label/centsable savings stories

Welcome to Centsable Savings Stories and Struggles! This week, Kristi from Spend Less and Save More is sharing her story.

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I honestly think that it was the game of couponing that got me started. I have always been a puzzle girl and have enjoyed arranging all of the parts in order to create the finished product. In college I dabbled in Stage Management and to this day I organize my block’s Block Party. I enjoy the puzzle of it all. So I think couponing came very naturally to me. It is an ongoing puzzle that changes regularly.

I think couponing is really fun and I have tried to get others excited about it. When I had my first child, my husband and I realized that we had to stop eating like college students (anyone else been there?). I quickly realized how expensive shopping was and how much of our money was going into healthier food. I have always enjoyed using coupons at restaurants, but I had never done it with food before. Once I started collecting coupons (from online, the newspaper, samples, etc) it occurred to me that I could get my best deals by matching the sales prices with my coupons. And a couponer was born.

Ever since then I have tried to inflict my coupon mentality on those around me. I love to share the deals I find and teach others how to coupon. I started my blog fairly recently as a way to keep myself couponing and help others save money. My personal couponing/saving challenge is to bring more money into my household than I am spending. I am a Chicago based stay-at-home mom of two, but have always found little ways of making money. I do focus groups. mystery shopping, and money making shopping scenarios that produce some income. I have included and will include much of this information in my blog so that other people can do the same.

There are two things that I try to do with my couponing other than keep my house stocked with groceries: donate and stockpile for later. I donate a fair amount of what I buy to my local shelters, homes, and my family. I guess I don’t “donate” to my family, but they have all had a strict talking to about never buying toothpaste again!! But in terms of the shelters and homes, they can really use the stuff and do I REALLY need all 25 shampoos I just bought during the latest money making deal?

As far as stockpiling for later, I try to think ahead. My two kids will have birthday parties and my son is in preschool. I will be required to bring things like paper towels and tissues to preschool and have snacks, juice, etc at birthday parties. Things like this come up all of the time and I stockpile with these things in mind.

I have to be honest, I LOVE couponing and figuring it all out. It is really fun for me and it’s fun for me to share it with others. My goal is to get everyone excited about shopping for free!

Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at becentsable[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.

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Welcome to Centsable Savings Stories and Struggles! This week, Michelle from I Heart Publix and I Heart Saving Money is sharing her story. I loved reading Michelle’s story because she clearly explains how learning to save on groceries taught her to look for ways to save in other areas. Savings tactics that will lower your grocery bill by 50% will also save you hundreds when you apply them to other areas.

As I was unloading my weekly haul from the grocery store I happened to catch a television report about a woman who spent a few dollars at the grocery store for an amazing amount of groceries. I watched in disbelief and amazement as she had many more bags of groceries than I had brought in from my weekly visit. I was in complete awe at the fact that this woman spent less than $10 for her entire purchase while my pitiful receipt crumpled in my purse read over $250. I immediately ran to my computer and began searching. I found pages and pages of sites all dedicated to coupons and saving money. I felt like I was stepping into a different world.

I spent a few hours that day glued to the computer reading and learning about coupons and saving money. At first it seemed that I was on another planet—these sites were filled with lingo and shorthand that was completely foreign to me. I remember telling my husband that I was going to join a coupon cult full of crazies! It wasn’t long until I realized these women were not crazy they were incredibly smart and resourceful! I was hooked.

Every week I learned more and every week my grocery bill decreased. Soon my savings started to spill over into all my other spending habits. I learned the importance of stockpiling and buying multiples when the deals were really good. With two small boys I found that we were constantly going to birthday parties and buying a $20+ dollar present seemed to be a weekly occurrence! Once I hit my first toy clearance I bought many gifts for the typical cost of one gift. Within a few months I had enough birthday and holiday gifts to cover the majority of people on my shopping list at a fraction of the price I could have spent had I purchased only when I “needed” the item!

Having two growing children that seem to need new clothing on a weekly basis–I knew there was a way to save on clothing too. I never realized that most clothing stores offered incentives and/or coupons that could be used on sale and clearance items. I found that buying clothing off season was a fantastic way to get a complete wardrobe for the cost of one outfit bought in season. It is much more cost effective to buy a polo at the Gap when there is a 30% coupon that will reduce the already clearance price of $6 and then store it until the appropriate season. Like most deals, timing is critical. Finding the best time to buy is what can make or break the budget.

Recently I have started to focus on reducing the costs of our utilities. Most companies don’t advertise the fact that they will negotiate pricing. Cable companies, phone companies and even standard utilities will often reduce prices if you ask. I found that by doing some calling around to get competitor pricing will often give you an upper hand as most companies would rather reduce costs to keep you as a customer. If a company will not budge on pricing there is always an option to go with another provider!!

With a little effort it is possible to save in all areas of spending. If you take time to look around, you will find deals and coupons for groceries, clothing, furniture, fine dining, fast food, travel, vacation deals and more!!

Saving money has become a way of life. I am constantly looking for ways to save money while maintaining a comfortable lifestyle for my family. I started providing deals here and there to a few friends via email. After a while I decided that a website would be a more efficient way to pass on savings and deal ideas. That little idea has now blossomed into two websites that have completely surpassed my expectations in less than 6 months! I Heart Publix is devoted to getting the best deals at once of the best grocery stores in the South. I Heart Saving Money covers more local and national stores and offers as many deals and ways to save that I can find.

Right now I am able to provide for my family on a budget of $40 (or less) per week. There is some effort involved —but it is worth it. My budget is not set in stone and I allow myself to make mistakes and even splurge on occasion. When I think back to my life before coupons—I cringe at how much money I threw away! I have several advanced degrees and thought myself to be an intelligent person. But apparently I missed couponing 101 in grad school! I am determined to teach my children the importance of saving and making wise decisions involving money. I am very proud of the example I am setting for my boys. At ages 2 and 3, both of my boys are getting lessons on making smart financial choices. I can’t help but giggle when my 3 year old happily states, “We don’t need that! It’s not on sale!” as he put an appealing toy back on the shelf.

I think back to that gal I saw on TV not so long ago and I can’t help but smile as now I am the one doing interviews on TV and have cameras following me as I shop. Hopefully, I am able to show people that saving money is possible and actually can be quite fun!

Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at centsable.chrissy[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.

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Welcome to Centsable Savings Stories and Struggles! Each week someone shares the story of how she became a frugal shopper and what difference it has made in her life. This week, Kacey from Kacey’s Coupon Corner is sharing her story.

If you’d like to share your story, I’d love to hear from you. Please email me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail.com. More details are at the end of this post.

I have always been pretty frugal with grocery shopping. I would generally buy the store brand if it was cheaper than the name brand, and every once in a great while I would splurge on a brand name snack. I would hear how people would save money by shopping smart, or shopping with cash, but I thought I was already shopping “SMART.” I never used coupons on anything unless it was the exact thing that I bought anyway. I never knew there were coupons in the paper and never looked very far into it because, in my opinion, saving $0.55 on an item that cost $1.99 was not worth buying when I only spent $1.24 on the generic brand.

Wel,l low and behold, I was not only wrong but way wrong. One day back when I used to pay for DVR (I’ve now come to know of a little site called hulu.com if I really need to watch a show) I used to record Dr. Phil. I never really watched the show but my husband did (don’t tell him I told you that). He was watching the episode when Ashley from Frugal Coupon Living was on telling how she saved 75% consecutively on her grocery bill. My husband told me it was a really good show and to watch it. A couple days later I did.

Let me just say, my husband now feels neglected and cheated on with online coupon sites, newspapers, and blogs and sometimes wishes he could have his wife back (okay it’s not that bad:) He is so supportive and is so proud I’m saving money for our family.

My world has completely changed. My garage has now become a recycle bin in itself, my extra bedroom is now my personal store, and my car no longer has room for a stroller because my coupon binders and bins are in its place. I’m sure like every other coupon shopper I just cringe when I am unprepared and have to buy something at….yeah I’m gonna say it retail.

My first shopping trip was to Walgreens where I spent $33 and saved $101. WOW, I was hooked. I love a challenge, and coupon shopping provides this for me because it is always a challenge to see how much I can save. I am yet to save 100% exactly, but I have hit 99% twice so far. I am in awe at how little I knew about the world of coupons and am so thankful that my husband watches Dr. Phil:) I now use our extra money to pay for the things that we want to enjoy and couldn’t before. I’ve been able to stockpile so many things and feel a lot more prepared in this unsteady economy. (You can see a pic of Kacey’s impressive stockpile below.)

I of course have to tell everybody and anybody who will listen to me why they need to shop with coupons (or vouchers as my dentist would say, because coupons sound cheap I decided to start Kacey’s Coupon Corner for all the beginners that lived in my area. I couldn’t find any other blog that was dedicated to the Grand Junction area, and we seemed to have a lot different sales even if the store was the same. I now provide full ad scans for Albertsons, City Market, and Safeway, and highlight many others, and I really enjoy helping everybody else save money, too. I’m not sure whats more exciting: saving 99% on my own bill or listening to my friends and readers tell me about how much they saved.

I am definitely more frugal in all other areas as well. I feel like I’ve always been very money conscious when it comes to buying non grocery items, but with the knowledge I have now, I feel like the deals just got SWEETER.

I’ve learned how to shop with online codes that I had no idea about before I started using coupons. I would always just go to Walmart and buy everything there because I always thought it was cheaper. I was so wrong in that area. I hardly ever go to Walmart anymore. I’ve learned that other stores have great deals or closeout items, and that if you just wait for the sale you can get things for so much cheaper. I’ve learned to appreciate yard sales. I refill my ink instead of buying new. I go to the restaurants or food joints that I have coupons for instead of just going where I feel. My friend and I have kids that are little and we swap all of our clothes and baby items. I’ve switched to cloth diapers. I check out books from the library instead of buying them. I am part of a dinner group. (We make 12 freezer meals and then swap so we have 12 different dinners….best idea ever.) I borrow things from friends that I may only need once in a great while, and I always make sure and return the favor. I just go without if I don’t really need it although I do splurge once in awhile on the things that make me really happy.

I don’t know where I read it but someone said “Don’t reinvent the wheel, just make the wheel work for you” which is so true. For example, for dinner, instead of making what you feel like, feel like making what is on sale at the store or in your pantry. Just learning this concept is what has changed the way I spend my money.

I am also super excited about being able to donate. I have always paid tithing to my church and felt like I was doing my part, but now that I have so much excess it feels so good to be able to give to women’s shelters and people in real need of them. That is really exciting. Even sharing with my friends or family is awesome because I don’t think twice about it. If they need something I grab it off of my shelf and hand it over.

P.S. If anybody tries to tell you that I dove in the dumpster for a bag full of Sunday Papers I’ll deny it till the day I die (or at least until I stop couponing….which is one in itself).

P.P.S. It had five inserts that week!!!! Gimme a break people!

Kacey’s stockpile after 4 months of couponing

Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.

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Frugal living hasn’t always been a way of life for my husband and me. We’ve always watched what we were spending to a point; however, I was working outside the home and used that money for groceries and other items when we were first married. Now we have a set grocery budget each month and do our best to stick to it! Some months are more difficult than others, but keeping within our budget has become a challenge for me, and I love a challenge. Since I started couponing, I actually have started coming in under budget most months. We put aside the extra money to buy other fun stuff or we save the money for a trip!

In May 2007, our first child was born and that meant I was no longer working outside the home. Since we only had one income, we had to take a closer look at our expenses. That’s when we began a monthly food budget. It was a change! Not only was our budgeted amount much lower than what we were spending before but it also included diapers and other baby necessities!

Over the next year and a half I had to be creative, but thankfully we had a store with low prices on fresh produce, dairy, and canned foods. I always thought generics were cheaper and didn’t think I would ever end up buying the items for which I had coupons. Boy, was I wrong!

In February 2009, I was searching for ideas to stretch my dollar. Our second child was born in January so now I had two children in diapers and the same grocery budget. I came across a money saving blog and learned the ropes of couponing. A few months later, we moved to the Denver area and I began subscribing to the Sunday Denver Post. Now I get coupons every week, and I love it. In addition to clipping coupons, other methods I use for saving money are using generics, buying only what we need, and shopping clearance, garage sales, or second hand stores.

I started DenverMetroMoms in hope that I can reach out to the Denver area and other areas and help families save money. I know times are hard for a lot of people and that every penny makes a difference. My goal with DenverMetroMoms is to teach people how to live comfortably and have fun saving money. My husband and I have vowed to be debt free and would love to help others do the same. Bargain shopping and clipping coupons takes me a little extra time before I head to the grocery store, but it’s definitely worth it. By using the shopping lists available you should be able to save up to 50% or more on your monthly grocery bill as I have.

Other methods I use for saving money are using generics, buying only what we need and shopping clearance, garage sales or second hand stores.

What would you do if you had extra cash and less stress about money? Take a look at DenverMetroMoms today!

Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.

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Welcome to Centsable Savings Stories and Struggles! This week Natalie from South Dakota Deal Seekers is sharing her story. Natalie was not born a frugal person and her story is proof that anyone can learn to be a bargain shopper! I especially love the lessons she has learned through frugal living. Thanks for sharing, Natalie.

If you’d like to share your story, I’d love to hear from you. Please email me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail.com. More details are at the end of this post.

My name is Natalie, and I’m a 38 year old wife and mother to one preschooler with a baby on the way.

Who was I before couponing?

I’ve never been a frugal person – just the opposite. I’d always spent every dime I had as soon as I could. I had never saved even $10, ever, in my whole life. I had never written a purchase down in a check register. I never had a budget, and I never considered if I could afford something before I bought it.

Money meant nothing to me. It was the ultimate intangible.

I had no idea what the price of anything was. I couldn’t have come within $3 when guessing what a jar of peanut butter or a pound of ground beef cost. I didn’t know that prices change from week to week or from store to store.

I simply NEVER looked at a price.

I never shopped a sale, never menu planned, never asked for a discount, never used a coupon, or any kind of store loyalty or frequent shopper/diner program. If someone offered me a discount, I turned it down. I didn’t need a discount – I had money.

I ate at the best restaurants, ordered the most expensive food and drink, shopped for top of the line, name brand, department store, salon, boutique, specialty, high end. I bought lavish gifts, and picked up the tab for the whole group often. I guarantee you I never, ever bought a generic item in my life.

What inspired me to change?

Life arranged a perfect storm for me. All at once, my daughter arrived, we dropped my nearly 6 figure income so I could stay home with our baby, but we had no budget or expense reducing plan in place. We started hemorrhaging money at an unbelievable rate due to two adoptions and three moves in four years, each with home sale/purchase in a declining housing market. We had one very good income and good savings and could actually keep pace for a while. For a while.

About eighteen months ago, we had drained every asset we could justify, and it was pretty obvious I had to go back to work. (We did not take on debt, thank heaven) However, I knew I belonged at home with my child. I was dragging my feet, postponing the job hunt.

At this time, I somehow stumbled onto one of the popular money saving websites. I remember writing about it on my personal blog at the time. I was dumb-founded. I actually called it “magic” — how could anyone spend so little on food, household items and diapers? It didn’t seem possible. I spent more than $40 a week on just soda and coffee at the time. What I was reading was just crazy talk.

I spent days and days just linking to and reading frugal and money saving site after frugal and money saving site. I remember writing a post, again on my personal blog, titled, “I buy my bread at the store, OK?” I still could not understand why everyone made their own bread, tortillas, laundry detergent, etc. etc. I really just could not make any of this click in my head. It couldn’t have been more difficult for me to understand if it was written in a language I did not know how to read.

When there is no where to go but up, everything is progress.

I remember my first coupon buy – Fast Fixin’s Dino (Chicken) Nuggets. I got 7 bags free at Walmart after coupons. The cashier was begging me to tell her how I did it. I got the adrenaline rush. I was hot, COUPON HOT, baby! Never mind we don’t eat chicken nuggets. I still have some of those original 7 bags in my freezer today.

From there I tried one thing and then another. I made huge progress quickly. That was the thing that kept me going – so much savings could be had so easily. Even when I missed meeting a goal, I had still saved a tremendous amount.

I loved the challenge of the drug store game and started there. Little by little it carried over into my food buying habits, and I now have it down to about $50/week for everything – including a lot of soda and coffee still and I have a nice (but not huge) stockpile.

Today I am still most frugal with food, diapers, health and beauty products and household cleaning items. I have a lot of savings opportunities to explore in other areas.

How couponing has changed my life

It has deepened my faith. I see clearly that money is not the answer to the question, but rather the trick question that can obscure the one true answer. My lower budget has allowed me to see how the Lord works in my life on a daily basis. We live abundantly, and it isn’t because of money.

I am so much more confident with my place in our home. I no longer feel guilty, like I should be some where else earning money. I can enthusiastically enjoy every minute of my time being at home with my family.

I’ve learned to live on less and go without. I’m simply a different person, as my whole view of acquiring things has changed. In part because I’m older, in part because I’ve had to move everything I own three times in four years, and in part because I see the total cost of it – the cost to acquire it, finance it, store it, clean it, heat it, cool it, move it, run it, dispose of it, the cost. I’m much more selective about what comes into my house now. We experience great gratification in living well on less and with less.

I have completely let go of keeping up with the Jones, doing the next new thing, having the most current or the biggest or the fastest . . . I’ve done all that, and I wasn’t as happy as I am today, and that is a lesson I reflect on every day and certainly with major decision we make.

My husband and I have a renewed relationship as we work together to save money, instead of venting our stress to each other as we worry about our finances.

I am happy. I’m not stressed. I’m not at work, wishing I was at home. I’m not at home, feeling guilty because I should be working. I’m not afraid of what we don’t have or can’t pay. I don’t want anything, but my children, my husband, and our health and safety. I am so grateful for everything we do have, so profoundly grateful, that it is nearly impossible to be unhappy. That’s a nice place to be.

All that from a great sale, with a coupon, and probably a rebate/gift card/catalina in return. That’s a pretty good deal.

Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.

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Welcome to Centsable Savings Stories and Struggles! This week, Julie of Maricopa Mommies is sharing her story. I love Julie’s enthusiasm for saving!

If you’d like to share your story, I’d love to hear from you. Please email me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail.com. More details are at the end of this post.

About Me

I’ve always wanted to be a mommy. In school when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grow up, my response was always, “A mom”. How would I describe myself now? I’m a mom. I love to blog, play Legos, spend way too much money on date nights and I love FREE! Yes, I’m a coupon shopper, guilty! Never will I pay for toothpaste ever again.

I had friend growing up whose mom coupon shopped. I literally laughed in her face. How rude of me, but come on! Seriously? Buying 20 cans of tomato sauce at once? Currently, I have 23 in my pantry. Never would I have believed this day would come.

My Story

Shortly after I married my husband almost 6 years ago I was pregnant. Yippie! Not in the plans yet, but that’s OK! I gave my notice to my job if 5 years, seriously, like the day I was pregnant. I had a plan and I was ready to quit 3 weeks before the baby came. I worked really hard, including getting a second job to prepare financially, keep myself busy and stay physically fit. I had two very physical jobs, and it worked for me!

My beautiful son came and life was blissful. My husband has a very demanding and lucrative job, and I always felt blessed. Then the day came that I was approached by his boss to work for my husband’s company to help out. I did miss my career and mommyhood was rewarding, but the benefits are often hard to see if you’re not counting your blessings. I said yes. Yes to leaving my son 10 hours a day to be raised by another mother. I cried often. It was hard, but I really wanted to be able to buy a house! (California is so expensive!)

Quickly, I was promoted to a management position because of my experience. I was given a great salary and really enjoyed my lunch dates with my work friends and my husband. After 18 months of working I was expecting my second child. Things had to change! I gave my notice, again right after I found out I was pregnant. This time I would be quitting three months before baby #2 — my reasoning was so I could “reconnect” with mommyhood and get the hang of it again. Now that’s just sad. (Looking back, I’m getting very emotional about this. This was a very hard and selfish time in my life.)

Just before my daughter was born I decided to start a blog. Everyone was doing it! On a trip to visit my mother in Arizona, I went to a church activity that had a frugal living class. Little did I know it was cleverly disguised as a coupon class! I loved it! I sucked it all up like a sponge. I wanted the free stuff from the drugstores, I wanted to get baby soap for $0.50 and the diapers for $4! The instructor introduced me to a couple websites (including this one), and I hit the ground running! When I would see the pictures of all the great deals the blog mommies were getting, I wanted it all, too! Stockpiling was amazing to me.

I selfishly shared my new love for coupon shopping with my closest friends because I needed support and cheerleaders. They all loved their new frugal lifestyle, too! During my first trip to Ralph’s a little over a year ago, coupons in hand, I spent $10 on 13 items, including cereals, carpet cleaners, paper plates, popcorn and deodorant. I was hooked! I ran home to blog it! My husband was laughing so hard at me. Some nights after coming home from CVS, I would be cheering, “I MADE MONEY tonight! I got paid to shop!” My husband would look puzzled. Girls’ nights would include a trip for deals at CVS! Date nights would include time for letting me run into Walgreens to shop for free!

Changes

Work moved us to Arizona. It’s sad and hard to accept that some of my coupon buddies and lifelong friends are 300 miles away. Ugh. We talk, I vacation in California and we blog, but I needed coupon buddies here in Arizona! Coupon shopping has become my hobby, my outlet, my life! (Obsessive I know!) Thankfully my sister-in-law is a great source of coupon inspiration and food storage and lives less than a mile away from me! But, I need more friends! So, I decided to start a coupon blog for the mommies in my area. Maricopa Mommies. Yay!

My mother-in-law is grateful that my family blog is no longer infiltrated with coupon shopping and deals. My husband thinks I’m a little crazy for now having three blog. The other one is a recipe blog. My BFF Cari is laughing at my large amount of posts and probably wondering how I find the time. I love to blog. I love to manage my own little community on my computer. I love to use the blog world to get exited about saving money. Oh, and the teacher of the coupon class I originally went to now lives a half mile from me and our boys are friends!

What’s life like now?

I’m a mommy again, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted. I can afford to stay home because I’m willing to clip coupons and shop the sales. That desire to be with my children keeps me motivated to save money! If we hit the lottery, (which would be pretty hard since I’ve never bought a ticket) I think I would still coupon shop. There’s no way I would pay $2.50 for toothpaste. I just can’t do it!

Now, with a family of four and plans for more, I live a frugal lifestyle, and I love it. I shop Fry’s, a Kroger affiliate, Walmart, Target, CVS and Walgreens. I’m not as cheap as I wish. I still waste money on fast food and restaurants, I love expensive things and good steaks. I want a large TV and I like nice cameras, BUT I’m happy with my type of frugal. What’s your type of frugal? If it works for you, stick to it! You don’t have to be 100% cheap! I like my 50%. It works for me. Happy Saving!

Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.

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Welcome to Centsable Savings Stories and Struggles! This week, Kerri from Save at Home Mommy is sharing her story. I think you’ll be inspired by how much Kerri has been able to save, and how couponing has allowed to her stay at home with her daughters. I think you’ll also find it humorous how excited Kerri gets about dishwasher tabs. Read on to find out more.

If you’d like to share your story, I’d love to hear from you. Please email me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail.com. More details are at the end of this post.

Before Christmas last year, my husband and I were faced with a decision. We live in California and rent our home, but we still own a house in Virginia that we have not been able to sell. We were able to pay our bills and keep up but we really wanted to pay off some debt and not have things be so tight. My husband’s pay schedule also changed taking a dent out of our monthly income.

We talked about our options and considered the possibility of me taking on a part time job. While I was willing, it has always been our priority for me to stay home with our two little girls, and I was not looking forward to being out of the home even for a few hours a day. We went to visit family for Christmas and I was shuffling through my mom’s coupon inserts when I saw one for $2.50 off dishwasher tabs. I thought, “Wow, that seems like a lot off”. I snagged her coupon and brought it home with me. When I went to Target a few days later, I saw the same dishwasher tabs on sale and realized I could use the coupon to get them for $0.50 each! I was so excited that I had my mom’s coupon and mine so I could get two boxes.

Now, you have to know that during a very tough time in our lives financially, my husband and I were talking about what small things we deprived ourselves of to save money. Mine was dishwasher tabs. For some reason, I hate pouring the powder in and always said, “Someday, when we have more money I am going to buy dishwasher tabs!” I know that sounds crazy, but when I realized that I could get them so inexpensively, I was more than excited.

I came home and immediately got on the computer and began searching for websites that might help me on my way. I found several and began following their deals and saving my coupons. After a few weeks, I was so excited at the amount of money I was saving. I was telling everyone I knew about my deals. Several friends wanted me to help them and show them what I was doing so I thought maybe a blog would help me get them all the details at once. I decided to call it Save At Home Mommy since that is what I was doing, saving so I could be a stay at home mom! I posted the deals I found and what coupons I used so that other people could do the same thing. I had no idea what that little blog would turn into! I started spending so much time doing it that I realized it was an all or nothing deal. If I was going to spend that much time on it, I needed to do all I could to make it grow. There have been many times along the way that I have thought of stopping and those are the days that I get an email from someone telling me how my site has changed their life. It is then I am reminded why I do all of this.

Needless to say, when I saw how much money I could save, we realized it was better for me to stay home with our girls and save than to take on a part time job. For my first three months, I saved all my receipts so I could track just how much I was able to save. I counted groceries, toiletries, formula, diapers, cleaning supplies and any other small household needs. In March, my total was $406.90, April $368.01 and finally in May $242.58. That means I was able to shave over 1/3 off that part of our household budget even while building quite a stockpile in my food pantry and toiletries. You want to know the best part? I have three boxes of dishwasher tabs in my closet just waiting for me to use them! I have also been able to save that much money while buying the most expensive brands of diapers and other toiletries and not sacrificing quality or favorite foods.

Saveathomemommy.com has grown into a full time job, and I am learning more each day how to balance it with the rest of my responsibilities. I can now easily spot the deals I know my family will use and be in and out of the store in no time, making my shopping much easier and less time consuming. I love seeing all the debt we have paid off, the growing savings account and the extra wiggle room in our monthly budget. I am so glad I saw that one dishwasher tab coupon and the Target sale that started my wonderful journey into coupons! I would love for you to check out www.saveathomemommy.com to see what my little blog has turned into!

Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.

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About Me

I have three kids–5, 3 and 3 (identical twins!). I’m 36 and have been married for 15 years. I’ve worked hard to be able to stay home with my children after being a teacher and budget administrator. I’ve always been a “city girl” and after living in Los Angeles for 16 years, we moved to the Washington DC area in 2006.

How I Started Couponing

I have always been a couponer; it was one of the ways we saved up to pay for our own wedding while working three jobs in college. Although I have always been frugal, I didn’t really get organized about it until after we moved to the DC area. My husband’s new job came with 45% of the salary he had before, and now we had three kids. I started using the internet to save money–printing internet coupons, scoping out deals ahead of time, and planning multi-store runs with a toddler and two infants. I realized I was saving hundreds of dollars a month on diapers, groceries, and toiletries. I was making a huge impact on our family budget all while being a stay-at-home mom.

Now that it’s been two years, I’ve really worked on my systems for meal planning, stockpiling, and couponing so that it’s not a big time issue anymore. My son helps with the coupons, and by staying organized it all fits into a busy week of housework, kid activities and blogging.

How I’ve Helped Others

I started my blog, Moneywise Moms, when I was getting lots of questions from family and friends about how I was finding all these deals. I know that some of these strategies can be time-consuming, so I strive to save my readers’ time by choosing the best deals and explaining in simple language and with humor. Saving so much per month on my groceries and household expenses has allowed me to make weekly and monthly donations to our local food bank, to get my kids involved in helping others, and to donate products to my kids’ schools. I love getting feedback from my readers, and I often receive emails from families telling me how much they’re saving using my strategies. That really keeps me going!

Each week I feature a different shopper’s story. Centsable Savings Stories are the stories of people just like you who are working toward reducing their budgets, bargain hunting, living a more frugal lifestyle and constantly learning along the way. If you are interested in sharing your family’s successes and struggles, please contact me at centsable.katherine[at]gmail [dot]com. Bloggers and non-bloggers are both welcome to participate. Click here to read the stories of shoppers featured in the past.

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