This is my story- part 2

This is part 2 of my story! Sorry to leave you all hanging back here, I honestly felt like our story was getting really long. (Plus, I ran out of time!)

If you missed part 1 of my story, you can read it here. The picture above is of my 3 cuties, at about the time where part 1 of my story ended.

So, to pick up where we left off last October, I had just had a fabulous full month and a half of shopping with coupons. We had really added almost everything we needed for a 3-month supply of food and other essentials.

When my husband told me that they were cutting his pay at work (like almost all of it), we knew it was time to leave. Have you ever read "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson? Well, it's an excellent read if you have not seen it and we knew that our 'cheese' had been moved. My husband went back to hunting for jobs day and night and also selling extra sound & light equipment he had accumulated over the years. Let me just say that ksl.com classifieds have been a good friend!

I was feeling really grateful that we were prepared for this storm. I remember going to Walgreen's one more time to use some Register Rewards and then I STOPPED shopping. Like completely. I was able to draw on our storage from our "family store" and from our freezer. I have videos of these areas of my home here and here. Stocking up really paid off for us.

As the months went on, however, I knew that completely NOT shopping was not going to work. Life goes on, even without a job. Children still need shoes, we still eat every single day (!) and we still have to buy shampoo, toilet paper, soap, etc. (Of course!)

As soon as I found out that The Standard Examiner offered the same coupons as the Salt Lake papers, and that I could pay monthly- I signed up! The small amount of $19.99 a month for 5 papers every Sunday is a very small amount to pay for all the FREE and cheap items you get in return. If you don't know about this deal yet, I can set you up for this amazing price! Read here to find out more.
In January, my husband and I were looking for business ideas. The job market is rough out there, as many of you know, and so we thought that if no one else would give us a job, we would create our own. I wanted to stay at home, for lots of different reasons, but also because my son is in Kindergarten and is still home half of the day.

I don't remember what happened first, but my husband had an idea for me to write an e-book about coupons, I had an idea to start a coupon blog, and the owners at Family Fresh Foods decided to double coupons everyday. I had already been e-mailing friends and neighbors and family about the sweet deals I was finding online. So, I thought it would be best to just start my own blog where people can come if they want to!

I took about 4 days to set the blog up and then I announced it friends and other Utah bloggers. They took notice, especially of the double coupons at Family Fresh Foods, and Savvy Sister Shops began!

This has helped me through these last 7 months of unemployment. It has been a good thing to concentrate on the things that I can do, not on what I can't do. I can't go shopping like I used to and we don't go out to eat. But, I can research the best deals, I can blog, I can still use my coupons to get the FREE and cheapest of cheap deals. It has made me feel great that we have been self-reliant through this time. We truly have had everything we need somehow. That didn't stop a few kind neighbors from being "grocery fairies" and dropping off bags of food at our doorstep. We are grateful for others and their generosity. We are grateful most of all to the Lord for His generosity and guidance.

Savvy Sister Shops is a lot of work and also lot of fun. I didn't dream that I would be able to make so many wonderful friends through a blog! It makes me laugh when I go shopping and people recognize me or say that they already read Savvy Sister Shops.

As far as my husband's job hunt goes, we have a very exciting prospect in the works! I will keep you all posted as soon as we know the final outcome. In the meantime, I hope you will continue to keep reading and following the deals on Savvy Sister Shops. Please tell your friends about Savvy Sister Shops, as well!

I'm not going to stop using coupons or blogging no matter what! It's WAY too much fun!