You know I never heard any stereotypes about the Dutch my whole life. I had no idea what outsiders thought of us. I never heard anything negative or positive. The only things I had ever heard were about physical characteristics, like being tall or not being able to grow facial hair or eyebrows. Here is a picture of my -
brother and his fiance. He had to shave his eyebrows as a teenager in order for them to grow in. He's also about 6'2''. I think he looks more like my mom (the dutch side) than I do. Anyway, that was the extent of my knowledge of the Dutch stereotypes and my brother fits the physical characteristics. So about 5 yrs ago I met my husband. And there began the insite to what outsiders thought of my kind lol. So the first thing I heard was the phrase "Going Dutch". I had never heard it before and so I asked him. He laughed at the thought that a Dutch girl never heard of it. So he explained its when each person pays for their own bill such as with a dinner bill. So I asked why is it called "going dutch". He said because the Dutch are tight with there money. What?! Really?! I'm actually proud of that lol. Well wouldnt you know, Im super tight with my money. Im super anal about my bills and I have to have a stash of money put away somewhere for emergencies. Of course I would marry someone who could care less about the financial future, or stashing money just in case. IT DRIVES ME NUTS!!!!
Thats us. The most opposite couple out there when it comes to money. So I had to find a way that I could continue to be frugal and down right cheap to keep up with his 'I dont care how much it is' spending. So I got into couponing. I spend a lot of time online checking blogs and couponing sites to match up deals with the coupons I get. I NEVER pay retail for anything. It doesnt matter if I'm going out to a restaraunt or going shopping for clothes. I would challenge anyone to a cheap-off. Everyone knows if you want a good deal on something go shopping with Rachel. I take pride in that. I actually have people call me all the time to find out where to go when they want to buy something. I actually thought about becoming a personal shopper. Business wouldnt be so good in my part of the woods, but I would love it. Nothing is greater than walking out of a store just paying tax on something. Its almost like a high. I get to have a shopping addiction, without losing the ranch. I love teaching people how to do it too. I feel really validated when I can share with others something I really enjoy that can make a positive difference in their lives. Im very compassionate about money. So now I will share some of the links that make life a little easier for me when I am searching for those deals.
http://www.freebies4mom.com/ http://www.heyitsfree.net/ these sites are all about free stuff. Who doesn't like getting free stuff. When I go to restaraunts I like
http://www.bradsdeals.com/ &
http://www.retailmenot.com/. Both websites are super good when you're clothes shopping too. They are constantly updated and depending on your area, let you know what coupons or codes to use with what. Now I did mention I use coupons. I buy 4 newspapers each week to get the coupons out of them. I never use all the coupons that are in the papers. I will buy things that I wouldnt have considered using if I can get them at rock bottom prices. For example, I just stockpiled on some dishwashing tablets for $1.25 and the store gave me back $1 coupons good on my next purchase which was used to stock up on juice boxes for my kids. So I got $9 in free juice and spent $2.25 for 9 boxes of dishwasher tabs. I can dig it, can you? So my favorite coupon sites are
http://www.afullcup.com/ and
http://www.weusecoupons.com/ between the both of these, I can keep up on what people are finding that are not in the sales ads. These site are also updated constantly because people like us keep posting what we find throughout the day.
Now I get a little crazy. I do have a big binder and a lot of business card holders so i can organize the coupons. My husband doesn't like to go shopping with me for groceries anymore because I carry that binder into every store I go to just in case I see a deal. Hes embarrassed. Yes, people look at me like I'm nuts. I get more compliments and envy than I get negative feedback. I think the cashiers hate me more lol. But I welcome anyone to pay my bills so I dont have to use coupons (which will never happen anyway). I would rather spend money on something for my house than I would for food. I look at it as literally flushing money down the toliet. If I can save in food, I can have something material in my house or more savings in my account. I hope If I can save one dollar from being spent, this blog will have been worth writing lol. So good luck to anyone out there who wants to get started. Its a passion of mine to hold onto my money as long as possible and I will help anyone else who wants to do the same.
