SI Money Savers

Heather is a wife of 6 years, stay at home mom of two little girls and she blogs at Spectacular Savings!

For as long as I can remember, I felt a passion for helping others.  One of my earliest memories was when my dad took me to a huge warehouse and we helped put together boxes of food for families for Thanksgiving.  It had such an impact on me.  At age 8 or 9, I remember feeling such a sense of fulfillment, of happiness, that I was able to help others.

Throughout high school and college I continued to be involved in groups that helped out in the community and was involved with giving and volunteering through our church.  My husband and I were married shortly after we graduated from college and, fortunately, we were on the same wavelength when it came to giving.  We set aside a certain amount of money each year for various organizations and we volunteered through our church.

Things changed quite a bit when we had our second daughter.  We went from two incomes to one after quitting my job to stay home with the girls and couldn’t give financially the way we had in the past.  This forced us to become creative.  I had been couponing for about a year at this point and realized that there was so much that I could get for free that our family didn’t use.  Or I was able to get so much toothpaste or other products for free that we couldn’t possibly use it all.  I became intentional, clipping out coupons for things that I knew that I could get for free.  I put a few boxes in the basement and was amazed at how quickly I was able to fill them up.  We are able to give more (through free/cheap products) now than we did when we writing checks to various organizations.  Its amazing.  Now only did God provide for us but he also provided a way for us to continue to help others.

Do you have a story you would like to share?  Has someone helped you in a way that made a serious impact in your life or vice versa?  I would so love to hear your stories and I would love to post it on my blog.  Leave me a comment or email me at farnama@gmail.com