Hi, I am J’aime, from ‘JaimeKirlewCouponing.com’ as featured on TLC’s hit show EXTREME COUPONING.
I am a stiletto wearing, money-saving, extreme couponer!
My husband was forced to take a substantial pay cut from his prestigious position as the Vice President of a local company in the D.C. Metro area. This pay cut impacted the way I spent money as the wife and mother who shopped without censorship from my husband. I wondered if the pay cut meant that I would have to feed my family white bread and peanut butter for every meal…I pictured the worst scenarios and cried for days.
A friend, Cary D., alerted me to the concept of using coupons. She laid out a sales flyer for Safeway on my coffee table and displayed her accompanying coupons that she was intending to use on her shopping trip. She offered me some clipped coupons and off to the store we went. This was my first experience with couponing and the savings impressed me!
Shopping has always been my hobby, passion and source of delight. I did not grow up in a home where coupons were used. I was not interested in clipping coupons nor did I feel the need or desire to save money. We were financially stable and until the shock of a pay cut hit, saving money was not essential.
I noticed that morning television programs began featuring individuals who had saved hundreds at the stores. I watched with intent and took lots of mental notes. I began researching the internet for the various blogs to follow on couponing and read them from top to bottom. I invited friends over in the summer of 2009 and shared my savings with them. To accompany my receipts I shared my strategies with them and created a DVD to aid my presentation. They encouraged me to share this with everyone, so that I did! I began booking workshops in friend’s homes where I would present the DVD slide show; I brought coupons, handouts and information. I shared my two-hour presentation jam-packed full of couponing strategies at our local stores.
Ultimately, my husband’s position at the company was terminated. Although this sunk our family even deeper in the financial turmoil abyss–my savings had begun, my stockpile was increasing and I was prepared for anything. I felt prepared to tackle our financial loss as a gain to promoting savings within my community. I never stopped shopping throughout the job loss situation. In fact, I think I shopped more!
I shop with coupons, not money. Coupons have enabled me to shop like never before. I gather as many coupon inserts as I can without having to purchase them and I scour the neighborhood for recycled inserts. My neighbors know that I am a couponer and they throw their extras in my mailbox. I am glad to offer a bag of goodies (freebies!) to them for their contribution to my madness! I am buying more and saving more than ever before!
Now, I experience the feeling of euphoria when instead of spending over $1,000 a month on groceries I am spending less than $200!
My stockpile is organized by expiration date and packed full of everyday needs. I have donated thousands of pounds of food and I have taught over five-hundred people in the last year through my savings workshop. I am a go-getter and the getting only gets better!
