To some couponing, deal hunting, and advanced planning shopping is silly.  That being said I can’t imagine living any other way. Growing up my Father instilled in me the importance of a good deal, and why you should never wait until you run out of something to go buy it.  We would sit on the couch and scour the ads for sales.  Once we were at the store he would fill up the cart with enough for my sister, himself, and I to each max out on whatever the store limit was.  Cash in hand I’d stroll up to the register to buy my items, and it never failed the cashier would always have some comment.  Looking back I’d love to tell that cashier that for every penny we saved on sugar, toilet paper, toothpaste, etc., my parents were able to pay for my undergraduate degree and a brand new car for me when I went away to college. 

As a new mom riddled with debt from law school and my husbands student loans, bargain shopping is even more important than ever.  With the average in-state college expenses for a bachelors degree projected to cost my daughter around $200,000, we’ve already opened her a MESP (Michigan Education Savings Plan) account to help offset her expenses.  Trying to save for her college while still paying off our own wouldn’t be possible if we weren’t frugal.  Does this mean I have a stockpile in my basement that my husbands friends consider “hoarding”…YES, am I ashamed of it… NO.  For every large haul of free toothpaste, or nearly free children’s clothes and toys means that we saved money for ourselves and our family.

~Sarah