Welcome to Centsable Savings Stories and Struggles! Each week, a different person shares the story of how she (or he) became a frugal shopper, complete with triumphs and struggles. In sharing these stories, I hope that you find encouragement and motivation to keep on finding those deals and cutting costs. This week, Renae from Madame Deals is sharing her story. Renae was inspired to start extreme couponing at a little store named CVS. I wonder how many others out there became hooked on savings thanks to CVS?
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 Family
I am a mom to two boys; my oldest is almost three and my youngest just turned one. I am a native Californian but married and east coast man. When we decided to have children, we settled on moving back east for the more affordable living. I want to spend as much time as possible with my boys. I knew that living in California would not give me the opportunity to work part time. Thus, Virginia is where we landed. I do work part time as a Registered Dental Hygienist. The balance is quite nice as I get to spend a majority of my time with my boys but I also get the adult interaction I need.
How My Savings Story Began
I have always been a coupon user. While growing up, I can remember using coupons or bargain hunting with my mom. I was taught to never pay full price and to shop at consignment shops. Garage sales were a favorite past time for my mom and me. The tradition has been carried on with my boys. When I met Amee, the co-author of our blog, I discovered the world of designer clothes. I never thought I would be one to wear designer clothes. Who buys jeans for $150? Well, now I am wearing those $150 jeans that I bought for $4.00. It turns out that Goodwill is an amazing place to find your designer clothes. And when you have a personal shopper like Amee, your closet fills up fast for a fraction of the price!
It wasn’t until a year ago that I started “extreme couponing” as I call it. So why did I start extreme couponing? Well, a CVS opened a few miles from my house. I heard some friends from my mom’s group talking about how they were making money by buying items at CVS. I am never one to miss a bargain, so I looked into it. What a whole new world for me! It took me awhile to learn the ropes. I also had to realize that not all extra care buck generating items are a good deal. You have to know your prices, save all of your coupons and develop a strategy to use those money off coupons.
About the time I discovered CVS, my husband’s job had slowed down a bit. He installs and refinishes hardwood floors. I decided to see how we could cut our budget to prepare for the slow down. It took me some time, but I have now cut our weekly spending to under $100. Now, that figure accounts for all of our household needs, food, two kids in diapers, toiletries, makeup, etc. Some weeks I don’t even spend the $100. For my grocery bill, I usually save anywhere from 50-80%. I have become good at stockpiling and figuring out the rock bottom deal for an item. I am at the point now that I don’t always get the free toothpaste. It can be overwhelming to stock upon every free or cheap product. So, my new rule is to keep only a six month supply or donate the items.
The Beginning of Bargain Blogging
In April, Amee approached me about starting a blog. I had wanted to do one for some time but I felt that I didn’t have the time to invest to make it successful. We decided that a partnership would help us both. Madame Deals was born mid April and we have been full speed since then. We have held two successful coupon workshops, and we have several more in the works. We have also been busy developing our coupon organizer system which will be available online very soon.
My current struggles with being a coupon shopper, a mommy, a blogger, a wife, and a dental hygienist is actually cutting my coupons! Yes, it is very ironic; I am teaching people how to get organized and then I fail to do it myself! There are just not enough hours in the day to do it all!
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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