mistakes has helped me in making money decisions with my youngest. He uses his money for extras including games and magazines. He has to save this money for birthday and Christmas presents. He saves and uses his money for extras when we go on vacation. He has learned to budget his money, use coupons, and to set goals. Managing his own money has instilled confidence and helped to teach the value of money.

What's an easy way moms can trim their family food budget?

Look at the items on the front page of the grocery sales flier. These are considered loss leaders and are the items the grocery store is willing to take a loss on to get you into the store. Look at the sale meats each week Also cruise the meat aisles looking for discounts due to expiration dates. If you don't plan to eat the meat that day, take it home and place in your freezer. Eat fruits and vegetables that are in season to save money. Growing a garden is another great way to cut costs. Prices in the grocery stores fluctuate each week. Keep a journal so that you know the sales cycle of each product. You need to know the high and low prices of the items you purchase. For example, you don't want to purchase cereal when it is $5.99 a box. You want to wait until it is $1.99 per box. When the price is at its lowest use a coupon to further lower your out of pocket cost. Shop at stores that double coupons. Using a $0.75 coupon toward cereal in a store that doubles, means getting cereal for only $0.49 per box! When you find these deals, buy enough to last until the next sales rolls around. Sales combined with coupons that double often times means Free. The picture posted above only cost me $0.33 after deals and coupons! And that included tax!