We are like so many of you–the economy has not been kind to us. In April of 2008, Wes was called into the office of the Vice President at the small college where he worked. He was informed that there was no more money to pay his salary and that he could pack his office and head home.
Since that time, there have been months with work, and months without. Wes continues to search for a job in his field, like so many others who have recently been laid off.
And life goes on. We’ve celebrated the birth of our second son. We’ve mourned the loss of a vacuum cleaner. We’ve experienced the break-down of both of our cars. We’ve rejoiced over lower gas prices, and then held our breath as they began to rise again. We’ve been blessed by so many who love us.
We’ve also discovered that although yard-saling was one of our favorite Saturday activities and we always washed out our baggies and squeezed the last drop out of the toothpaste, there was a whole world of money-saving that we knew nothing about. There are literally thousands of ways to save money. And we’re just getting started.
The good news in all of this is that our present circumstances have started us on a life-changing journey. We’ve discovered that saving money is not as hard as we thought it was and actually can be fun. Yes, we said FUN. It’s all in your perspective.
So, we invite you on our journey. We promise you this:
- We are dedicated to learning more about saving money on a daily basis.
- Whatever we learn, we will pass along to you.
- We will be real about our pitfalls and struggles as we commit to living frugally.
- No matter what, we’ll be sure to have FUN!
photos by JulieGendron.com
Update: After a year and a half of searching, we are excited to share that Wes finally has found the job that was meant for him. We have packed up all our belongings and headed south to live in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania. In spite of having a regular income now, we continue to learn about living large on a limited budget as the cost of living is much higher down here.
But that’s okay. We actually like the challenge.
If you’d like to learn more about this whole money saving journey we’ve begun, you’ll definitely want to check out our “How We Got Here” series:
How We Got Here, Kaley’s Edition
How We Got Here, Wes’s Edition
Hey Kaley! Excited to share your journey with you! Charlie and I enjoy finding bargains too and can’t wait to learn new tips!
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Hey Kaley,
If I haven’t told you yet, I really enjoy this website. Chris has been having a real hard time making money at work (commission job) and every cent saved is exciting, and just plain awesome when that becomes dollars or even free items! Thanks for sharing with us!
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Congratulations on your website. It looks great and I can’t wait to start saving money!
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Kaley, you are such a blessing to our family. I lost count of all the times I have been encouraged by your money saving blog. Thank you for all the work you are putting into this website, and for sharing all the great deals with us.
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Kaley and Wes,
You are correct that times are tough. I have a blog that hopefully will help you and your other readers on their journey to financial freedom. I have no advertising and have no plans for advertising at the moment. Juts a blog to help others along the path.
It is here: http://frugalmakescents.blogspot.com/
Precious
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I love this Kailey! Me and my family are transitioning right now as well and this is great! God is totally blessing and we cannot wait to see what He wants to give His children. Stay encouraged because in case you forgot you are His favorite daughter and your husband is His favorite son! Let us know if we can help with anything!
Nathan Oates
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I’ve really enjoyed your site so far!! Thank you for sharing the tips and deals with us! I’ve been getting into being even more frugal lately and this site will be a great resource!
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Came over from infarrantly creative…It looks great and I’m adding you to my reader!! Best of luck!
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Hi Kaley and Wes!
Thanks for letting me know about your website! I can’t wait to learn new ways to save and even just to hear about your life together as well
Matt and I are trying to save and pay off any bills to maybe buy a home someday!
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Hey there. I found your site from Infarrantly Creative!! I am excited to read your Blog and learn more on how to save.
Thanks,
Melissa
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Just discovered your blog today through Money Saving Mom and I must say that your family’s story and determination is very inspiring! I’ve been finding ways to save for years, but I continue to learn something new everyday. I’m looking forward to sharing frugal tips with you and your family.
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What a wonderful story! Your sight is so inspiring and helpful! What a blessing you are to me!
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I love your site! I stumbled upon your blog from another blog (sorry! Can’t remember which!) and I have bookmarked you for future reading. Thank you for being a great inspiration for those of us out there just entering the world of couponing and trying to live on less!
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You have an awesome site and i’m learning so much … THANK YOU!
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Hey guys! Its been tough to watch you go through all these ups and downs over the past year or so, but I’m so glad God is working in you and through that you can help others! This is a greatttt site! I’m taking it all in, because, especially being in college, its tough to make ends meet. And now that my dad was laid off, I can pass some tips to my parents! Love you guys, thanks this resource!
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hi,
I was forced to retire from the tioga county jail in sept. 08. since then we have had to try to survive on my wiifes salary. This was due to my medical conditon, I have a degenerative form of arthritis and this past year I have had 5 orthopedic surgeries, two knee arthroscopes, then a full knee replacement, then rotator cuff , then I found out that I had two broken vertebrae in my lower spine, which required extensive reconstructive surgery. It has been a challenging year going to half of what we used to live on..I just recenttly started recieving SSD checks…so I just wanted to thank you for this site and I hope you can prosper. I appreciate the info here and wish you the best. MIKE
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I just saw your story on the news! Thank you soooo much for your website! Good luck with your move & god bless:)
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[...] on a Shoestring Living Large on a Limited Budget HomeOur StoryHow We Save MoneyThe Drugstore GameCoupons 101Contact Browse: Home / About Us, Great Deals / [...]
We have a very similar story to yours and I am thankful for the internet because it has led us to many forms of money-saving and freebie finding. Thanks for all you do. Know that your finds and frugality are not just for your own family, but they are a blessing to many other families too (like mine)!
Thanks again!
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Thanks so much for this website guys! I’m glad I took a look at a posting from one of your family members on Facebook! Josh was laid off and his last day is next week, so it was just in time for me to check this blog out!! I never knew what the dollar amount at the bottom of my receipts from CVS meant until now! Thanks again!
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My husband was placed on his second deployment a little over a year ago and from that point on we have been making a similar journey to change our lives and our family tree. I LOVE finding others who are just like us! It is truly inspiring and FUN! Keep up the great work that you do!
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Hi! You don’t know me but I know Tim and Olga from YWAM Tyler days. Anyways, Olga’s aunt told me about your site so I came to check it out! We live in S. Africa but we’re in the states for several months. Can’t wait to coupon and save while I’m here!
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Thank you for sharing your story. The economy and struggles are soon to hit me. It makes me feel like everything will be okay when I read your story. You are very blessed to have your husband by your side and he is blessed to have you. Love is so under valued in our world today. Money comes and goes.
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I really like your site, lots of good info!
Glad to see Wes got a job! I live in PA too, but I was wondering how you moved to another state? I know it seems like a weird question, but we’re trying to move back to Central Pa, which is 2 hours away from us now and we’re having a hard time figuring out how to do it. Did your husband’s new job pay for you to relocate? Did you just save up a lot of money in preparation of the move? Are you renting a place and if so, how were you able to do that with him starting a new job (some places want to see pay stubs). I’m sorry for all the questions, I’d just love to know how you did it so maybe it can help us with my husband changing jobs and us moving.
Thanks!!
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Just learned about you from the Intelligencer article. Nicely done. I’ll plan to visit again. I hope you’ll take a minute to check out my blog…I also look at ways to save money, though my focus is on green living, growing your own, making things from scratch, repurposing, reusing and recycling. I use a few coupons from time to time, but need to learn more.
take care and best wishes,
Dee Dee
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Thank you so much for all of your wonderful information. I recently added Cha ching via Facebook and the savings that I have made are UNREAL! In the last month, I have signed up or recieved, free tote bag, gum, shampoo, toothpaste, greeting card, chocolate, pizza, vitamin water, and of course others I have forgotten. Not to mention the coupons galore !! I have also learned to save money by buying things from CVS and Target. I never would have imagined that there would be such a user friendly sight that could “Hook Me Up” with such great products. Thank you so much for all the hardwork and dedication you and others have put into this site. Just a little brag before I go….I saved over $27.00(just in coupons) at the grocery today and spent under $65.00. Thank you so much !! Keep up the good work !!
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Hi! Thank you so much for the blessing you have been to us throughout this past month!! We’ve have just begun our journey to live more frugally as we face down the hill of debt we owe. We are snowballing it all!! While it is such a learning experience, we are having sooooo much fun doing it!! I wish we had done it sooner. Thanks so much for the teachings that you have passed onto us! It is a blessing! May God bless you and reward you for your doings!
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kaleyehret Reply:
May 20th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Thank you, Lisa!
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Thank you so much for all of your wonderful information. I recently added Cha ching via Facebook and the savings that I have made are UNREAL! In the last month, I have signed up or recieved, free tote bag, gum, shampoo, toothpaste, greeting card, chocolate, pizza, vitamin water, and of course others I have forgotten. Not to mention the coupons galore !! I have also learned to save money by buying things from CVS and Target. I never would have imagined that there would be such a user friendly sight that could “Hook Me Up” with such great products. Thank you so much for all the hardwork and dedication you and others have put into this site. Just a little brag before I go….I saved over $27.00(just in coupons) at the grocery today and spent under $65.00. Thank you so much !! Keep up the good work !!
+1
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kaleyehret Reply:
July 15th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
That’s awesome, Luelle!! So glad to hear it!
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