I know we’ve got lots of new readers to the site and sure, you can read the footer and learn a little bit about me, but that doesn’t really cover it. I thought I’d just take a minute and share who I am with all of you!
Before I was married, I wasn’twise with my money. I lived paycheck to paycheck and quite honestly, used credit cards to cover household needs. Yeah – not smart. Of course, when you are twenty-something, you think you know it all. Little do you realize that you’ve got a lot to learn. I learned that one the hard way by having to declare bankruptcy. I’m not proud that I had to do it, but it happened and I have to live with that.
Shortly before my banktruptcy was finalized, I met my husband. We were married on June 7, 2003. The following September, our first daughter was born. We both had talked about me not working once we started our family. In fact, we agreed that we would do what we needed to so that I could stay home and be there for our children. It was a challenge and we had to really stretch our dollars. There were times we had to “rob Peter to pay Paul.” Then, to add to the financial strains, we added another child (or son) in March 2007 [our last child, Charlotte, was born in 2008]. By that fall, we realized that we had to take control of our finances.
We didn’t have a horrible amount of debt…mostly auto and a home equity loan. But, it still was causing us some financial struggles. In November of 2007 we began our financial journey with Dave Ramsey and by February 2010, we were proud to declare that we were debt free.
Between having declared bankruptcy and becoming debt free, I learned some great lessons. I learned that we (my husband and I) were responsible for our financial picture. We couldn’t blame the bank for the loans nor the credit card company for the card. It was up to us how to spend our money. I truly believe that is the first step to financial independence – taking ownership for your actions.
I also learned how to really save when I shopped. I did research, clipped, snipped and put together deals. As I started to do this, I shared them with some on-line friends. They “convinced” me to start a blog and the rest, I guess you could say, is history.
So, why am I telling you this? To me, it is important that you all know me more than just another money saving blog. I want you to understand who I am and my personality. I wanted to remind you that I am very busy with 3 kids and household to run, which is why there may be an occasional typo or incorrect link. I wanted you to understand if a post is short and to the point. I do my best.
I love and appreciate my readers so much. Without all of you, I’d be a mom sitting in my easy chair and typing deals that disappear into the blogosphere and help no one. The best THANK YOU I can ever receive is you sharing what you’ve learned with others. That’s what this is all about after all — saving money to help you live the life you want!