When I started this site back in January 2009 (wow – that seems like SUCH a long time ago), I did so to help families get deals at the store and to help educate people on how they could get out of debt.
It has been seven years of blogging. Some things change and some things stay the same.
BACK TO THE BEGINNING….
Shortly after I started the site, I changed a lot of my focus to strictly deals. I posted coupons, in-store and even on-line deals. I also shared freebies and other great offers which would save all of you money. I always shared ideas to get out of debt, but that was not most of my focus. It really was about the coupons and the deals.
When I first started, I had fun. I mean a LOT of fun! When I would find a super hot deal at the store, I was as excited to share it with you as I know you were to go grab it! This was the same with discounts and offers I found on line as well. It was a thrill to track down the deal and let you all know so you could grab it too. Anyone else remember those days?
As time has gone on, things have changed. If you use coupons, you are probably well aware that the deals we were finding even 3 years ago are not found very often. Due to the influx of couponers and shows, such as Extreme Couponing, many stores have had to make drastic changes to coupon policies. It has greatly affected the way you shop with the coupons and the offers you may find.
THE PASSION WAS FADING….
Last summer, I really noticed a shift happening. The deals were just not really there as often as they were in the past. Yes, there still were deals, they just were not as good as they once were. That affected my passion. The flame was slowly dying. I knew I did not want to stop sharing, but I had to figure out something. I had to find that fire that kept me doing this.
I started doing a lot of praying. I mean a lot of praying. I asked the Lord to give me direction. I asked him to guide me so that I would do what was right. He started to show me the way. I began to listen to him.
I FOUND THE PASSION AGAIN….
I learned that my passion in life had changed. What was once an obsession about a great deal or coupon, had shifted to just wanting to enjoy life. I did not want to spend a lot of time clipping coupons and looking for deals. Instead, my focus had shifted to my family.
That didn’t mean I was not still interested in saving money. After all, it is in my blood. However, the change took me from wanting to clip the coupons to just being smarter with my money and making that work for me. It meant I was in the kitchen cooking with the kids. We started doing more things together. I realized that I found my new balance.
Life. Family. Finances.
When I was able to find that, I found myself again. I started to find the passion I once had. I began finding new crafts and things to do with the kids. I tracked down and created fun new recipes so that our family could enjoy family dinners together. I still kept finding new ways and ideas to help us save money.
As I did this, I began to share that with all of you. And, it seems, you all appreciate it too. We’ve seen a lot of great response to what we are doing and for that, I am grateful.
If I don’t love what I do, then why am I doing it? Life is too short to do something you do not love. I did not start this site for any other reason than to feed my soul. I was lucky to find that again.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO MY READERS??
The focus of the site has shifted slightly. Where before, I was all about money, I am more than that now. I am about living the best life you can with ideas to simplify and make it better. I share my own parenting struggles and ideas to help us all be better at this job (which we know has no owner’s manual). However, I am also still about saving money, as I just can’t give that up.
You will now see more recipes and crafts. You will see ideas to help you make tasks easier, keep your home organized and make cleaning go more quickly. I will still continue to share ideas to help you save money, work on your budget and get out of debt. We are still here to help you save money – we’ve just added more to what we offer.
As a result, you will also see us sharing more of this same type of content on our Facebook page. Just as you are not interested in only one thing in your life, the same is true on our Facebook Page. We share uplifting stories, parenting struggles, recipes, hacks, funny things in life and of course – money saving ideas.
We are still here sharing ideas…we are just sharing more with you than we have in the past.
WHAT ABOUT THE DEALS?
Before any of you worry about the deals, please do not. There is this part of me which will always love the coupons and the deals. You can’t just stop doing that when you’ve done it your entire life. That is just not possible.
The deals are still here, they are just no longer on our home page. If you are looking for those posts, just click on the Coupons & Deals menu at the top of the site. We’ll take you there and you can then narrow down the deals by coupons, in the store offers and discounts you can find on-line. You may also want to join our Facebook Group where we share ALL of the coupons, offers and deals — all day long!
THANK YOU
I know that change is not always easy. That is why we have been making this very slow transition over the past year. We did not want to just change things overnight. We are still here. We are still helping you save money. However, like I said, we are offering you even more than that.
I appreciate so much that you take the time to visit my site every day. I love the comments (I read every one of them and try to respond to each one personally). I get many emails and also email everyone back. I love the support I have from readers, many of you who have been with me since the beginning.
I look forward to the future and sharing this with all of you and hope you all stick with me for the journey.