Introducing {Fat Wallet}, A New Series On Saving Money and Finding Deals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ever since I became self-employed, I have a new appreciation for money. I was working hard before, but having to constantly hustle to make the mortgage every month makes you put your Starbucks habit in a new light. I want to make sure we all find ways to make our money stretch, so I had to reach out to Tiffany from YoungWifeandMom.com. She’s been blogging about savings for years now, and her Mailbox Monday posts (go ahead and check ’em out) have me in awe with all the things she manages to get for free each week. I definitely need to step my game up, so I’m glad Tiffany’s on board to share the tips and tricks she’s learned over the years.

I started blogging in January 2010 as a way to pass my day. As a stay at home mom of a newborn, my day pretty much revolved around feedings, changings, and my husband’s class schedule. I know you’re probably thinking, “Class schedule? He must be a teacher?” –  Quite the opposite. He is a student at one of the top engineering universities in the nation. Luckily our daughter was born during his junior year of college, so the journey to graduation has not been too long (he graduates in a few weeks!) It has been anything but easy, though. We live primarily off student loans and the grace of God. When the loans don’t stretch as far as our budget had planned for, money seems to find us in the form of scholarships, grants, miscellaneous donations and the occasional deposit of $20 into my bank account by my loving mother.

Blogging provided me with a way to get little luxuries despite our circumstance. I was finding deals and free items. Then I found tweeting programs and surveys that put money into my bank account to pay for those deals I wanted, but couldn’t otherwise afford. Free magazine subscriptions found their way to my mailbox. After almost 2 years of blogging, and tons of packages later, my family knows that almost everything we own, I received for free! Even the laptop I’m typing this post on was free (brand new), thanks to a freebie which led me to a giveaway that I somehow won!!

My belief on deals is that they’re meant for sharing, especially with social networking sites. The days of keeping your deal finds to yourself are long gone! Blogging helps me not only find deals but share them with others. I generally stick to posting deals that I would buy myself. I wouldn’t want my readers to buy a deal I post and be disappointed. Just being a cheap does not get a deal the spotlight on my blog!

A special thanks to The Young Mommy Life for allowing me to share a little about me today! I look forward to writing for you about saving money, finding good deals and more. Until then stop by and see my sometime on my blog www.YoungWifeAndMom.com. Take care!