[DaniB+3]

Hi everyone!

My name is Dani (Danielle) and I am an active member of the August DDC but after lurking for awhile I've decided to "officially" join FM. I am 29 and about to be married to my best friend, John, next month. We've been together for 4 1/2 years. I have twin daughters, Emma & Madeleine, from a previous marriage and we're expecting our first little boy in mid-August. We also have two furbabies, Atticus and Stella (kitties). I run a successful part-time Slumber Parties (in-home parties) business from home.

I've always had aspirations of being frugal but was raised by big-time debtors/spenders (great parents - just not great with money). So I've had a lot of stumbles and tend to veer from my best laid plans. However, John and I are in a position in which frugality is now necessary, not just a dream. Our pregnancy, while VERY much wanted (we had previously been trying for 2.5 years), was a big surprise at an inopportune time. We had decided to briefly move in with my dad in order to save money and pay off some debt (at which point we decided to stop trying, obviously). Not a great time to have a baby, LOL. Then about 6 weeks after finding out about the pregnancy, John was badly injured during an indoor soccer game and has basically become disabled. He goes in for a very extensive leg reconstruction surgery this Friday, but he'll probably never be the same again, especially since he'll have to learn how to walk all over again.

Anyway, we are nine weeks max away from having this baby and meanwhile John faces an 8-10 week recovery period, which includes him not working. So our income has been unexpectedly reduced big time at a time when we need money the most. We have zero savings, I have crushing student loan debt, and we both have a history of sucking at being frugal.

HELP????

I want to figure out how to not sink miserably during this process. I've started investigating couponing, trying to cook more at home, and figuring out ways to not feel like we're living from paycheck to paycheck. So basically - I'm here to learn, learn, learn.

Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your community. I look forward to picking your brains!!

[wefrogy]

wow you have a lot on your plate right now. Congrats on your pending arrival.

Welcome! there are some great ladies here that know about saving and finding great deals. I'm new to couponing and have already learned a lot from this board.

Glad you decided to join the board.

Oh and PS I'm Michelle, mom to David 12 and Hailey 8

[2pinks&ablue]

Welcome! This is a great place to get ideas I'm Chantelle, so is Troy, I'm mommy to Alyssa (3.5), Rylan (2), and Sophia is due July 6th

[Hazel]

welcome to the board

Congrats on your pregnancy

Regarding your student loans, have you gone through consolidation with them? Doing that really reduced my interest and payments so that the payments were affordable for us. Also, many lenders will give you a pregnancy deferment where you will not have to make payments once you have to stop working and for a time after the baby is born--it can really ease the stress of those last days of pregnancy and after the babe is born if you don't have to worry about coming up with the payment, especially with your husband also trying to recover from his surgery. And, too, if you have other debt, a short deferrment on the student loan would allow you to put more funds toward a higher-interest debt and work on bringing that down until the student loan goes back into repayment.

[ashleighgurl]

Welcome!!!

What stores do you have near you?

There are some websites such as afullcup and hotcouponworld that provide the ads early and they match up coupons with them. It's a great, easy way to find out what the sales are and what coupons you need.

[Admin-pattyandthemoos]

Hi Danielle. Welcome to the board. This is a great place to get started. There are a lot of good tips in the sticky at the top of this board. I'd try to get started with you grocery budget and go from there.