About Me

All About Me

Welcome, welcome, welcome! I am so excited that you have joined me. I figured we should start out with a little background, get to know you session. So I decided to write it up in question/answer form.

What's your family like?

I am a stay at home mom of two rambunctious boys. Born in '07 and '09 they keep my life pretty full. We are expecting out third around the middle of '12 and honestly, I am hoping for a girl but a boy would be welcomed as well. My husband and I have been married for going on 6 years. We meet and dated mostly long distance. I was away at college while he went to college here. After a year, I gave him the ultimatum of either marriage or we would need to split up. Long distance it taxing!

Did you go to school?

Yep, I did two years at Brigham Young University in Utah. I loved it. It was so much fun. Then once the hubby and I got married I permanently staying here in Minnesota and finished another two years at a community college. I couldn't decided on nursing or bio-medical engineering and when I finally finished all my nursing pre-reqs, I applied to programs but didn't get into any. I decided that was my sign that I need to focus on my family not my education. That was a huge sacrifice because I love school and learning.

What made you decided to start couponing?

Well, after I decided that schooling wasn't for me, I took a job as a leasing agent. I worked there for a year but then, I got pregnant with the second crazy, so my husband and I decided to take a huge pay cut, and have me quit. We went from a really good job and a job to just a job. I felt that I was most needed in the home, which later on would prove true because the oldest has needed special education since then. Now we were down to a very minimal income. I had recently taken a class through our church that explained couponing in its most basic forms. I decided one day to look more seriously into it, got hooked and haven't looked back since. That was about the summer of '09.

Funny story, since I started couponing while we lived in an apartment building I figured the recycling bins would be a perfect place to find extra coupon inserts. So every recycling pick up day, I would walk around and dig through them, trying to find the coupons. What made it even more funny was that I was about 7 months pregnant. I must have looked so strange!

What has been your biggest savings?

Probably the biggest savings I have done was when I went to Rainbow and saved around 90% on a huge amount of groceries. Normally however, I can save around 60-70% on groceries that feeds our family of four plus stores some for a rainy day.

What would you consider a good deal?

A good deal to me is to get spending $1.00 or less on any given item. Obviously free is always best but if it costs more then $1.00, I don't buy it.

How have you changed since couponing?

Well, I would have to say, I am more serious about saving money. I love to spend and I found a way to shop more but spend less. I also have been more comfortable sticking up for myself. I know the coupons rules and I don't let cashiers tell me otherwise. I have more patience for those who take a long time in line at the store. Sometimes, I am that person. I have had to learn to eat what I buy and not to be brand specific. Couponing has become a way of life for me.