Welcome to Dad of the Deal

So, a couple folks suggested that I start a couponing blog after some successes I have had just starting out.  It has been a rather interesting journey so far.  I am a 34 year old married man with two daughters in their early teens.  Once upon a time, I had racked up quite a bit of debt.  I spent years working two jobs in an attempt to pay it down.  As the time went on, I slowly whittled away at the debt, but it was slow and steady progress and I still had a long way to go.


Then one night, a couple months ago, I walked into my second job and walked out a half hour later with just one job.  I sent my wife a text to let her know what was going on and headed home.  She was out babysitting for some friends for the evening.

When she got home, she was very surprised with what she found.  I was just lost one of my jobs, didn't know quite how we were going to make ends meet and I was thrilled.  A short work week for me those days was 72 hours.  I quite often crossed the 80 hours or more.  I wasn't getting enough sleep.  I wasn't happy doing what I was doing at the second job.  I didn't spend enough time with my wife and kids.  And then it was finally over.  There was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders.  Since that night I have been determined to figure out how to make it all work, without all of that work.

Part of that solution has been couponing.  Until I started couponing myself, I had no idea how much we were overpaying for stuff.  I've scoured the web for information.  I've got tons of blog posts constantly coming into my inbox with possible deals.  (Using https://blogtrottr.com/ if you find e-mail easier than RSS)  And I've learned quite a few lessons from the school of hard knocks.

That said, there are tons of sites out there that give you the deals.  (And I'm sure I will share some of the best of what I find out there or find myself.)  But I think much of this will be about telling you a story.  I'm still discovering a lot of this as I go.  So I will show you the traps that I have fallen into and tell you the mistakes I made.  And hopefully, you won't have to make my mistakes for yourselves.

I have notes and receipts from these first few weeks, so I probably will start this blog by going over these first few trips and telling you the stories for those evenings.  And I will show you some other ways I'm hoping to bridge the gap.  And we will see where this blog goes from there.

Here is my journey into the world of couponing.  Here is my attempt to make it all work, without my life being all work.  There are no promises the ride will be smooth, but I hear it's more fun when you don't ride alone.