I am now on a mission to help you spend a whole lot less of your hard earned money on groceries, so you can use those dollars to pay off debt, save for a vacation, pay for something special, or whatever your financial goals or dream may be!
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I’m a child of God, wife of an adorable, supportive and godly husband and mom to 4 rambunctious little boys, ages 17, 15, 13 and almost 10 (pictured below in summer 2019)!
I grew up in San Antonio, TX, and went to college at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX. A few short months after graduating from TCU, I found myself in the Dominican Republic as a missionary and high school math and science teacher. I met my husband in the DR. We married a year and a half after meeting. We continued living and ministering in the Dominican Republic. I learned all I needed to know about meal planning and grocery shopping on a budget…all in a 3rd world country using a foreign currency!
We later taught at a small elementary school in our town, where I managed the hormones of the 6th and 7th grade classes, and hopefully taught them a few academic things too. The year that I was pregnant with my oldest son, I was the principal of our elementary school. Talk about a hormonal roller coaster ride! After his birth, I worked part time from home as a consultant/part-time administrator at the school. After 6 years of ministry in the Dominican Republic, we moved back to the US several years ago when I was pregnant with our 2nd son. At first, I found life in the US overwhelming. Now that the reverse culture shock has worn off, I really enjoy the luxuries and comforts of home.
When I’m not couponing, grocery shopping or blogging, I enjoy date nights, training for and running half marathons, hanging out outside, reading and hanging out with girlfriends!
How $5 Dinners came to be…
Back in late summer 2008, I began couponing. Really couponing. It started paying off immediately! I love to cook and I love the challenge of coming up with a meal that costs under $5. A few weeks before I started the blog, I’d shared with my husband that “this meal was only $3.85, or tonight’s dinner cost about $5.” One night as I was cleaning up the dishes from dinner I thought of the phrase “$5 Dinners”. The website was born and we’ve added hundreds of recipes, cooking tutorials and more here on the site!
Since the website’s inception, we have added 2 more boys to the family, a furry boy for Christmas last year, and moved from Ohio back to my hometown, San Antonio.
Disclaimer: The prices reflected in each recipe post are accurate. I buy EVERYTHING on sale and most non-produce/meat items with a coupon. Anyone who doesn’t believe this or questions the prices I post is welcome to come and audit my grocery receipts! I do realize that prices vary by region and that sales are not always the same in each region of the country. You might not be able to find the same deals or prices.
It’s an honor and privilege to share our meals with you each night! I hope you’re inspired to start making meals of your own that are not only frugal, but most importantly healthy!