A Frugal Chick Turns 7: You Can Win a $108 Amazon Gift Card!

A Frugal Chick

Living Well Without Going Broke

A Frugal Chick Turns 7: You Can Win a $108 Amazon Gift Card!

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A Frugal Chick Turns 7- You Can Win a $108 Amazon Gift Card!

I can’t believe I am even writing this- A Frugal Chick turned 7 September 1st.

7 years ago I was on a break from grad school.  Summer semester ended around August 20th.  Fall semester began after Labor Day.  I had one class left- writing my thesis.  I got bored and started a business because I didn’t have any homework to do.

Grad school had been a big challenge for me.  Not because the classes were tough but because I was trying to pay for it as I went along.  You see, my boss had told me that my company would reimburse me at the end of each semester for my classes.  I would still have to pay for books, any travel and up front for each semester so I took out a $20,000 Home Equity Line of Credit.  It gave me plenty of wiggle room in case I didn’t get reimbursed quickly or something happened.

I finished my first semester.  I got A’s in both of my classes.  I was working full time (more than full-time actually since I was required to have my BlackBerry on my person 24/7) and going to school and had figured out how to balance that while still occasionally seeing my friends and family. Things were good.  Once my final grades were posted I printed everything off, submitted an official memo and waited.  My second semester started and I attacked it the same as I had my first.

About a week later my boss calls me into the office.  In spite of my management position the corporate office had decided that Organizational Leadership was not a masters that would be relevant to my job.  They weren’t going to give me a penny for school.  After answering phone calls at 3 a.m. and sleeping with my laptop to be there when they needed me my job wasn’t enough for them to keep their word.

There was no way to fight.  I couldn’t quit- I had just paid for my second semester of graduate school out of a loan that I was now going to have to pay back myself.  Plus grad school was only 5 semesters and I was halfway through the second- after working so hard to get in and keep good grades I wasn’t going to drop out of school.

I went home that night and made a list of every bill I could cut.  I dropped my gym membership.  I quit using my air conditioning.  I dyed my hair back with box color to it’s original shade.  I sucked it up and went in every day to a job I resented with a corporate office that said I wasn’t important.

After a month of this I knew it still wasn’t going to be enough.  I got a second job teaching voice and piano three nights a week.  I worked from 7:30 in the morning until 9 p.m. at night and then went home to do homework.  I paid down the balance on the loan just to run it up again the next semester when I paid my bill.

But most importantly, I started using coupons.  For everything.  I learned the policy for every store, pinched pennies in every way I could and ate whatever I could get my hands on.  And I got obsessed.  I started talking to whomever would listen about what I was doing.  I posted pictures on social media.  I drove my family crazy.  Finally my mom said “you should start one of those website things- someone will want to hear about this.”  That’s code for “I’m sick of you talking about it- find someone who cares.”

So September 1, 2009 I launched AFrugalChick.com with a template website and $9.99 for the URL.  I had no clue what I was doing.  I even remember what I did for my first marketing campaign- I printed business cards and taped them to candy I handed out for Halloween (which I bought with a coupon).  I didn’t know if it was something I could make money doing- I just had things I wanted to tell people.

blogger conference

Blogger friends and I at a conference!

I graduated in December 2009 with $22,000 in debt.  School had been around $35,000 in total so I was pretty proud of what I had accomplished. Now I needed to attack the debt.

I kept living like I was broke (I really was).  I had really gotten the hang of the coupon thing now so my grocery and household bills were about  non-existent.   Now that I wasn’t doing homework at night I could work on the website.  And it grew.  And I learned.  I took every spare penny I had to the bank to pay down that loan.  I was making more money than I ever had before and still didn’t have a DVR.  Or highlights.  Or a car with all working doors.

February 18, 2011 that same job laid me off.  No warning.  I went to work in the morning and in the afternoon went home with a box (like so many of you have).  Luckily I had not taken any vacation time (who had money for vacation?) so I had six weeks severance coming- pretty much the exact amount I still owed on the loan.  I stuck it in savings, crossed my fingers and dove into the website.

Six weeks later I paid off the loan.

I’ll be honest- it’s still a neck in neck race at the end of the month to see if the income will be more than the bills.   Less and less people are using coupons which means less income for me and people who do what I do.  But I have learned the meaning of “poor and happy.”  I have a beautiful niece and two wonderful nephews that I get to spend time with because I don’t have a traditional 9 to 5.  Some days I get up at 5 a.m. so I can work and then go to the zoo for the day.  Some nights I stay up until 5 a.m. so that I can get you guys the best deals to help your families.

Like everyone else some days stink.  Lots of days I would like to have someone else handling taxes and health insurance.  I would love to have a steady paycheck and not be my own I.T. department.  But overall I get up every morning excited to do my job.  Excited to help your families.  Excited to hopefully make a difference for someone.

Excited to never have to say the word “corporate.”

God has blessed.

Want to Win a Gift Card?

To celebrate I want to give away an Amazon gift card.  A $108 Amazon gift card actually- to celebrate the beginning of the 8th year of my website.  And hopefully many more years to come!

I am giving you up to SIX chances to enter.  You can get one entry for each thing you do below.  When you do it just leave me a comment and let me know.  So you can leave up to six comments!

  1.  Leave me a comment letting me know the answer to this question- “How Did You First Hear About A Frugal Chick?”  Leave a comment with teh answer!
  2. Join my shopping Facebook group.  Leave a comment telling me you do!
  3. Sign up for my Daily E-mail.  Every morning at 10 a.m. EST you will get an e-mail with the best deals of the past 24 hours.
  4. Follow me on Facebook.  Leave a comment telling me you do!
  5. Follow me on Twitter.  Leave a comment telling me you do!
  6. Follow me on Instagram.  Leave a comment telling me you do!

On September 15th the computer will pick a winner.  I will e-mail them and they will have 24 hours to get back to me with their address.  Otherwise I will head on to the next winner.

Good Luck everyone and thanks for helping my business turn 7!

It is important to note that this blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorships, paid insertions, or other forms of compensation. The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All opinions stated in this blog belong to its author and no one else. I will only endorse products, companies, and services that I have found worthy of my time and opinion. A Frugal Chick is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to www.amazon.com.

Comments

  21. Melissa S. says

    I first saw Frugal Chick on WVEC several years ago – and still make a point of following weekly!

  22. kbbkbb0 says

    I began receiving your daily emails several years ago when you started it for Black Friday deals I think.

  24. kbbkbb0 says

    I remember first learning about your site and work on WVEC Sunday morning and look foward to catching it each week.

  41. Jane says

    I found out about you through a couponing class you did in Richmond. While I’m not on fb or twitter, I do get your daily emails!

  54. Colette Wharam says

    The 1st time I heard of Frugal Chick was on Sunday mornings watching the news! Look forward to that segment every week!

  68. Carolyn Warner says

    Saw you first on WVEC and heard you on the WAVE (92.9). Have been getting daily emails for years, became a fab follower about a year ago, and have made sure my friends from PA to New England follow you too! Thanks for the deals.

  74. Laura M. says

    First saw you on Sunday mornings on WVEC TV….Then I began following you on FB & signed up for daily emails.

  77. Amy says

    How I first found you was through another daily deal blog – when I had my first son, and then my second, expenses were extremely tight, so I read everything I could about saving money. Through the years, I’ve whittled down the number of daily emails I receive from blogs, but I’ve kept yours on as one of the few I still read. Thanks for your work for our benefit!

  79. Dotty S. says

    Forgot to also state that I am all ready a subscriber to your daily emails. They are really beneficial !

  80. Dotty S. says

    Not sure where I first heard about you, it was several years ago and I had the pleasure of attending one of your coupon classes ! I have posted on FB pages that I have been a follower of your sites. Thanks for the chance to win the Amazon Gift Card.

  91. Kylie C says

    I found you at church! But I hadn’t heard all these details of your story. Thank you for sharing and being someone who wants to open herself up to the world.

  101. Sandy Weinstein says

    i am not sure how i started following you and getting your emails. i know that it has been several yrs. i think when i started searching for coupons and learning abt couponing, i signed up for your emails. it may have been on facebook.

  102. Pamela Byrd says

    I heard about you from a friend. I follow you on FB, I get your daily emails and I belong to your Black Friday group.

  104. Tamara Walker says

    I came across your site through another give away. Now I really appreciate all the coupon and sale info

  108. Terry Crockett says

    I subscribe to your emails and follow your Facebook page. I just joined your shopping page on Facebook.

  118. Tara Ruffin says

    I follow you on Facebook and Twitter. I first heard of you on the news. Your segment really helped me see the benifits of coupons and special deals.

  120. Tina Keith says

    I first heard about you on a news channel. It was around christmas time a few years back and now follow you on facebook.

  125. Stacey B says

    I first heard about A Frugal Chick from a presentation that you did for the MOMS Club of Chesapeake.

  128. Karen Waters says

    I’ve watch your Sunday segment on the news. A Facebook friend invited me to like your page a few weeks ago. Amazing the deals you find! Just signed up for email as well as FB follower.

  132. Maria Bowman says

    I first heard about you on TV a few years back and I remember I was running around trying to find a pen to write down your website 🙂

  140. Diane Walker says

    My answer to this question- “How Did You First Hear About A Frugal Chick?”
    I learned about A Frugal Chick when my church, Atlantic Shores Baptist Church’s Women’s Ministry, had you lead your Coupon Class. And it was excellent!

  152. Deb L says

    I first learned of your site when it was referenced on another coupon blog (I don’t recall which one). I checked it out, liked what you offered, and have logged in several times a day ever since. Keep up the good work!

  153. Karen England says

    First saw you Sunday AM on morning news…. Get your email and follow you on Facebook and your shopping group. Don’t do Twitter or Instagram. I have a discussion group and have several people that are now following you now. Love how I can find the good deals my looking at your page! Thanks!

  156. Kim Hanson says

    I subscribe to your daily email, I follow you on Facebook and I joined your shopping Facebook group.

  157. Cheri Coe says

    Hey Laura,
    Congrats on your anniversary and so glad things have turned out for you following your corporate loss (not really loss.) I first saw you on TV several years ago and have always used coupons, but thought you were so good in what you were doing! I then signed up for your daily emails, and get your site alerts on facebook. So now I am following you on your shopping facebook group, twitter and instagram. Thanks for all you do, keep up the good work and good luck in continued success.

  158. Nancy B. says

    I don’t do Facebook, Twitter or Instagram but I do receive your daily emails. I look forward to them every morning! 🙂

  159. Cheri Coe says

    Hey Laura,
    So glad everything has turned out for you following your corporate loss (no loss really!) And congrats on your anniversary. I first saw you on TV several years ago and thought you had some great savings ideas, so I did sign up for your daily emails. I am now following you on your Facebook shopping group, Twitter and Instagram. I usually use one of your coupons/deals everyday! Wish you continued success!

  160. Nancy B. says

    My husband kept hearing you on 92.9 The Wave and told me about you. He had just lost his corporate job in upper management of 15 years at age 61 with no warning at all! We had to make some drastic financial changes as well and have followed you ever since. You have really helped our family learn to save! 🙂

  162. Sarah Hout says

    I follow you on Facebook and Instagram and signed up for your emails. I found you about 5 years ago when my husband and I were really struggling for money. I quit a job I hated and was working part time and substitute teaching. We lived in Hampton Roads at the time, and I found you while trying to cut all the bills I could.

  163. FELICIA PICHON says

    I first about you on WVEC. I receive your daily emails and follow you on FB…Black Friday group

  166. Vangie Alston says

    I don’t do twitter or instagram but I do follow you on FB and I am on your mailing list. I am super impressed by your story and was so disappointed to hear how your former job treated you. Good on you for your perseverance and for starting your own business! Blessings as you continue!

  167. Kira Soriano says

    I found out about your site i think when u posted it on fb many years ago…
    I get the daily emails.
    I’m part of your shopping group.
    I followed you on Twitter and instagram.

  169. Cindy Rumsey says

    I assume you’re talking about your Facebook group Black Friday/ cyber Monday. I am so glad you continued even after Christmas

  175. Mary Beth Elderton says

    I honestly don’t remember exactly how I found you. About 4? 5? years ago I began searching for ways to save money, freebies, coupons, giveaways, deals, frugal household tips, etc. Over that time I have learned A LOT and have been following favorite blogs.

  176. Sabrina Giuliano-Theologou says

    Happy 7th Birthday! Congrats on all your success! Thank you for celebrating with your fans & having this awesome giveaway!

    1. I first found out about your FB page from a friend.

    2. I am a member of your Black Friday/Cyber Monday Group

    3. I get your Daily E-Mails

    4. I follow A Frugal Chick on Facebook

    5. I follow you on Twitter

    6. I follow you on Instagram

  185. Vera Mann says

    i took your class, but for the life of me, right now, i can’t recall how i first heard of afrugalchick. but, i’m glad i did!

  191. Céire says

    thank you for sharing your story! i just followed you on insta & signed up for the emails. i’m already part of the FB shopping page and follow you over there too!

  192. Maribel O. says

    It was well over a year ago I found out about A Frugal Chick…I wish I could remember where though! Most likely through Facebook.

  193. Marian Clayton says

    I heard about your Facebook page from one of my friends.
    I liked your main & shopping Facebook pages, followed you on Twitter & Instagram and signed-up for your daily email. That’s 6 entries to the contest, right? 🙂
    Thank you for all you do!