It's been a long time since I've posted...

[CMUGRAD]

After packing up our house in Michigan and moving down here to the lovely and beautiful state of Tennessee, I discovered that couponing was a very, very hard thing to do where I am at because of 1) unavailability of manufacturing coupons and 2) many places weren't taking internet coupons until very recently.

But the success story that I do want to share with all of you is this.....

for the year or so before we moved down here I was stockpiling tons of household items in preparation for our move to avoid adding cost to a very, very tight budget that we have as we started a new chapter in our life that included me no longer working full time and expanding our online business to include a brick and mortar store.

Gotta say...business is doing okay in spite of all the economic struggles....we make enough to pay the taxes, keep the lights on and replenish the inventory.....but on the flip side....we don't make enough to supplement our very meager income coming from the website side of our business yet...so I am very, very, very thankful that I built our stockpile way back when, because we have been relying on that quite heavily for all our cleaning supplies, personal hygiene etc.

Bottom line....if I hadn't done the legwork and couponing to build that stockpile back in 2010 before we moved....we would be having to stretch a very tight budget to buy those things...but since I already have them on hand...the money can be used for something else or saved...which is keeping us in the black right now.

Happy couponing folks!

[janniwanni54]

You sound like a smart cookie to me. What is your business?

[Jenng]

I too live in Middle Tennessee in Nashville on the southeast side of the city. It sounds like we live in the same area. If you would like help learning how to coupon here send me a private message and I would be glad to help you out. It's actually very easy where we live. We have access to CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Target, Walmart, Food Lion, Publix, Kroger, Aldi, Harris Teeter, and Piggly Wiggly just to name a few. I'm also a member of a local couponing group on Facebook so let me know if you'd like to join and I'll send you a request. We share our deals on there and it's easy because we are all local and you can replicate the deals you see on there.

[dp38587]

First off, Welcome to God's Country!!!! You are likely very close to me. The Nashville Tennessean is horribly expensive, over $3 around here, but it has the best Qs. The local papers are sadly light on Qs. The Nashville paper has higher $$ Qs as well. I ask everyone I know to save their inserts for me if they won't use them. IPs are not worth the ink for me, or the hassle.
Again....Welcome to the area!!!

Deb

[Coupon_Queen]

Welcome back to CouponMom! I find myself ordering more coupons online...maybe that would help you get coupons that aren't always available in your area.

[mnm'z]

Welcome back! Glad to see things are going well for you. Getting a business off the ground is quite a feat in this economy so Kudo's to you. DH and I have friends that live in the SE corner county of Tennessee... Their living room picture window view is of the mountains. It surely is God's country!

[CMUGRAD]

I too live in Middle Tennessee in Nashville on the southeast side of the city. It sounds like we live in the same area. If you would like help learning how to coupon here send me a private message and I would be glad to help you out. It's actually very easy where we live. We have access to CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Target, Walmart, Food Lion, Publix, Kroger, Aldi, Harris Teeter, and Piggly Wiggly just to name a few. I'm also a member of a local couponing group on Facebook so let me know if you'd like to join and I'll send you a request. We share our deals on there and it's easy because we are all local and you can replicate the deals you see on there.

Thanks....I am living on top of Monteagle Mountain...45 minutes from Chattanooga...still classified as Middle Tennesee though...not sure why but it is.....Nashville is about an hour and half north of me..pretty sure the deals you would get would not be the same for me but thanks though....about the only thing we have close by is Family Dollar, Dollar General, a CVS, a couple of outrageously expensive Piggly Wiggly's, and one Save Alot....

We have to go off the mountain to go to Walmart in Dechard or Walmart in Kimball which we do once a week, so I try to get my good deals then .....and then we have to deal with higher sales tax on the Kimball side of the mountain....Dechard sales tax is 9.25% and in Kimball it's 9.75%. I haven't seen a Target since we moved down here. We don't go to Chattanooga much at all because of the distance....if we have to drive a distance to get a good deal...it's not a good deal!

There is a Kroger in Dechard but I find the Walmart there is cheaper on all their stuff even with Kroger coupons....thankfully though living off my stockpile has helped quite a bit....just need to start replenishing it now.

[CMUGRAD]

Welcome back to CouponMom! I find myself ordering more coupons online...maybe that would help you get coupons that aren't always available in your area.

I think about that too....I used to do that but stopped....any good reputable sites you could recommend?

[CMUGRAD]

You sound like a smart cookie to me. What is your business?

We started an online business in 2003 when my husband was first laid off.....We sell wildlife and nature gifts, art, home decor and sculptures.....when I left the workforce and moved down here we put up a building in our front yard (thank goodness for the zoning codes in this area...there bascially aren't any!) and took our business from 100% online and added a brick and mortar as well. So now we have both. Some of the locals here were skeptical we would be in business this long because the area we live in is not exactly well off, but as we do online/internet sales as well....we can basically live anywhere in the world and do just fine.

We do pretty good with local foot traffic from the tourism that does come through this area...and the beauty of it...I don't have to pay for gas to go to work...just walk out my front door...we saved every penny to put up a building so we don't have to rent anything..it's all paid for...the only thing we have to worry about is making enough out the store to pay for property taxes, utilities and replenishing inventory....which we are doing that...so I am happy.

[CMUGRAD]

First off, Welcome to God's Country!!!! You are likely very close to me. The Nashville Tennessean is horribly expensive, over $3 around here, but it has the best Qs. The local papers are sadly light on Qs. The Nashville paper has higher $$ Qs as well. I ask everyone I know to save their inserts for me if they won't use them. IPs are not worth the ink for me, or the hassle.
Again....Welcome to the area!!!

Deb

thanks for the welcome! Nashville is about an hour and half northwest of me...I am on top of Monteagle Mountain....closer to Chattanooga....and the local newspapers in this area aren't very good for coupons at all so I rely heavily on internet coupons nows....especially since the places around here are now starting to take them more and more.

We just love it down here...especially the winters....coming from Michigan...living right on the lakeshore we would get some horrible snows....mnm'z can attest to that...even in land where she lives would get hit hard too....our first winter down here we got 8 inches of snow between Christmas and New Year up here on the mountain. It was crazy how people responded to that....but after living here I understand why! There is only one snow plow and it only goes down the main road...period. So I get it when folks would go to the store and clear the shelves of bread and milk when there is a threat for snow.....thankfully I'm lactose intolerant and I make alot of my own bread now so that doesn't affect my household. This past winter though was a cinch....two days with very light flurries and it was all gone by the afternoon...that was it! Lowest I think it got was in the high 30"s......so drastically different from the sub-zero wind chills we used to get blasted with right off Lake Michigan. I am loving it!