My name is Misty and I want to say thank you for being here.
Thifty Mama Life is one of my passions in life. I made it quite a few years ago to help my family and friends save money like I was doing. They kept asking me how I was saving so much money and able to afford things on such a tight budget. I figured this was easier than 15 different messages all the time. Now a little background on me…
I am a mom of 2 wonderful little girls and married to my handsome husband, Brandon. I work from home as a Blogger and a Virtual Assistant. My other passion is to help people in any way I can, so I have an A.S. Degree in Special Education. Before my children were born, I worked in a Group Home with Severely Handicapped Individuals. I really did love my old job, but I wanted to be home with my kids in the first couple of years of their lives. Plus there you can not work past the 3rd month of pregnancy, you would have to go to office work. We figured it was the perfect time to move closer to family and get away from the college town.
I have always had little money, even growing up, but we always had everything we wanted and needed due to finding deals, trading with family, and repurposing items. When I got married and was still in college, it saved us many times. I was in a rigorous program for a Double Bachelors before I left school to focus on the Group Home Job. This program didn’t want me to work in my last year of school due to having to be in the school’s on top of classes. Which I could not afford right then.
I needed every penny possible to keep going and pay the bills. There were times when we could barely afford ramen and our parents were sending us care packages of food. I don’t want to go back to that ever. I rather have too much than too little, especially with young kids. We made it work, we survived, but life does throw curveballs. When I gave birth to my oldest, I contracted C-Diff, which is a contagious disease in your colon. I was horribly ill with a newborn, and it took 4 months to be diagnosed. I still have health issues to this day due to it. During that time I was not able to work, could barely lift my child and was just in bad shape. That meant my husband had to work as much as possible, but still take care of us. I love him for it.
My health will probably never be perfect again, but I am working my butt off to provide for my family with the help of my husband. We are always finding ways to save money, but don’t worry, we do not take it to the extreme. I don’t have the energy for that.
To help other moms and couples like myself, I have compiled some of my best advice into an e-book! This book will help you start looking for ways that fit your lifestyle. Saving money doesn’t have to be hard, you don’t have to go without or to make a lot of compromises. The whole point of saving money is to either get out of debt or to a cushion if you have something happen or need to make a big purchase. Don’t let finances hold you back.
The one major tip I follow is to try not to pay full price! I bought a clearance scratch and dent fridge for $1000 off the normal price, A water play table on clearance for $16, and I buy most of my meat on Markdown, so I can package into portions and freeze!
Saving money for us is getting what we need and also what we want at a fraction of the cost. Now sometimes I do have to pay full price, such as on milk, but I am ok with that. Don’t let sticker shock slow you down. I make up for the price of milk with everything else.
One final tip before you move on! Don’t always rely on Coupons. Due to the coupon craze, there are many stores with many rules, and it can get messy and confusing. Use coupons as a side benefit to looking for deals.
