How Coupons Saved My Life
I am sharing a video with you today… a very personal video. A video I filmed back in 2012. A video I wasn’t ready to release.
Now I am ready. Ready to share my story. My story about addiction, depression, and how those little things called coupons have done so much more than save me money.
*Please keep in mind that this video may not be suitable for children.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdTiPNJM7JU] If you can’t see the video, click here.
If you are currently suffering from drug addictions, food addictions and/or depression, I strongly encourage you to reach out to a friend or family member, doctor, counselor or pastor and seek help.
Thank you so much! I really needed to see this… You are such an inspiration! Not only did you change your own life, but also many other people’s lives. Never stop doing it:)
I think you are truly amazing and brave! I so enjoy all your hip2save post and videos…thank you !! #lovecoupons
You are awesome. What an inspirational story.
Thanks for sharing I am a mother,currently attending college and I also like couponing, my house is not the cleanest one so after your video I feel better, YOU ARE AMAZING AND HUMAN!!
Thank you so much for opening up about your struggles that many of us live with as well. I have had bouts of depression, lack of confidence, and stress that everyday life can throw at one at any given time. Finding that one thing that builds confidence and gets your mind off your struggles can be hard to come across. Couponing its such a positive way to change the way you feel about yourself and life. And giving back to others while you improve your own financial situation does wonders for the self esteem. Its done wonders for me and my family and I thank you from the bottom of my heart < 3 You are WONDERFUL Collin!! Inside and out!
This is such an amazing beautiful story… Thank you for being real and thank you for sharing
I feel like I know you… even though we’ve never met, all thanks to your website! Through the good and the bad you spoke words of truth, courage and love. You are an inspiration and blessing to many. Keep spreading the sunshine! 🙂
Nice to hear your story ,nobody’s perfect ,you are awesome I view your blog every day and will continue ,and yes I love to coupon .
Collin this video is one of the most bravest, inspiring and beautiful things I’ve seen. I’m so glad u posted it. It makes my heart smile to see someone with strength and courage to tell their story. We all have one and all have struggles. U will help many with this video and that’s amazing! God bless you
Thank you for sharing and for all you do! Most of us have our own struggles and stories as well, I know I do and it does help to know we are not alone! 🙂 You are truly an inspiration! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Colin! You are such an inspiration! Thank you for all you do! You are amazing!
Thank you for sharing your struggles. I’m so happy your in a much better place! Blessings to you!
Thanks for sharing your time and experiences with us. Hip2sav has helped me and my mother tremendously! We are now able to give to others as well. You are very much appreciated!
I’m so very glad you decided to share your story…it’s inspiring!
A couple years ago I came a crossed your site and told everyone I knew who couponed that they HAD to check you out. I am a single mom on a very tight budget, you showed me how to still provide for my children even on next to nothing. Thank you for opening up to us and sharing your life. You may never know just how many people you touched or impacted. Keep up the amazing work, positive attitude and contagious smile.
I am glad your heart was ready and able to release those struggles. You are a great person Collin, which is evident in the self awareness you have. Remember different is good because you can never be replicated. I’m still hoping for the Hip 2 Save conference as I have been following you what seems like forever. I think I called in on a radio show you were on while in NC and suggested this.You have allowed my family to get awesome deals and now we are retired at the age of 38 due to savings and diligence. Hugs to you for being so brave.
Way to go, Jenn! 🙂
Wow, Collin. Thank you so much for bravely sharing your inspirational story. I hope you understand how much you have helped people, including me, and not just because of the savings I get from couponing. In the last few years I’ve started making major positive changes in my life, and hip2save has been a big part of that. I was able to purchase items that I would have never been able to afford without the deals you posted. More importantly, I feel like I’ve learned how to get my priorities in order, and that all started when I really got into couponing, thanks to you. Thanks again for everything that you do.
i cried watching this video I think it is so brave of you to share your story. You are such an amazing and caring person. I check your site daily and I can’t even tell u how much money I have saved. I appreciate all you do and thanks for being such an inspiration to people.
Thank you so much for sharing your journey! You are amazing ! Keep up the good work! I follow you every day!
Omg so glad you shared this video! So inspiring and emotional! I was going to cry with you!
Oh Collin, sweet Collin. Thank you for being transparent, open and honest. I’m on the path to overcoming an addiction to pornography. As a woman and a Christian, this is something that is especially shameful. It is people like you who encourage and inspire me to do what is right and what is needful for my family. And you’re right…people online can be selfish, cruel and cowardly but it is people like you who stand up and tell their story that encourage the rest of us. Thank you for your time and effort put into this blog. Yours is pretty much the only coupon blog I follow and probably will be forever. You break things down so the rest of us can understand all that coupon math!!! 🙂 God bless you!!
Collins, you truly are brave and inspiring. As for hateful comments on the internet, those are their problem, not yours. I think everybody goes through different degrees of feeling isolated or depressed during a lifetime so we can all feel empathy with you watching your video. Unfortunately, it tends to happen to most of us when we are very young and have very little life experience to cope with it. I feel like you are a friend and it’s so much funto check in every day to see what great deals are out there. You have a lovely family and they are lucky to have you!
Collin, you are incredible. What unimaginable beauty has come from your trials. God is very gracious. Thank you for sharing, it makes me love you all the more (if that was even possible). 🙂
I was moved to tears by your video. You have dealt with some tough addictions which makes me even more impressed with the remarkable person you are today. Your kindness, compassion, positive attitude and desire to succeed are the result of how you have learned from and risen above those challenges. You are someone who I absolutely adore and want to become more like. Sending hugs your way. 😃
This video came at the perfect time for me. For days I have kept my son home with me because I’m too depressed to leave the house. I lost my job due to lay offs, had to apply for food stamps, can’t pay his tuition and actually thought of prostituting myself to make the payments. I’m crying as I’m writing this because I can’t believe I have 2 degrees and this is my life. I’ve applied to countless jobs and have received rejection after rejection letter, I actually just received one while I’m writing this LOL I don’t have any family nearby that can help me and I am single mom. The father lives in another country and my state can’t make him pay child support since he’s out of the country. I feel like I’ve failed my child…The upside of this is seeing your video. You actually just gave me hope. I jumped off of the couch (I’ve been on it for days literally) started cooking dinner for my son, put him in the bath and packed his bag for school tomorrow. I won’t give up, I want to, but I know I can’t. Thank you for sharing your story.
Hope is the best medicine.
Look for help, maybe at your son’s school? Maybe at a local church? I work in a middle school and my colleague and I are in charge of helping the school’s families. We would do anything for them, from finding counseling to helping them apply for benefits to give me weekly bags of groceries. Dont give up!
Don’t give up! Apply for other jobs even if it’s McDonald’s or something. Any income is better then no income, then continue applying for your dream job. Tell yourself that giving up is not an option. Good luck and God bless you.
Don’t give up…. God will help you get through this…. will be praying for you and your son.
I’m happy to look at your job materials if you want to make sure there’s no glaring problems! Good luck to you!
Hi Collin!
Your are angle. My guardian angle is yours. I learned a lot from you. Saved more by fallowing yours blog. Thank for sharing a wonderfull real life how it is! You are inspired person to all of us. We loves you Collin. God bless you and you sweet family!
Your bravery continues to amaze me. Thanks for sharing the imperfections. We do all have them, we need to stop judging ourselves and others.
Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
Thanks for sharing that Collin!….Your a great person and I’m glad i found this blog….i feel like I’ve known you for so long now….Appreciate everything!….You’re an AMAZING person!
Wow Collin thank you for sharing. I have been following you for about five years now. You help so many readers and I love your site. Now that I have a grandson you have saved me so much money and made it possible to buy him gifts for his birthday and christmas. Without you I would not be able to do as much. Thank you so much and I love you Collin. You are truely a Beautiful person!!
Thank you so much for sharing your video! I’ve also had addictions and depression. I have a great life, but find that sometimes the addiction is a way of escaping things that don’t go like you think that they should. I sometimes feel the tug to go back to old habits, but remind myself everyday that I am blessed with wonderful children and need to be a role model for them. You are an inspiration! Please continue doing what makes you happy and taking care of yourself!
Thank you for posting this! Amazing! I appreciate everything you have done.
God Bless, Collin. I can only imagine how proud your family (husband and kiddos and parents and siblings, and extended family!) are of you. You faced everything, and came out smiling. No BEAMING. You can see how much love and Joy you get from couponing and helping others in all your videos and posts. Your humor is fantastic, and your smile, infectious. Thank you for sharing that with us, your further extended family 😉 You featured my husband and I on one of your Happy Friday posts. We had lost our son, and was making care packs for the local NICU in honor of our son. And even on that post, there was some negative reactions. People can be mean. I am still trying to learn to deal with it better, lol. But not a week later, I had at least 2-3 HUGE boxes from vistacost FROM YOU to use in our packs, and several others from other Hip’ers to wanted to help. You are helping SO many people. Thank you so much for all that you do <3
Collin, your video touched my heart. When my daughter was 23 years old, she got Lyme disease, lost her job, and was bedridden for 2 years. Your site and your instructional videos inspired her to start couponing and help with our finances (since our medical bills were piling up). She was so weak, all she could do was clip coupons in bed, and she did! She would save all her strength to get out once a week to do coupon deals. I would drive her to the store, and watch her do her magic with coupons. She felt at least she could do SOMETHING with her life, and couponing gave her hope. It truly saved her life too! It was something she could do from her bed, and it became her “job”. It took my daughter a few years to heal, and now we have a stockpile of items our family can use, thanks to you. BTW, she is now married, just had a baby, and we are couponing baby items now. Thank you Collin!
Melanie Thanks for sharing your story too. My favorite part is the happy ending and a new beginning with the birth of a baby.
Collin thank you for that beautifully honest video. You’re such a sweet caring person! I cried watching, it really took me back to when I was struggling with anorexia. Showing this video is definitely going to show at least 1 person that their not alone.
Amazing video! Thank you for reminding us to keep it real. I love your blog! I read it daily. You are very strong!
What a wonderful message of hope Collin! You are going to impact so many people with your journey.
It’s not easy growing up with a learning disability; I know since I have dyslexia. The shame involved is brutal. Your path may have been different than mine but I too suffered from bullying (from others but more so myself) and lack of confidence. We are all perfectly imperfect people and showing that to others helps those who recognize themselves in your story.
I’m so thankful you found your voice, your confidence, and you were able to seek help. May God bless you for sharing this!
This video only further proves my appreciation for you and this site, Collin! I love this site for more than just the coupons and deals…you can tell just by your attitude and personality that you do more than just provide deals, you are a helpful, giving and caring person that isn’t selfish.
As someone who has also overcome and battled drug addiction, it is wonderful to see such success and happiness from someone and to know that the darkness does end eventually and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
Thank you for everything that you do! You have inspired more people than you know!
You are truly amazing! Your blog has helped me and my family so much! I have a college degree and I can’t even figure out how to match coupons and deals and savings with all the little variables. Takes a real skill! Thank you for being so real and honest.
Omg first of all I want to give you a big tight hug because I am not used to see you like this.watching ths video make me realize how much I am attached to you and this site,can’t stop my tears.your story is inspiring and you have helped yourself and all of us with coupons.and about how coupon has changed my life..more than financially, you and ths site has changed me morally.i am more honest and more generous.i have learnt that it is not ok to be dishonest even if you are hiding behind your computer screen..love you.respect you and proud of you.keep up the good work.(excuse my English as it’s not my first language)
Imorally.
Sorry last word by mistake.and my 5year old used her first free candy coupon today which I got from twix.thanks to you again
Such an amazing story that you shared. You have helped so many people and certainly paid forward many times more than can be imagined. An incredible success story!!
You are amazing and I’m so glad that you opened this part of your life up to us. I feel like i know you better and that you have not only helped me but everyone who have ever met you in person or on here. I also want to thank your husband for being amazing to you and for being there through the good and bad. We love you!
Awww Collin you are just the cutest thing ever — beautiful both inside & out. I am so happy that your life is so full now and you have overcome your struggles & anxieties. Life is just to short to be anything but happy and your kids are lucky to have such a fun loving mom. Be well and keep smiling 🙂
This video really touched me! I’m not struggling with addiction, but it really impressed me how much courage you have. I’m sure you will help many with this video. Thanks for sharing!
Go Colin! I’ve read your blog for about 6-7 years now, and I’m so thankful for your hard work and for being such a real and positive person. Thanks for sharing your struggles, it’s a good reminder to be kind and encourage one another. Btw you are so beautiful inside and out! So happy you are experiencing the joy you deserve!
I love the person you are and I don’t even know you. You helped me save so much through the last couple years. I appreciate your time and effort. I always thought what a wonderful life you must always have, no problems, no issues. Funny how we always wish we had a life like someone else, not knowing what their life might really be like behind closed doors. I wish we could all be happy with what we have and who we are, and not what we don’t have or who we could be. Thank you Collin for being so brave and sharing!!!!
You rock Collin !!! It’s so nice of you to put this video out there….you are a mentor for most of us out here …..and this helps to a great degree to people like me who seem to lack confidence due to our past or things that have happened with us ….thank you for bringing your true story forward 🙂 and thanks for all that you and your team does …it really does help us in a lot of ways ….
Thank you for sharing your story, you are truly an inspiration to so many. It took a lot of courage to open up and be so transparent, may God continue to bless you and your beautiful family!
Thank you for posting. I love your site. You are truly amazing!
You are an inspiration, my day brightener, a kind and loving person. Thank you for sharing your life and struggles and I truly love HIP2SAVE and appreciate all you do for all of us.