Money Saving Mom®

Testimonial from Keelie of Love Hope Adventure:

Just 7 short years ago, I was a desperate mess.

At the time, I was the momma of two young boys, frantically searching for ways to save money. My husband and I were drowning in bills and not enough income to pay for everything.

Our goal was and always has been, to stay out of debt as much as possible, but at the time, it felt like we were in a losing game.

Our Financial Problem

We moved to a new town in order for my husband to take on a job at a church. Unfortunately, we were stuck with a mortgage payment and no prospects of selling our home in the town we left.

Austin, my husband, was still in seminary. It was our goal to pay for all of his education with scholarships and cash; however, we had a lot of associated costs with him commuting to the school that we could not reduce.

I had tried several different ways to earn money from home in the years prior, but nothing I put time into produced any funds; and with two young children, the cost of childcare would take everything I could earn at a job outside of the home.

The First Revolution With Money Saving Mom

Since I was a frugal person by nature, I couldn’t find any real money saving tips. Every article said to stop eating out as much and cook from scratch. Those were no-brainers to me and not the least be helpful.

A friend sent me a message suggesting I check out Crystal’s blog. After browsing the site for a few minutes, I knew I had found a resource that would help us make it.

Crystal didn’t post the usual things I read about saving money. She outlined exactly how to coupon. Her information was astounding to me.

Without her practical helps, I wouldn’t have been able to feed my family during those years. We relied heavily on my ability to snag free and almost free items.

The couponing community she established changed the way we look at life. In addition, Crystal’s ideas on life shaped our attitude towards benevolence and we have incorporated those ideas into our jobs today.

Back In a Desperate Place

A few years later, we were on the move again. This time, we were in a better financial place as we did not have an extra mortgage payment and Austin was out of seminary.

However, we moved to an area with a huge couponing community. Rarely have I been able to make deal scenarios work because stores are always out of the products I needed and wanted to buy. We had little choice but to increase our expenditures.

It was a year into the job at the new church that I realized our days were numbered. Austin was feeling a pull to step out of pastoral ministry and I knew a major income loss was on the horizon.

The Second Revolution From Money Saving Mom

Around that time, Crystal started challenging her readers to find ways to earn an income from home. She had always had a push for that, but I think she was turning the focus even more.

Can I be honest? I was really angry with her for “pushing”. I knew she was right, but I didn’t want to keep trying make money from home. I had failed in this area so many times.

Even after I started following the Money Saving Mom blog, I would sign up for everything they suggested to earn a few extra dollars. None of those outlets brought me success. I thought earning just wasn’t something I was meant to do.

Crystal posted a series on ways to earn extra cash before Christmas. One of the days was about selling your services on a platform called Fiverr.

Reluctantly, I signed up for an account over there and created a writing gig. I didn’t expect anything to come of it since I had tried so many other ideas. However, after I created a gig, I started taking orders almost immediately!

Over the last 2 years, I have built a successful freelance writing business. I didn’t set out to do this through Fiverr, but it fell on me!

The Third Revolution From Money Saving Mom

About a year ago, I finally had the courage to start my own blog. This is a venture that my husband had been after me to do for many years as I have always wanted to be a writer.

Working on other entrepreneur’s websites gave me the confidence and skills I needed to start my own blog.

My biggest passion is to help married couples grow in intimacy with one another — healthy couples make for healthy homes. I launched Love Hope Adventure a little over a year ago and I’ve been nurturing it in my spare time.

I’m at another pivotal point in my life, and Crystal’s influence has come into play once again. With her latest book, Money Making Mom: How Every Woman Can Earn More and Make a Difference, I know I will get the valuable helps I need to take my blog to the next level.

Why I Trust Crystal

In the online world, it can be hard to know who to trust and who is fake. Crystal is a person that I have always identified with and trusted.

She is the same age that I am and has three kids that are all about the same age as my boys. Not only that, she is a homeschool mom that committed to putting her husband through his degree without taking on debt. I’ve watched her live out her convictions, which happen to be in line with my own.

Crystal is very transparent with her struggles and gives hope to others at every turn. She is a real person that has found ways to stay true to herself and keep her passions at the forefront of life.

Thank you Crystal for building this amazing community and bringing us all together to encourage each other!

Keelie is married to her highschool sweetheart and is the mom of three awesome boys. She is a creator and loves sharing with the world around her. One of her biggest passions is to help married couples fall deeper in love with one another. You can read her marriage tips at Love Hope Adventure.