Kathy Spencer

Three years ago, my husband Brian (pictured above) was up for a large promotion when he was hit with a nasty flu that within days landed him in the hospital with life-threatening pneumonia. As the primary breadwinner for our family of six, his medical bills and prolonged absence from work hit us very hard financially. While he was recovering, I began scheming ways we could save money. I'd always followed store promotions and casually clipped coupons, but it wasn't a "lifestyle," per se. One day in between trips to the hospital, I ran into a convenience store to buy juice. I noticed a bottle of cranberry that was on sale for a dollar that I just so happened to have a coupon for. The coupon gave me a dollar off that brand, so guess what - the juice was free. That's when the light bulb went off - What if I applied this shopping strategy to more than just cranberry juice? From that day on, I began challenging myself to shop for free. Today, we look like we have it all. We live in a 3,000 square-foot home on nearly three acres of land in an affluent community. My husband and I drive vehicles that we paid for in cash. My kids and I wear name-brand clothes. Our oldest is in college and we have no credit card debt. What's more, my husband and I never fight about money. How many married couples can say that? The irony is that my husband never got his promotion; he makes $45,000 a year. And yet, to take a walk through our house and sit down at our dinner table, you'd never know that "on paper," we're considered low-income. We live a life of abundance because I've discovered the secret to having more of what we want, for less. And guess what? You, too, can learn how to shop for free and have it all.