Community Spotlight ~ Member Of The Month October 2008 - druidessemily

MrsPinecone · 10-29-2008, 05:21:07 AM

Name in real life: Cara

Age: 23

Home State: Mississippi

Marital Status: married on May 9th 2007

Kids: one son, David Asher (goes by Asher), 2 years old (Sept. 18th 2006 is his birthdate). Currently pregnant with number #2, due on March 15th

Pets: 1 dog, a german shepherd mix named Noah who is about a year old. We adopted him on September 17, 2008.

In Her Own Words:

Little Known Factoid: I have used the screen name "druidessemily" since around 2001. It's based after a character of mine on a text based roleplaying game called Lensmoor. Aside from reading, Lensmoor is my passion, and hands down my favorite game. I've played it since 1998 and have logged in around 12,000 hours of game play.

Favorite Money Saving Tip: I love to go to the local thrift stores. I get books for 25 cents, clothing for 25-50 cents... it's always a great deal, and gives me some "alone" time. You can find some really great treasures in your thrift stores if you are willing to look and often dig through bins.

Budget: We try to stick to a budget of $75 a week for food, diapers, HBA, dog food, etc. I don't think I have actually paid for any HBA items in over a year.

Stores I shop at: Kroger, Walmart, Target, Walgreens

Coupon Organization Method: I have a great binder with a zipper closure that I got for $10 at Walmart. It's got tons of pockets for inserts, rainchecks, and sale ads. And I use 3x3 baseball card sheets to store my coupons, divided by section of store. The binder has been a huge lifesaver with a 2 year old who loves to "help" mommy by throwing it out of the cart!

Best Advice to Newbies: Take it slow. Don't try to do everything at once. Pick one store and learn it. Don't worry if you miss a deal, it WILL come again, or one just like it! Spend as much time as you can spare reading the boards on HCW, and don't be afraid to ask questions.

How did you get into couponing? I have "always" couponed. As a child, my sister and I would cut out the coupons in Sunday's paper. We'd use maybe 1 or 2 a week (only if we were buying the items anyways!) I don't remember ever researching to find the best deals, or anything. I didn't really get into couponing until I moved in with Jason (who is now my husband). I wanted to find ways to make our money stretch, and discovered "extreme couponing." First on a different forum primarily focusing on frugality, then on HCW.

How did you find HCW? After a few months of googling for "(x) coupons" and getting HCW as a result, I finally decided to sign up. I had been using coupons to save money since I had turned 21 or so, but I definitely became a lot better after joining HCW!

What does couponing do for your family? It frees up money that we can use on other things, toys for our son, entertainment for us. It gives me something I can do when I'm not working; it feels very good to know that I am still doing something very important for my family. I often say my husband brings home the money, but I am the one who spends it!

Anything else we should know? Before I got so busy being a mom, I was working on my certification to become a doula (labor assistant). I love to help pregnant women get the emotional support they need, so they don't have to go through the pregnancy/labor/postpartum period alone.