The cost of living in America currently is extremely high, and many families are having a hard time making ends meet. With households sometimes having only one source of income, budgeting for a family can become a nightmare considering the expenses that can get carried month to month. This has left many families around the U.S. looking for a creative solution to be able to shop at a lower cost, find deals and use sales, to achieve a more manageable and stable financial situation. Budgeting for one is difficult enough, and budgeting for four can seem to be nearly impossible: but somehow, Kathy Spencer of Massachusetts managed not only to crack the secret of how to buy cheap – she manages to buy pretty much absolutely free. Using years of experience, a sharing community, a savvy mind and a lot of coupon cutting, Kathy manages to feed and clothe herself, her husband, and their four children, for less than $4 a week.
The story is inspiring: Kathy and her husband are a working family. Unfortunately, eight years ago he contracted pneumonia that landed him in the hospital and in real danger. He thankfully got better after a few weeks, but with the way insurance is in America, especially for low-income families, we can all guess what that would mean in terms of medical bills and weeks of absence from work for the family. One day, as she was making her way to the hospital, Kathy says she saw a bottle of juice on sale for a dollar, which she happened to have a coupon for. She rummaged through her purse to find the coupon, and when she did, she discovered it was a dollar’s worth – meaning, the bottle would be completely free.Kathy says “a lightbulb turned on” at that moment, and since then she has made it her goal to challenge herself, by applying this tactic to as many products as possible.
To do this, she follows the paper and websites offering coupons, changing her shopping habits to lower costs to a minimum. She never thought she’d ever get by $4 a week – but she eventually did. Kathy’s new world order is comprised of searching for sales, organizing coupons, and shopping at specific locations, all of which allows her family to funnel their money elsewhere: taking care of their home, debts, and their children’s education.
Kathy says she and her husband have no credit debt, they live in the house of their dreams, and they never fight about money – all because of her new coupon-based way of life. Perhaps shopping for $4 a week is too much for most people, but maybe there’s a point to what Kathy is doing for her family; we often ignore the small details in front of us – store credit, Sunday paper coupons, online sales – all because we’re used to shopping in a certain way, and are maybe sure there is no other way. Well – there is, and Kathy Spencer is happy to share her knowledge to teach families how to shop smarter and live better – and less stressfully.
Here’s her story, her tips, some more tips – and what she has to say about it all.
[post_page_title]The rat race[/post_page_title]
Working, paying bills, shopping for food, paying for school – it can all seem like an endless, exhausting, empty race. Unfortunately for 98% of us, work is a necessity of life. On the one hand, more and more opportunities for higher education mean better chances at getting into the school you want and choosing the career you want. One the other hand, more skilled workers means higher cost of living. And if you want the best – you have to pay more.
