Hello!
My name is Juli. I’m an Arizona native. My family lives in the East Valley, right on the border of Mesa, Chandler, and Gilbert. Our deals all come from Arizona, unless it happens to also be a national deal.
I have been happily married to Shawn since 1995. He is a computer programmer/architect. He has done a lot of work around here, to automate things and just keep things moving. Bargain Believer wouldn’t exist without him!
I taught second grade in a public school in Mesa before having children. I loved it, but when my son was born in 2000, I decided to quit teaching and stay home with him.
I have homeschooled my kids from the beginning, so I have never fully left the field of education. My oldest son graduated in 2018. My two girls graduated together in 2020. No, they aren’t twins. They’re about 19 months apart. I found out around 1st/2nd grade that I couldn’t slow my youngest down, as hard as I tried. She wanted to do everything her sister did and she was good at it, so I simplified my life and they started doing most of the same school work.
Early in our marriage, I made more money teaching than my husband did at his entry-level job. Though we didn’t have high paying jobs, we were still able to stay out of debt (other than our home) and pay off significant student loan debt before having kids. When our son was born, we decided that I would stay home with him. Living on one (pretty small) income wasn’t impossible. We just had to be intentional about how we spent our money.
Honestly, I never felt deprived. All our needs were met and we even took vacations. Beyond making sure we didn’t spend too much on our home or vehicle, we were really good at finding deals on essentials … and even splurges. Even with a low income, we chose to live below our means and actually enjoyed our life! I’m telling you this since I’m confident you can, too!
Over time, my husband’s income rose quite a bit. We had a lot more wiggle room, but still chose to keep many of our expenses down, freeing us up to give generously and save for our future. I say that I’d still be looking for a good deal, even if I was a millionaire. I haven’t been able to test that yet, but maybe someday. :)
As my kids got older and they did more independent work for homeschool, I had more time. It was time to start sharing the deals I found, more than just occasional emails and phone calls to friends. I wanted a spot where friends who were interested in good deals could go, and those who weren’t wouldn’t have to endure an email or phone call from me when I couldn’t keep it to myself.
I chose the name “Bargain Believer” since I have two passions, beyond the family and friends I cherish. I love finding & sharing deals (the “Bargain” part) and Jesus (the “Believer” part). I combined the words for a double meaning, and Bargain Believer was born in 2010.
I’ve found many amazing deals over the years, but the greatest bargain that I have encountered was God willingly giving me the free gift of salvation through Jesus. I didn’t spend a dime and gained eternity in heaven. Now that’s a deal!
This Grace to You article sums up my beliefs. I realize it’s personal and not everyone will share the same love I have. Be assured that I won’t push any beliefs on you. This is a place to find bargains, but my relationship with Christ is so much of who I am, I have to share it on this page or I feel like it’s not really telling you who I am. I’m thankful we live in a free country, and we don’t have to agree on everything. I hope we’ll all agree that saving money is rewarding. I’m here to share bargains! If you want to save, you’re in the right place.
When I’m not busy with family, church, home, friends, or other commitments, I’m usually either plotting my bargain course or tracking down a good deal. I started this website because there are so many deals that are too hard for me to contain. I hope you will benefit from some of them.
You can jump in as much or as little as you desire. I suggest finding a couple simple deals and then see what you feel like tackling after that. Don’t worry if a great deal slips away. There’s more to life than getting them all! Just because we highlight a deal does not mean that we got it. We don’t have the time to get them all and neither do you! Focus on what you do save, not on what you could have saved if you sacrificed sanity or ignored other aspects of your life.
I suggest you subscribe to our daily email to keep current with everything we have posted. You can also follow on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Happy bargain hunting!
Juli
Update: Since the time it takes to maintain this website is more than I can manage alone, I have hired Gina & Kira to help with inputting deals into the database each week. I couldn’t do it without them! More on our membership here.
[…] It is owned by Juli and she shares tips on saving money, especially coupons. You can find great deals while on her blog. Do check it out. […]
[…] It is owned by Juli and she shares tips on saving money, especially coupons. You can find great deals while on her blog. Do check it out. […]
[…] It is owned by Juli and she shares tips on saving money, especially coupons. You can find great deals while on her blog. Do check it out. […]