It all started with toilet paper...
I got to a point in my life where I wanted to help others more. Being an Italian, I love to feed people. I looked into soup kitchens but they were pretty non-existent in my area. Then, a couple people in my life fell on hard times and I did some research on assistance programs. The biggest help was getting on food stamps. We knew they wouldn't cover enough so we could supplement by going to the food pantry. The big wrench in the works was that food stamps only covers FOOD. And now, I'm going to go on a little rant:
~There is a book called "everyone poops" which means everyone needs toilet paper, everyone.
~ Good hygiene is essential to good health, therefore, everyone needs shampoo, soap, a toothbrush and paste. It also goes a long way to getting and keeping a job.
~ Feminine hygiene products are crazy expensive! Even the generic stuff that falls apart or leaks.
~ the WIC program is much like food stamps and doesn't provide diapers. Diapers, even cloth, are EXPENSIVE.
~ everyone needs to wash their clothes
I went through my day and made a list of everything I used that wasn't food. 26 things, and I'm pretty low-maintenance and didn't include pet food or supplies. Then I started putting prices on as much as I could remember and the amount was staggering. If I lost everything and had to re-buy everything, I would need upwards of $300.
So now I'm on a mission to get my home supplies and personal care items at the lowest price possible for myself, while simultaneously finding deals on things and donating them to my local community coalition. I encourage you to do the same and see how far you can stretch your dollars.
My intention is to post the deals I find on a weekly basis so you can duplicate them too. I try to go after the deals that are the least out of pocket money as possible. I get the Boston Globe on Sunday, and have a few friends save their coupon inserts for me too. If you know anyone who has a store that sells papers, ask if you can have the inserts from the unsold copies, they only have to return the first page of the paper to get credit. Even if you don't have access to newspaper coupons, many of the deals I do are with printable coupons.
