Hi! I am Kelly, mom to 3, wife to 1 and owner of A Crystal Garden. I have a BS in Accounting, a BS in Finance and an MBA. You would think I would be out there climbing the corporate ladder but at the moment I am enjoying owning a small business while being able to stay home with my 3 children.

A few months ago I saw the “Coupon Mom” on one of the early shows on TV and watched in wonder as she walked out of a supermarket paying only $1.25 for a whole cart full of products. Just a few days later there was another “Coupon Mom” doing the same thing yet again and I decided I HAD to learn how to do that. Much to my surprise using coupons has made the dreaded chore of grocery shopping almost fun! Once I learned the art I wanted to share it with the world. Hearing the words “Savings $.75, Savings $.75″ at the local self checkout has become quite the adrenaline rush. Now if only I could apply such a thing to house cleaning we would be all set.

Since we became a one income family in 2005, month after month I would have to take money out of savings to cover all our expenses and the well we had accumulated while a two income family was quickly drying up. I was faced with the fact, I would have to go back out into the work force much sooner than I wanted and I wasn’t ready. In 2006, I started my beloved company A Crystal Garden and began making hair bows and jewelry to  supplement our income.  It has been wonderful to run a one person business but again I must face the fact one person can only make so many hair bows and needed to look for more ways to earn an income.  Couponing has caused me to become passionate about spending less and saving more all the while living better.  I was a generic buyer purchasing whatever was the cheapest whether it tasted as good or worked as well as the name brands or not.  Coupons allow us to purchase name brand items for even less than the cost of generics.  My kids never knew cookies could taste so good!

Come save with me!