CONFESSIONS OF A COUPON CLIPPING NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLING AUTHOR

I POSTED THE FOLLOWING ON MY MONEY SAVING BLOG AND THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE IT ON MY PERSONAL BLOG AS WELL.

People have been asking me why I am doing this blog and why I am so adamant about saving money. Last night as I was watching Alvin and the Chipmunks (checked out from the library-of course) and clipping a couple hundred coupons, I thought to myself- "Why am I doing this?"

How many other New York Times Best Selling authors are clipping coupons and always looking for the next possible way to save their family money? What most people don't realize is that 1 million books sold does not translate into dollars in my pocket. I make much less than a school teacher, but I am blessed to be able to stay at home with my kids. You have to be Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray to really make money. And if I went that direction, I wouldn't be able to stay at home and be mom.

My husband and I have lived very frugally over the years to get to where we are today. We scrimped and saved while he was in graduate school to stay debt free. How often do you hear of a New York Times Best Selling author living in married student housing? After tithing and taxes, my book royalties went into a savings fund for a house after graduation. Miraculously, Ivan and I were able to finish his PhD with three children under the age of 6, a $50,000 house fund, and no student loans (thanks to a working fellowship which paid for tuition and paid him $9-10 per hour to do research part time).

We went to Idaho hoping a one year visiting faculty position would turn into a full time position in Ivan's home town. We bought our dream home, continued to live extra frugally with the goal of paying off the home in 3 years. The University came down hard that year on their policy of visiting faculty not being able to apply for a permanent position. They had previously been lax on this. To me, it confirmed to me what I had been feeling in my heart that Heavenly Father didn't need us in Rexburg, Idaho. He needed us somewhere else. So, we prayed that God would get us where he needed us to be.

Miracles happened, and it worked out perfectly to get us to Tucson, Arizona. We were able to sell our home in Idaho without even listing it or putting up a for sale sign. There is no doubt that this is where we needed to be.

Unfortunately, we arrived at the height of the housing boom in Arizona. We bought at the high. Our 2 year plan to be completely out of debt including the house turned into a 10 year plan. We took out a 30 year mortgage with the hope of paying it off in 10 years. We've been in the house for 3 years and have already taken 10 years off our home by paying extra to the principle each month.

Some days I feel like we are running a financial marathon. It's hard. Some months I am more disciplined than others. Lately, I have been feeling the urgency of removing the debt of our house from around our necks. Thus, I am back to coupon clipping as I was when we were in college. I took a hiatus for a few years. So, here I sit with the scissors clipping my coupons and searching for ways I can cut expenses so we can pay off our home even faster!

If I can also inspire and help you along your journey, it makes it even more rewarding. So, happy clipping!