Why We Coupon: Part 1

If you've been following this blog for a while, you might have noticed a few changes.  I recently re-evaluated the time I've been devoting to this blog.  In the beginning, I set this up to share events in our family's life, to share recipes and to share scrapbooking and stamping techniques with others.  Over the past year, I've sort of gotten off track with all that.  I'd like to explain a little about why we coupon and why this blog took a change a few months back...

After our son was born in June 2008, we went through a very hard time financially.  While at the hospital the nurses asked if I'd like to sign up for WIC but I declined since I didn't think we would qualify.  Six weeks later, when we had no money to buy groceries AND pay our bills, I drove down to the local WIC office to fill out a form just to be sure.  After waiting for about an hour in the hallway, I asked the administrator if there were any documents I needed to fill out while I waited and she curtly told me I needed an appointment to even be considered for WIC.  I left the office very upset (having wasted an hour out of my day) and drove back home.  When I got home I looked through our cabinets and found a can of Manwich (which I do not like at all) and some rice and a few other odds and ends.  I was trying to figure what I could make for dinner but was too upset to think about it.  I talked with a friend (my "Coupon Queen") and expressed my concern about our food situation.  Little did I know that would be the turning point for our life and this blog...

Part 2.

(By the way, I didn't try to qualify for WIC again until over a year later.  I was able to contact a different office and she confirmed my suspicion that we indeed did not qualify for WIC.  Apparently, my husband's NET Income would qualify but the GROSS Income is what they based it on and she said we would not be able to obtain WIC vouchers.)