About Me

I’m Crystal Paine, the blessed wife of Jesse and mommy to three precious little children (Kathrynne was born in 2005, Kaitlynn in 2007, and Silas–our first boy!–was born in May of 2009).

I’m first and foremost a child of God. I’m passionate about glorifying Him and making the most of my days on this earth. All I have and all I am is thanks to my Creator and Redeemer.

I’m also a homeschool graduate, sister to six, and daughter of the best parents ever. I owe so much to them–including being financially-savvy.

My Frugal Journey

My mom was the one who first introduced me to couponing, made me my coupon organization box, and gave me a copy of Miserly Moms. Not only that, but she also put me in charge of the grocery shopping, menu-planning, and cooking for our family of nine for a few years while I was still living at home. Talk about great practice for the future!

When my husband and I first married and were living on a beans-and-rice budget in order to stay out of debt while he went through law school, I thrived on coming up with creative ways to pinch pennies. I didn’t always enjoy barely making ends meet, but I certainly loved the thrill of getting the best bang for my buck.

One way we saved thousands of dollars during those lean years was to keep our grocery and household products budget to $35 a week. I had fun taking couponing to a whole new level and spent at least a few hours each week becoming proficient in “couponese” and playing the “Drug Store Game.”

About MoneySavingMom.com

A few years ago, I briefly shared a bit on bargain-shopping on a former blog of mine one day, and I was quickly inundated with questions on how we accomplish to eat on so little.

The questions kept coming despite writing a blog series, an ebook, and an ecourse on the subject of Supermarket Savings.

As time marched on and the questions, requests and emails continued to pour in, MoneySavingMom.com was born. It’s been quite the adventure and has far exceeded my wildest imaginations thanks to the many wonderful readers who have spread the word. In less than a year, it quickly became one of the highest-trafficked personal finance blogs on the web. And it just kept on growing!

I have enjoyed speaking to others, sharing what I’ve learned, at various events around the country.

Thanks in part to the revenue earned from advertising and affiliate sales on MoneySavingMom — and the fact that we stayed out of debt during law school! — we were able to save up enough to pay 100% down for our first home near the end of 2009. We’ve now committed to give away 100% of the proceeds from private ad sales to Compassion International and Show Hope.

If you’re new here and feel a bit overwhelmed by all the information on MoneySavingMom.com, start here.

I’m Not Doing This Alone

As this blog has mushroomed beyond what I can handle on my own while still keeping my family as my first priority, we’ve been blessed to have some very skilled people join our team. Erika is my full-time personal assistant. She willingly does whatever needs to be done–from answering emails, running errands, picking up the mail, placing orders, and making phone calls, to watching the children while I take a business phone call, keeping my office organized, and just generally keeping me on task. She’s my right arm and my left arm and I feel so blessed to have her help!

And then I have a fabulous virtual team who works remotely from all over the country: This blog would not be anywhere near what it is without the technical help and graphic design work of Joy from FiveJs.com, the blog expertise and behind-the-scenes assistance of Amy from BloggingWithAmy.com, the coordination and organization of all advertising and giveaways by Amy from Amy’s Finer Things, the coupon database entry work of Yvonne, the Store Deals Administration work of my sister Gretchen, and the odds and ends done by my brother, Nathaniel.

In addition, I am indebted to my husband who is my biggest cheerleader, best friend and willing ear.

Who knows what the future holds? One thing I do know is that any success is thanks to the Lord, to my parents, to my wonderful husband, and to the loyal readers who constantly push and stretch me to be a better home economist myself.

Things I Love

My three precious children–Kathrynne (5), Kaitlynn (2), and Silas (born in May 2009)

When I’m not homeschooling my daughters, bargain-shopping, or blogging, I enjoy tweaking recipes and baking big batches of things for the freezer, engaging in thought-provoking discussions, trying to keep up with politics, indulging in dark chocolate, drinking a hot cup of tea while reading a good book, or spending a quiet day at home with my family.

I like to keep it simple, I disdain clutter, I like to laugh, and most of all, I love the Lord and my family. And that pretty much sums it up.

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