Growing up my family always purchased new. Never did we think to try to fix something ourselves. This gets costly and in my adult life has contributed to a great deal of debt!

For the 8 years that we have been in our home, never have we had to replace any of the appliances or other major items in the home. Until this month...


All At Once

First - the water heater!
Next - the dryer!
Also - Our vacuum (now this is not major but still couldn't believe it broke down on us so soon!)

3 months ago my response to these items would have been...let's go and buy a new one. Yet, while finally taking control of our finances and getting a hold of our debt, the response has changed to "can WE fix it?"

Fix-it Felix (or Andre!)

My wife simply asked the question...do you think we could fix it? So we attempted to do things ourselves and save a few bucks:

Vacuum - took it completely apart and finally fixed it! Saved = $200-$300.00

Dryer - took it completely apart and fixed (with the help from YouTube!) Saved = $500-$1,000.00

Water Heater - we had to get help on this one due to being a gas heater, but did some labor ourselves. Saved = $100 off labor!

Total Savings = nearly $1,000.00

It felt good to save money and avoid debt! As much as I hope our items last a bit longer, I look forward to future challenges and savings opportunities!!!

What have you had to fix yourself and what did you save?

We may have family. We may have friends. We may have co-workers or acquaintances. But, do we have a "Money Buddy?" What is a Money Buddy? How can having one help you get out of debt?

Roller-coaster of Resolve

During our journey to get out of debt, we ARE going to have highs and lows. Take this month as an example. By successfully using the power of NO, I was able to pay off 2 credit cards. Yet, my spending habits started to go back to their old ways the further into the month I went. Evidence of this can be seen in my January Debt report, as found in my "Sites I Enjoy" area. It seems as time goes on, our resolve begins to weaken at times.

Have you found this to be the case in your life? I know I certainly see it happen in many areas of my life...diet/health, work, family, and even personal finances. Yet, while having dinner with some friends, I had one of them ask me, "How did you do this week?" This was such an amazing question to have asked. Why?

The Power of a Question

First we must discuss why my friend would even ask me such a question. During previous time spent together, I explained how motivated my wife and I were to finally take control of our finances and get out of debt. By sharing this with my friends, they quickly jumped on board providing an environment of collaboration and support!

Fast forward to the dinner referenced above and the powerful question..."How did you do this week?" Having that friend or support system checking up on you can be such a great motivator in getting or staying on track! At the end of that conversation, my friend stated how we were "Money Buddies!" I liked the sound of that. We were not only helping ourselves but helping each other.

Who is Your Money Buddy?

So who is your Money Buddy? Do you have a friend or family member in a similar situation as you? Could you join forces with them to conquer the debt? Here are some quick tips on activities you could put into practice:

1. REVIEW who could be your Money Buddy
2. SET goals together to work towards
3. Once per week REVIEW your progress on goals
4. Find creative ways to stay on track, such as JOINING the 52 Week Money Challenge

The debt may be ours but we don't have to eliminate it alone. A Money Buddy can go a long way in helping us stick to our resolve to get out of debt. I want to hear from you...Who is your Money Buddy? What activities do you do with them to stay on track?

I have found many Money Buddies here in the SA community and thank all for their posts and personal finance blogs!