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Hi everyone! In my opinion, part of what makes a great blog is reader participation. This is especially true for a Couponing and Deal blog like ours. Good Deals don’t just find themselves. It takes all of us working together to “spread the wealth of deal knowledge”. I know that we are still new in the world of online deal blogging, but my hope is for our reader participation to continue to grow. Our goal is to become a resource to you, so you can not only stop-by to check out the current deals, but also share your successes and even frustrations with everyone else!
So, in the spirit of getting to know each other and embarking on the frugal lifestyle together I’d love to hear more about where you are in your “couponing journey” and how far you have come since you started. Are you just starting in couponing? Are you a seasoned deal seeking veteran? Or are you somewhere in between? Why do you choose to live the frugal lifestyle, and how has it benefited your family in 2009?
Thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time respond! I’m excited to get to know you all!
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I’ll start…
Hi my name is Jennie! I along with my Best Friend in the whole wide world, Alyssa, created this blog, Bargain Blessings. We started our couponing journey together in March of 2009. I cannot even begin to tell you how much our finances have been affected as a result of living the “frugal lifestyle”. We have worked very hard to successfully build a stockpile of groceries and toiletries that I must say has grown beyond my wildest imagination.
I am so thankful for this exciting “hobby” and that is why I wanted to share it with others through this blog. God tells us to be faithful and sensible stewards of our (his) money and recourses and I can think of no better way!
By cutting our grocery and household expenses by what I estimate to be 80-90% during 2009 we have been able to save up enough to:
- Fund our entire Emergency Fund
- Pay off our car loan
- Re-carpet our house (who knew carpet was so expensive!)-and yes, I said we saved it, but we still have to do it…I’m dreading moving everything around to have it done!
- Start a vacation fund
- Pay for almost all of our Christmas gifts
- Remain completely debt free (other than our mortgage)
We are SO Blessed! And that is just what can be done in one year! So, if you are brand new to couponing I encourage you to dive in…ask lots of questions…and have fun with it! Couponing sure isn’t like it used to be and we are taking it by storm!
Please don’t be shy and post a comment…even if it is just to say hello!
Donna says
I am usually a pretty good bargain hunter at the grocery and make my menu's from the sales. Then I noticed the Managers Meat Special sections at our local grocery and love to find meat bargains. I am also back to coupons and really like to combine them with sales to get goodies for almost nothing. We too have shelves bulging with our finds! I had my husband remove a small cabinet in our laundry room and put a shelving unit in its place to hold more groceries. Also turned a broom closet into a small pantry.
This year we have been able to re-floor the downstairs, buy a new oven, pay for a Mission Trip for 3 of us to Honduras (in Jan), paid cash for Christmas gifts, & funded our emergency fund.
I've also taken free classes through the county extension office & learned canning, preserving & freezing techniques.
Love to read about everyones bargains! My biggest, hugest bargain this year was hitting an awesome sale at JC Penneys a couple of weeks ago. 4 racks of ladies clothes were marked .97 each…got my girls 12 tops & one pair of shorts for 13.50!
*~*~*Bargain Blessings*~*~* says
lol…Christina…I just had to say I laughed when you mentioned the shelving system in the basement becuase I've totally been there done that…and now all those are full too…what to do?!?!! 🙂
DH keeps telling me we are going to have to start rows of shelves in the basement so I can say…"babe, could you go grab me some BBQ Sauce in isle 3 please"!
Ben and Christina says
I started coupon-ing a month ago, and I have to say I was a total skeptic. I did NOT think this would work. I saw others do it and I would think, "well, I am glad they can, but I can't." Then, I saw a close friend tell me how much money she was saving. I told her I shopped for store brand and that saved me money. She looked at me and said, "but I get name brand for free."
In one month, I saved almost 200 in groceries AND my cupboards were literally overflowing! I have to get a new shelving system installed in our basement to put all of the food I am able to get! I can't even tell you what a huge blessing that is for a stay-at-home mom.
What will we do with the extra money? Get our emergency supply established- put the money in the bank to save for a rainy day! How wonderful will it be to not have to worry about money?!? Thank you for blessing us by all that you do!!!
raebuggy says
Hey, I am Alyssa and I help run this blog. I am proud to, hopefully, start helping other save.
The savings light bulb went off the beginning of this year, for me. I always used coupons but only saved very little. I also would buy in bulk, thinking I was saving and I was, off retail, but it still wasn't enough. I knew there had to be more I could do to save for my family and we had a new little one to diaper and feed. I had to rethink all of what I thought was smart shopping.
I am so blessed to have learned how to do live this frugal lifestyle. In the Bible (sorry, I know not everyone reading this is a Christian) it says when we honor God with our money our "barns will be filled with plenty and our presses with burst with new wine" or "my cup runneth over". I do believe that one way of honoring God with my money is by using it wisely. Literally, I don't have a barn or drink wine but my family's home is bursting with abundance so much that we can continue to bless others even with our own financial situation we face. So that is how it has benefited my family in 2009 and why I choose to live the frugal lifestyle.
I am sure I still have a lot to learn but at least I enjoy doing it and I have a great friend to do it with;)
Mindy Lu says
Hi, I have been couponing with Grocery Game for over 5 years and still LOVE it. Less than 2 months ago, I was laid off, and for the first time in a long time, have to watch every dollar, literally. I stumbled across one saving blog, which led me to another, which led me to another and so on. I am LOVING, learning even more about saving. I am sharing with friends as I learn. Since I am not working and have more time to web search, I am thinking of volunteering to help my busy mom friends do their shopping with their coupons and helping them save too. This is GREAT!
Mindy Lu in S. Cal.