One of my favorite things to do is write, but being a somewhat new (5 months) stay at home mom with 12 and 8 year old boys can sometimes make that difficult. I've always been one to express my feelings better in writing as emotions tend to get the best of me when speaking out loud about something I'm passionate about. Even if this blog does nothing but give me an outlet to write, I'm happy to have somewhere to get those feelings out. Picking a name was made more difficult as there are so many excellent blogs out there, but I liked the alliteration with the Cs in Coupons, Crafts and Cereal Addictions...and yes, I really am a cereal addict. My record count is 65 boxes, although, that was right before taking a dozen or so to the local food pantry.

Staying at home with my boys when they were babies was not a financial possibility. I had more earning potential than my hubby, so I put in the 50-60-70 hour work weeks for a long time. I was occasionally resentful that he got to be the one to stay home when our second son was born, but was glad that at least one of us was able to. My shift at work typically was from 10:00am-6:30pm, so while it allowed me to get the kids off to school and save on childcare expenses, hubby had to pick them up and take care of dinner. I rarely got to eat with the family on weekdays and felt as if I was completely missing out on their childhoods. I left my job in November of 2013 after being pushed to the breaking point for way too long by managers who disregarded my repeated cries for help with the workload over a period of several months. My sanity and the needs of my family finally had to come first and while it wasn't an easy decision, it was definitely the right one.

Since being home, I was able to enjoy our first Christmas where we weren't frantically shopping and wrapping presents on Christmas Eve. I was able to enjoy snuggles with the kids (well, the pre-teen thinks he's too cool for snuggles most of the time) during their winter break from school and I started being better about planning meals to save money. I started cooking from what we had in the pantry and looking for ways to stretch our one income.

I had always been a couponer, but have become more dedicated (though I don't consider myself extreme...yet) and have even started attending a monthly coupon group. I want to help others to do the same--it's so much nicer to allow the manufacturers to pay you to use their product!

We need to find better, cheaper ways to live on one income, manage debt, save for the future and still enjoy life. I plan to use this blog as a way to share what I learn with you!

Thanks for  reading!
Christine