My name is Beckee and I am a mom in Washington State trying to figure out "What is the Deal?" and sharing my journey with you. My husband is a physician and we have 5 kids ages 13, 12, 9, 8, and 5. Our lives have changed significantly since my husband (finally) finished  his 10 years of post college medical training and started a "real job" 3 years ago. This big city girl moved to a very small town in Washington and for the past 3 years has been constantly trying to figure out how to adjust to being a small town girl! And wouldn't you know it, right when I get used to our small town, my husband gets an AMAZING job offer, and we are about to move to a larger town still in Washington State. Life is always a changing adventure!

When I started this blog, our budget was VERY tight and I was trying to stretch it as far as I could! I still try to spend smart and save as much as possible! But now I splurge a little more and travel a lot more, and I want to share those adventures with you. So I will be sharing with you what I have been up to (or "What is my deal"). I hope you can have some fun reading about our adventures!

Below is the story about how this blog came to be:

In November 2009, my husband's cousin Christy, posted a picture on her Facebook page of a shopping trip where she saved more than half her bill by couponing and carefully budgeting. I had just that day heard about "Super couponing." I had a few months before begun religiously going through my local grocery ads and price matching everything at Walmart (cheap, one-stop shopping). I was really trying to save money and spend very little on our monthly groceries and expenses. I was also trying to spend as little as possible on Christmas gifts while still making it a great Christmas all around. I was watching ads, but after Christy's post on Facebook I saw that she had posted the name of a frugal blog where she had seen the deals. I went there, and since then, I have discovered a whole new world and level of "saving" that I had no idea existed.

From that first frugal blog, I found a second, and a third, and many many more resources to save, save SAVE!! And, yes, I admit it, I became obsessed!! And I have spent a great deal of time glued to Wes's new laptop checking frugal blogs, couponing sites, looking for freebies, finding ways to save. I just really want to get as much free/cheap stuff as possible...

Now, I should tell you all that I come by this obsession honestly!! There is a famous story in my family about my Papou (Greek for Grandfather) who recently passed away. Once many years ago, Papou went shopping and though I do not remember all the details accurately (my memory stinks), the basic jest is that on a shopping trip, he found ash trays on mega sale (I believe they were like 10 or 20 for a dollar), so Papou bought a case or two of them. No one in our family smokes at all and no one ever has, but he could not resist that deal. 40 or so years later, my mom and XiaXia (grandma) are still using those ash treys as candy dishes...

I like a deal as much as Papou did, and I am constantly seeking them out. The few moments over the last few months that I was not online seeking out deals and freebies, I was on the phone calling my mom, my sisters, my mother-in-law...whoever I could think of to share the great deals with! This blog is an attempt to share those deals I find without breaking the bank on my long distance bill!

We LOVE to travel. A LOT. But it is difficult to travel with 7 people and not break the bank! So, I love to find free (or cheap) family activities to do anywhere I live or travel. AND I love searching for the best deals on the "expensive" things I like to do like Disneyland, Zoos, or other local tourist attractions! I try to include those as I hear of them as well.

I just want to let you know what the deal is with my journey and to share the deals I find along the path! Hope you enjoy it-and please, feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think!