Just slightly under two years ago, a good friend of mine suggested that I start a blog. My response — “Um, what’s a blog?” Lucky for me, she took a few minutes to explain it to me, planting the seed which would eventually grow into Deal Seeking Mom. Little did I know then that my lowly little deals blog would quickly gain a substantial following and afford me the opportunity to work with major brands I admire like ShopAtHome.com.

Behind the scenes though, I’m just a mom to five beautiful, passionate, and very active kids ranging from 8 to 2 years. My husband is a union pipefitter by trade but has been laid off for the past year-and-a-half due to the slow economy, so saving money is as important to us as ever.

However, I was a deal seeker long before I ever met my husband. Though my mom worked in a grocery store when I was growing up, coupons weren’t something she used regularly. I, on the other hand, would scour the newspaper inserts for savings on treats that I enjoyed and would attach them to her weekly grocery list.

In high school I worked in the juniors department of a department store. I loved to challenge myself to see how little I could spend on fashionable outfits by pairing my employee discount with the huge clearance sales and coupons. I regularly purchased trendy designer pieces at 90% off the retail price.

After becoming a mom, I became slightly obsessed with looking for fantastic deals online on kids clothing. I would regularly send my friends instant messages sharing my latest finds and encouraging them to sign up for freebies that I stumbled across, all of which paved the way for Deal Seeking Mom.

I feel very blessed to be able to share my finds with a much wider and more varied audience these days. The power of the world wide web is amazing to behold, and I love that I can interact with so many people and that we can share and learn from each other.

ShopAtHome.com has been a tool that I’ve talked about many times on Deal Seeking Mom prior to becoming a part of the Blogger Advisory Board. Their cash back program is the perfect way to turn a good deal into a great one, and I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to showcase their savings over the next few months.