I am a super-bargain shopper.
When my son was born 5 years ago, I quit my teaching job to become a stay-at-home mom.
It was then that I discovered the power of coupons, clearances, and comparison shopping.
I found out that the money I saved could allow my family to live debt free.
My husband and I have managed to budget, and we now have no debt.
We paid off our mortgage while only in our 30s and we pay cash for everything, even our cars.
We did this with an average income.
I still look for bargains and use coupons because I can use the money that I saved to pay cash for home improvements and other things on our wish list.
We live frugally, but enjoy life.
We don't have all of the latest and greatest gadgets, but that's OK.
You'd be surprised at how many things you can get for free or inexpensively.
Plus, we enjoy family activities.
I am the mom who is always taking my kids out to do fun things.
I have not always been debt free.
I loved it when I was in college and could use my credit cards to buy anything I wanted while only making the minimum payments.
By the time I graduated with my Master's degree in Education, I had $35,000 in student loans and over $15,000 in credit card debt.
Ouch!!! I started out making payments of only $200 a month toward this enormous debt.
A few months after graduating, I calculated that I would be paying about $50,000 in interest alone if I spread out my payments over 20 years (yes, that's how long they will let you make minimum payments - practically as long as a mortgage).
Well, I didn't want to be paying twice as much and be in debt forever.
I decided to pay $1,000 a month towards my student loans and credit cards while I was only earning $3,000 a month as an elementary teacher.
I did this for 5 years while I taught school, and finally became debt free before marrying my husband.
I finally learned to budget and live within my means.
When I quit my teaching job, I became a coupon queen obsessed with getting the biggest discounts.
I would get $100 worth of groceries for $10.
My garage was stocked as well as a mini-mart with all of the free and super-bargains I found using coupons.
I became so addicted to coupons that I used to (now this really embarrassing) jump in my local Senior Citizens Mobile Home Park recycling bin to get extra coupons so I could get 10 free items instead of one!!! I have several friends who are also great bargain shoppers and we would constantly call each other with info about the best new deals.