Me and my daughter
The background:
I am a 28 year old wife and mom of 2 living in a quiet little suburb of Houston Texas. My name is Heather, Mommy, Mama, Sister, Daughter, Aunt, etc etc. I wear many hats.
I’m just going to be honest, until very recently…it was not out of the realm of possibility for me to walk into a grocery store and walk out $250-$300 poorer. Was I buying junk? No…not really. Was I intentionally spending that much money on groceries every week? Absolutely not. I had a budgeted amount to spend. I was just incapable of sticking to it.
So what happened? How did I go from grocery store flunkie to How To Save Money in 7 Days E-Book writer?
You can read in depth about that journey here in Our Story, but the short of it was that I educated myself. I immersed myself in the culture of coupons, bargains and frugal living. I poured over blogs and forums desperate for the answers that would help me get my spending under control. I didn’t even realize just how out of control it was, but the deeper I dug…the more I realized that I was never taught how to shop. I was never educated on how to get the most bang for my buck.
Now I know. I know the value and the power of my dollar. I know that almost everything has a rock bottom price and that you really can buy hundreds of dollars in groceries for dollars and change. I have learned how to triple (at times quadruple) our income within the confines of a salary that actually hasn’t changed all that much in the past year. We are living well within our means. No credit cards. No lingering debt. We are living comfortably. We are living well.
The blog:
The blog is my effort to pay my knowledge forward. To turn this newfound passion of mine into a charitable contribution to society. What I learn, I pass on to my readers. You see, once you start living frugally…life gets really exciting. Why do you think there are so many coupon blogs? Deal blogs? Money saving blogs? Because saving money is exciting. It’s thrilling. It’s too wonderful to be contained and quieted.
I don’t want to just lower your grocery bill though. There is a world filled with savings out there and I want to help you capture it. Every freebie, every frugal healthy recipe, every DIY project…I want to empower my readers to stretch their income in ways they never thought possible. To learn that wealth isn’t about how much money you make, but what you do with the money you earn. Real wealth, the kind that doesn’t come from a windfall or a fancy inheritance, is built bit by bit…penny by penny…deal by deal.
It is my goal, my desire, my duty to share what I learn. Make no mistake, I am nowhere near done educating myself. This is a community…and if you have an amazing idea, I encourage you to share it with me. Educate me. Let’s keep the dialogue going and prove that frugal living is fun living!
So where do you start? I recommend starting here. Need to get in contact with me? No problem, email me heather @ familyfriendlyfrugality dot com
Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope this is the start of a great new friendship.
Thanks for sharing your story Heather and this blog with all of us. I’m a new follower and am looking forward to reading more. Come check me out at my site as well! BTW, love your design who did it?
Thank you! My blog design is by : judithshakesdesigns.com
She’s great!
Hi Heather. I’m visiting your blog from WUC. I started my own blog March 1, 2011. You have an amazing blog and lots of great looking articles and give-aways. I also love your blog design. I’m now following via GFC & Twitter. Hope you will drop by my blog sometime.
Thanks!
KY Klips Blog
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Hi Heather,
We specialize in selling premier balance bikes and cool/funky helmets (Little Nutty Helmets) for toddlers on our site called tykerider.com. We’d love to partner with you as we believe our products would resonate very well with your audience. For example, a Mother’s Day promo of a giveaway with a week long promotion of 10% off with FREE shipping just for your followers could be an idea. Please let me know if partnering sounds good to you and we can work out the details this week.
Best,
Russ Pareti
[email protected]
973.495.0905
Russ, I just saw this. I have an email in my inbox too. I’ll contact you this morning!
I’m so excited I came across your page. I recently became a single mother of 2. A 3 year old and 4 month old. I’m trying to budget wisely and make sure that I’m getting a value everytime I go grocery shopping. But I really don’t know where to start. Can you guide me?:)
Definitely!
Be sure to follow along with my Strategic Shopping Series and also to download my free ebook How To Save Money in 7 Days.
Click the Getting Started tab up top to find tons of helpful links. You can also email me if you are just really lost: heather @ familyfriendlyfrugality.com
Hi heather! I am lettin you that I am subcribed by mail and blog thank you. I have really learned so much from you. I am relatively new at this, but doing better each week. I having been following you for about 6-9 months now. I just love your story. Thanks again, Peggy
Yey! I’m so glad you enjoy my blog. Let me know if you ever have any questions 🙂
Thank you Heather = I have been looking for a Houston site that relates to our region- I live in Katy and love to learn to be frugal in our area…. I look forward to checking your site daily… let me know if I can help out in any way….
Thanks for what you are doing!
Audrey
Finally found this since you are in SE Houston! I’m SO happy!! It’s great to have a ood resource so close to my stores.
Hi Heather
I just started reading your site and it sounds so easy to get started saving money I can’t wait. I have a couple problem though. The first one is I live in a small town in Wyoming and I am not sure I will be able to get coupons form the local paper. I purchased one today (Sunday) and the only ones I may be able to use is the one for walmart, kmart, and walgreens. Any suggestions? I am a single woman working two jobs to put myself through college so any way to save money would be good in my book. Looking forward to hearing from you so I can get on the road to savings.
Thanks again for helping people like me.
Vanessa
Penny cricket sent me your way 🙂 I live 45 min south of Houston in Lake Jackson…i am looking forward to following our local sales/ads!!!
Hi, just found your blog, I live about 30 minutes from Katy, Tx. I shop that area quite frequently. I’ve been looking for more blogs in the Houston area, to find more local deals…….since things are alittle different in this area. The town where I live has 1 grocery store….alittle over priced…doesn’t double or triple coupons. So we usually shop at HEB in Katy. Please help us with the grocery deals…I’m doing good with the health and beauty and even cleaning products….but having a hard time with getting the food bill down…..please help. Thanks in advance!
GREAT story!!
If I already subscribed to the ebook how do I get back to it if I restarted my cpu? [email protected]
I posted about you today on my blog. I try to do a blog to follow post each Friday. I hope it is okay that I did this.
I posted about you today on my blog. I try to do a blog to follow post each Friday. I hope it is okay that I did this.
I posted about you today on my blog. I try to do a blog to follow post each Friday. I hope it is okay that I did this.
OMG, this is just what I’ve been looking for. I am a 69 yr old wife, mother, grandmother and I’ve been looking at several things online to start seriously using coupons, but also to start living frugally now that we are closer to retirement. I also live in Houston, Texas, we are New Jersey Snow Birds that flew here in 1974. I have been looking at different ideas for decorating and gardening on the cheap. So I hope this will be the start of a great friendship.
OMG, this is just what I’ve been looking for. I am a 69 yr old wife, mother, grandmother and I’ve been looking at several things online to start seriously using coupons, but also to start living frugally now that we are closer to retirement. I also live in Houston, Texas, we are New Jersey Snow Birds that flew here in 1974. I have been looking at different ideas for decorating and gardening on the cheap. So I hope this will be the start of a great friendship.
OK…I was never taight to shop OR save. I have my JUBO, super organized notbook designed with the beginnings of a beautiful relationship…BUT HOW DO I BEGIN?!?!?!
If you are interested in learning to coupon, I suggest signing up for my newsletter. You’ll receive my free ebook with your subscription which walks you through a week of couponing! Just subscribe using the form at the top of this page 🙂 Good luck!
Your site has so many pop-up ads it makes it is unusable. I’d love to explore your site but it is nearly impossible. FYI
Hello,
I’d like to inquire if it’s possible to purchase advertising space on http://www.familyfriendlyfrugality.com.
If there is any space available please let me know and we could discuss further details.
Looking forward to your positive reply.
Thanks,
Abigail
Such a great idea.
Long ago in my 20’s a neighbor and I did couponing every Saturday.
We also made lists of ‘sales’ at our local grocery stores. It is amazing how far you can extend your money if you work at it.
Her husband was in the Navy…so not a lot of extra $..and mine had just started a new job so we were sweating it, providing for 4 people each to live on about $12.00 a week…including toilet paper.
So, at age 77 and just me, (and no helpful neighbor) this site is a goldmine!
Full circle. Learning to expand my cash again. I don’t call it saving, cause I spend it all!
Thanks.