Are you ready for this? This is the biggest money saving thing we have ever learned and implemented in our financial lives. Since we started following Financial Peace University almost seven years ago, we learned to tell ourselves... ...no! I know!!! Too lazy to cook dinner? Want to spend too much on dinner out or pizza in? Just say no. Tired after a long day and want nothing more than to hit the salon for a mani-pedi? Just say no. Blow through your spending money but now there's a new movie coming out that you just can't wait to see? Say no. Car having a rough time and thinking about trading it up for a newer model with a newer price tag? No! Sounds easy, you say. I know it sounds easy, but have you tried it? It's anything but. When we first started telling ourselves no, the half-grown woman-child inside me started throwing a hissy fit like you wouldn't believe. She'd whine about how much she …

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It has been nearly a year since I took my kids' toys away. No, they won't ever get them all back. But it's not entirely what you think... The Beginning Well over a year ago, I read Ruth's amazing post over on her blog, Living Well, Spending Less, about why and how she took away her kids' toys. I was in awe and, as a mother of two toddlers, totally into the idea. But we had just moved and the girls had a whole room, separate from their bedroom, designated as the playroom. I wanted it to be full of beautiful things and as well organized as those perfect pins I had been collecting for so long. The problem was that this playroom is open to the rest of the house (meaning there are no doors to close in the mess) and, on top of that, it's the first room you see when you walk into our home. Despite my best efforts, the toys …