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My sweet kids that put up with this craziness every day . . . so thankful for them!
In October of 2010 I initially shared this with you guys, but since then we've added a reader of two! It's one of those things that I struggle sharing too often here on PPP, but it may be information that you're interested in. I made a few updates since I posted it last (back in January of 2012), but, here goes . . .
I started Passionate Penny Pincher (well, Publix Penny Pincher initially), as a way to share deals and encourage folks to donate to local food pantries, but also as a way to earn money for our kid's college funds.
When I prayed about starting this site, I felt God clearly saying He was okay with it (always nice to know, right?), as long as one half of any proceeds from the site were donated towards mission work.
I remember mulling that one over in my head, then courageously tossing Him up a nice counter-offer including a 75/25 split. (Can you guess how I planned to split it? And yup, I could almost hear Him laughing too!)
Well, almost a year almost four seven! years into this crazy blogging thing, I've donated one half of all profits from this site to missionaries, primarily to the Tatum Family, missionaries from our church who are seving in Costa Rica. There have been many days when I've added up my “hourly” rate and been thoroughly depressed at my whopping one dollar per hour earnings (really, what am I thinking???)
It never fails though, that on that very same day I get an encouraging email from one of you, or someone writes something nice on the PPP Facebook page, or I meet a reader in Publix, so I keep typing another day. I'm slowly (ever……….sooooooo………s…….l……o……w……l……y……) seeing the benefits of these oodles of hours of labor pay off, and each month I'm a little more excited by the tiny additions to our kid's college savings accounts. But I am overwhelmingly excited about what our family is now able to give each month beyond our tithe towards help children in another country.
I share this with you all not in any way to boast or brag or anything. (Trust me, if God hadn't clearly said it I clearly wouldn't be doing it!) All I'm doing is what I think (I hope!) I'm supposed to be doing, and I love doing something for others outside my little nest.
It does however take a LOT of time from my crazy busy family. I struggle daily with whether or not I'm in the right “season” of my life to keep this up. I look at my Reagan (she's still just three she's now six ten!, and growing way too fast!) who pulls on my leg a zillion times each day while I glare into the computer screen and wonder if this is worth it. I see zillions of other fabulous money saving blogs out there and wonder why on earth anyone could need one more? Then I stay up at night, hoping to catch up, and type something someone will actually want to read, and wonder . . . whatever happened to sleeping?  (I've gotten much better about sleeping, and usually aim for at least 6-7 hours per night, way better than what I got in those early days!)
And then I realize that it won't be long until that baby of mine is heading off to school with her big brother and sister, and it's going to be awfully lonely around here . . . so maybe hanging out with you all each day will help ease those difficult first few mornings of kindergarten!
The reason I'm sharing this with you is so that you know what I know.
I read money saving blogs for years before getting into this and had no idea why so many sweet mommy bloggers did all this work for us! Well, believe it or not there are lots of big businesses out there that want you as a consumer to buy from them.  So they are so generous and pay (*desperately frugal*) housewives like me to encourage folks to use their products. When you print a coupon from Coupons.com or Red Plum, companies like Proctor & Gamble, Kraft, and Betty Crocker give us a tiny payout. And, if there's an amazing deal offered from other companies like Amazon, or even Zulily, we also make small commissions off your purchases on those sites as well.
My promise to you is that I will never promote a deal that I would not actually do myself. (In fact I get offers on a daily basis with deals that I pass on because I don't believe them to be legitimate “deals”, so I promise I'll keep watching!)
So there you have it! If there's a blog out there that you love, support it.Â
Print your coupons from it, order from Amazon through it, and even start Swagging through it! All those penny-pinching-blogging-ladies (and a few gentleman. . . ) work very hard to earn your readership and support. If you frequent a site and it provides you just the information you're looking for, support them (they work for it!!!)
And, if you enjoy Passionate Penny Pincher (I really hope you do!), I'd love for you to support this site too! Each time you do that, not only are you supporting deals on this site, you're also helping a family from right here in America bless children in Costa Rica.
And now, for a few more updates to the original post:
- I do make more than a dollar per hour these days. (Thank goodness . . . but some days it still feels like I fight for it!)
- Because of the growth of the site, I am crazy fortunate and was able to add my friend Shannon to help with the site. She handles all of the coupon matchups, the saving and giving posts, store trip posts, and just about anything else that I ask her too. The most exciting part of working with her is that her heart is crazy about missions too, so I feel like God incredibly blesses the work that we do every day. (Seriously, it's amazing!) I also have two other friends that help by running to Kroger each week as well as adding extra posts as I need them. I'm so blessed to have such sweet friends help, as I really was way over my head for at least the first two years (and I still feel that way most days. . . yikes!)
- I love what I do. I am so thankful that you read this stuff everyday, and being able to make some income, send some to missions, and have a bit of a life outside cleaning up after my kiddos, helping with homework, and cooking meals has been so good for my brain. (Do you know what I mean?) However, it takes a ton of time and is way more work than I ever imagined (especially since I really am a homemaker at heart!)  My brain really doesn't ever stop though, and I worry constantly that I'm not posting enough information to be helpful to you, or that I'm posting too often deals on the site that do make money. (I do work though incredibly hard to promote only deals that are legitimate offers for you!)
- I'm so thankful for you. When you leave a comment here, on the Passionate Penny Pincher Facebook page, or by e-mail, it truly makes my day. (Seriously, almost every comment you leave gets passed on to my hubby. . . I'm afraid he gets PPP overload even almost four years in!) If it weren't for you reading, none of this would happen, and I feel incredibly blessed to have such kind and supportive readers. Thank you for taking your time to read this stuff (especially this crazy long post. . . ) And may God bless the work of your hands too.
More updates! (as of December 2015)
- We're now able to give to several missionaries thanks to the proceeds of PPP ~ my favorite times of the year are when we're able to send out those donation checks twice annually (so thankful that we're able to do that ~ I never-ever-never would have dreamed that when starting out six years ago!)
- I've been able to hire more help on PPP which makes it all so much easier to manage! Shannon continues to manage the store deals on PPP, Cheryl does most of the graphics for the site as well as just about anything I ask her to do, Nicole writes many of the deal posts that we share, and my friends Jamie, Misty and Staci help out hunting down deals at Kroger and drafting other posts for the week whenever I ask.
- I continue to just love what I do. I work a lot (way more than I want to most days, but I'm working on finding more balance ~ we'll see!), but am so thankful for the growth of PPP. I so so so love hanging out with you each day! 🙂
- Read more on how I earn a full time income as a stay-at-home-mom-blogger here.Â
If you're interested in learning more about the Tatum Family or making a donation directly to their mission, visit Mission Costa Rica.
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Hi Laurie, I really enjoy your blog, so many great tips and ideas. I have been praying about doing a blog and recently bought a .com domain. I worked in corporate America for 15 years when I decided to focus on my main priority, my family and became a full time SAHM. Thankfully, my husband completely supported this move. So much, of what you say resonates with me! Love what you are doing and most importantly giving GOD first place! Best Wishes, Amber
Laurie; I have only recently discovered your site, and I wanted to tell you that your approach to frugality, your love for your family, and your compassion for the rest of us is really rather inspiring. I have one question about blogging: I have read countless articles online regarding starting up a new blog. There’s lots of recommendations about the blog itself, but nothing about how to “monetize” it. How/when do you approach businesses like amazon; or, do they approach you; and, who do you contact in such a large company; and, how many readers must you have ???(Well, that was a bit more than ONE question!) Thanks very much for your time and attention. Continued success in life!
Hi Marisa! I think it’s soooo important to build traffic first – but there are so many great posts from other people (I haven’t written many!) on this. Amazon is pretty open to working with even small blogs, just do some google searching and you should be able to get started. Here are a few posts that will help –
https://passionatepennypincher.com/2015/11/how-i-make-a-full-time-income-as-a-stay-at-home-mom-7-secrets-to-success/
https://passionatepennypincher.com/2016/03/start-a-blog/
http://moneysavingmom.com/make-money-blogging
Good luck as you go Marisa! 🙂
I am a single mom trying desperately to keep my head above water. It didn’t help that during my divorce 3 years ago I found out that cancer had moved into my body and taken up residency. I often think of blogging as a way to earn money since as of right now I have been unable to find anyone willing to hire me. Blogs like yours have given me hope and a sense of purpose, as I have had to learn to live extremely frugally without my children knowing how little money we have had. Thank you so much!
Hugs Jackie – sending prayers for your family and love what you’re doing for your family by saving. Thank you so much for sharing!
Updates on your cancer?
I’ve been following you for a year or so and thankful to all you share with us. I understand why you may question what your doing on a daily basis especially with the recent events. No one gives us a set of instructions to follow in what directions to go in life. I have a few more years on you, but come to realize that were all on a journey. At times, the journey changes and we learn to embrace a new journey. It’s scary, but change is part of having new experiences. I’ve come to understand the part of my journey is to be spent with loving my family until my final days. I’m grateful for every experience I’ve learned and more experiences to come. The best advice I share with someone is to follow your heart not your head. God will close a door and open a window.
Thank you so much Sheryl for your kind words! I’m so thankful for this little online “home” and am so blessed by so many folks. I appreciate you so much and it means and you’re right – my sweet family is the very best to spend time with!
This is so wonderful! So happy for you! God bless. 🙂
Love this blog!!! Is there a way I can email you directly? Working on a publication for the holidays and came would love for you to write an article. Something similar to: https://passionatepennypincher.com/2012/09/the-friday-fluff-up-6-decorating-at-the-dollar-tree/# Hope to hear from you.
Gail Dudley
Love your blog and all the helpful tim, deals, and your stories! Thank you for all your hard work!
Thanks so much Sandy – that means so much to me!
I appreciate all the hard work you have done and passed your page/website onto many other people. In these tough economic times we need to “pinch” as many pennies we can. I am grateful for the tips of many types, stories and other things you have posted. To me, your work is worth it! You’ve helped so many of us! Thank you!!! 🙂
Thank you Crystal for sharing – it does make it so much more worth it when I know it’s really helping people (and I really do love what I get to do each day!)
You’re so inspiring, Laurie! You’ve helped me as a blogger, and God has clearly blessed you in the way you’ve handled this blog. Thank you! And may He continue to bless you in the future!
I think you’re so inspiring Julie (and love all of the ideas on Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss!) Thanks so much for your kind words ~ I really do feel so fortunate to do something I love each day, enjoy my family and give something back. Goodness, just feel so lucky and thankful that God allowed me to make it work!
You do a great job! Keep up the good work.
Laurie,
I’ve been following you for a while and I’ve never read this post before. I found it very touching. I plan on printing more coupons from your site now that I know what you know. Thanks!
Blessings!
Sara
Thanks so much Sara! I’m so glad you’re following PPP 🙂
Thank yo so much following the Lord's leading to do what you do – it is a huge help to so many of us mama's!
You’re so welcome Heather ~ it means so much to me that it helps! 🙂
Thank you for sharing! “if God hadn’t clearly said it I clearly wouldn’t be doing it” I had to smile! For us nonbloggers, I don’t always understand/know how much a blogger can make. I assume it is safe to say that the blog/income/giving to Tatum family has grown more than maybe you imagined it would! Be sure to take time for yourself and your family!
Tammie ~ that is so much the truth … no way would I on my own been as good about giving (funny what He calls us to, isn’t it?) It has grown and I feel so fortunate (and really surprised) that blogging earns any income myself. But I do love it, and would probably be lost if I didn’t have a few folks to share the deals with each day! 🙂
I love following your facebook and Blog. My sister taught me how to coupon and told me about your site. It is no nice to be able to know what deals are coming up and what coupon book the coupons come out of. I have 3 children and i find it hard time to make time for myself to breathe let alone coupon but you have helped make it a reality for me! Keep up the great work! BTW your kids are beautiful!
Thank you Magen for your encouragement ~ I appreciate that so much! (And I think they’re pretty cute too ~ I’m so incredibly blessed!!!)
Don’t give up! I am a young wife and blogs like yours help me stay home and serve my husband on a very small budget! Thank You!
I’m so glad it helps Emily! I have days where I consider giving it up (it really does take over my life so often), but then I always come back and start typing away. It helps so much though when I know it matters and makes an impact on your family!